Jorge Giró Puyans

* 1933

  • "There is one more thing I forgot to tell you, my brother was a lawyer of Ramir Valdés. As I was leaving the Embassy of Peru, he came to say goodbye. He then told me ‚let the police detain you. I'll get you out of it. Ramiro Valdés assured me he just wants to talk to you. He'll let you get on the plane no matter what.‘ I responded, 'Get out of my way, or else I will shoot.’ I was still armed when leaving the embassy. ‘So you better disappear.’ The man, Ramiro Valdés, wanted to take advantage of my brother to get me arrested. I would love to meet him because I would fulfil what I told my brother. But genuinely this time. I would shoot him… My brother is dead by now. He was a communist remaining in Cuba. I have not seen him ever since that day. And that's exactly what these regimes aim to do. To break up families. To collect children from parents and put communism into their brains. Brainwash them all.“

  • "In the beginning, we were determined and convinced of our victory. But as chance would have it, our planes got into immense difficulties. The United States, headed by President Kennedy, has betrayed us. They promised to help us in the invasion. They promised to cover the airspace so we could fight. But they bailed on us instead. During the operation, Kennedy abolished the cover of the airspace, leaving us fighting in the invasion alone. It was crystal clear we will not make it. We hoped all along they would eventually show up and help us.“

  • "We set out to raid the Cuban embassy in Peru. We did not go there to only break things up and make a mess but we mainly intended to steal certain documents. Those were crucial pieces of evidence that damned the Cuban government of bribing some Peruvian senators to spread Cuban propaganda in Peru. I then travelled to the United States with these documents and handed them over to the person at the airport, who then delivered them to government officials. The United States subsequently cut off diplomatic relations with Peru. I was content with the whole process and elated by the outcome. It was a properly executed operation of our entire group.“

  • "For two months, I've been hiding in different places all over Havana. Unfortunately, one day, they somehow discovered me hiding in an abandoned house. I guess I made the mistake of turning on the lights in that house. Neighbours who knew the house was to be abandoned must have noticed. They had no idea I was the one hiding there. I overheard a noise from the street, and when I looked out the window, I saw a group of men getting out of police cars. I've turned the other way and run towards the backside of the house, then leapt over a high wall. It still blows my mind how could I overcome such a high obstacle. Coincidentally, I found myself standing in the garden of one of the then ministers of the Cuban government. I observed he had security all around him, so there was no chance for me to escape. The only alternative was to enter the house. I opened the door leading to the backyard and went inside. Not only that the minister was there, but his family as well. His son recognized me. He asked me, 'Jorge, what are you doing here?' So I've exposed myself, that I'm running away, that the police is looking for me next door, that I have nowhere to hide, and I surrender to the mercy of theirs. The minister responded: 'Don't worry. I'll get you out of here. ' Then we got in the car and he drove me to the address I gave him. It was truly unbelievable, and I am still very much indebted to the man.“

  • That day I had planned to go to court to defend two people facing the death penalty. So I was going through some documents in our law firm when an assistant from reception called me. He told me two people were looking for me. I asked if they had made an appointment in advance. When the assistant told me they did not, I knew for sure what was going on. I immediately pulled from a drawer some classified documents, found my passport and hid it in my pocket. I could not leave the building any other way than through the waiting room where they were expecting me. But I set off nevertheless. I walked towards the front door and realized these people didn't even know what I looked like. Apparently, they didn't have any photos of me, so I slipped through. I've been on the run ever since. Those people were Fidel Castro's secret police.“

  • "Until the day of my escape, when the secret police came to the law firm, looking for me, we had organized sabotage and events to undermine the regime in Havana. It was mainly about getting weapons and later sending them to the locals of the Escambray Mountains because they had risen up. We always gathered the guns at night and passed them the next morning to the Escambray people. Thus our group got involved in anti-regime movements."

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    Miami, USA, 10.06.2021

    (audio)
    délka: 49:05
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Memoria de la Nación Cubana / Memory of the Cuban Nation
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Every day, when I see the news from Cuba, I can‘t help but cry

Jorge Giró Puyans
Jorge Giró Puyans
zdroj: Post Bellum

Jorge Giró Puyans was born on October 21, 1933. In terms of education, he carried on the male family tradition of studying law. He graduated from La Salle High School and went for a major in law at the St. Thomas of Villanova University in Havana‘s El Miramar district. He gained his first professional experience at the law firm Arango Cortina and initially devoted himself primarily to criminal justice. At a later point, he specialized almost solely in defending the people persecuted by the newly formed government of Fidel Castro. Together with the son of one of the firm owners, he took part in sabotage actions against the Castro regime. Furthermore, he joined a group that supplied military material to insurgents in the Escambray Mountains. As a consequence, however, he got on the secret police radar. One day, the police officers went to look for him directly to the law firm. George luckily managed to escape and then was hiding in different locations in the city for about two months. Although they once found him because of one little mistake, he managed to escape again. This time with extraordinary help from the then Minister of Construction and Public Procurement. Owing to his girlfriend‘s grandfather, who knew the future Peruvian president, he was granted asylum at the Peruvian embassy therefore later travelled to the South American country. After arriving, he and a group of Cubans raided the Cuban embassy and stole documents damning the Cuban government of bribing Peruvian senators to spread propaganda. A month later, he moved from Peru to the US, where he signed on to the training camps constructed to invade The Bay of Pigs. He went through training focused on care and armament of aircraft and participated in the invasion from an airbase in Nicaragua. After the failed operation, he returned to the US, where he received a doctorate in Spanish literature. He then served as a professor and dean of the University of Maryland‘s School of Foreign Languages. Today lives in Miami and has two daughters.