Alpha 66

Alpha 66 was created in Puerto Rico in the fall of 1961 . The name came from the number of founders: 66 people - and the first letter of the Greek alphabet: Αα , Alpha . This combination symbolized the beginning of the struggle against the Castro regime ^[1] .

The organizers of Alpha 66 were the recent active participants in the Cuban revolution , who fought against the dictator Batista . Some of them had high ranks in the revolutionary army . The most famous is Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo ^[2] - a major (the highest rank in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba , commander of the Second National Front.

All of them were supporters of democratic transformations and adhered to leftist , often socialist, views. However, in Fidel Castro’s policies, they quickly distinguished between communist tendencies and the course towards the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship along the lines of the Eastern Bloc. In addition, they were outraged by the execution of their fighting comrade William Alexander Morgan , committed with Castro’s sanction on March 11, 1961 .

At the same time, it cannot be argued that the revolutionary democratic trend was the only one in the ideology of Alpha 66. An important role in the creation and activities of the organization was played by Antonio Vesiana ^[3] - before the revolution, the sugar magnate accountant Julio Lobo , closely associated with the American intelligence services. Alpha 66 was financially supported by the right-wing circles of the USA, in particular, the couple Luce - Henry and Claire Booth . Close allies were the Mexican Tecos . The organization has become an important center of attraction for anti-Castro forces, regardless of their ideology.

Attacks from the outside

Initially, Alpha 66 relied on the armed overthrow of the Castro regime. The organization was actively involved in the rebel movement of Escambray (in official Cuban terminology - bandidos ). On October 19, 1962, the unification of the anti-communist military efforts of the rebel Second National Front and Alpha 66 was announced.

Since 1962, Alpha 66 militants launched raids on Cuban territory, shelling the coastline, and attacking Cuban and Soviet ships ^{[4] [5]} . Large-scale attacks were carried out on September 10, 1962 , October 8, 1962 , December 4, 1962 , March 17, 1963 . Several Cuban, Soviet and English ships sank or got damaged, a significant amount of weapons was captured. Sea attacks were suppressed by US forces on the orders of President Kennedy after the official protests of Havana and Moscow ^[6] .

In 1964, Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo developed the Omega Plan, aimed at resuming the full-scale guerrilla war in Cuba. In December, he made a landing with a detachment of several dozen people, but was quickly arrested ^[7] (after which he spent more than 20 years in Cuban prisons ^[8] ). The leadership passed to Andres Nasario , also a veteran of the revolutionary army.

Underground Rooting Attempts

Alpha 66 task forces regularly infiltrated Cuba with the tasks of sabotage and terrorist attacks against the communist leadership . However, the plans of the assassination attempt on Fidel Castro could not be realized. As a rule, Cuban state security neutralized the militants before they took action ^[9] . A relatively large incident took place in 1970 : a combat group of 13 people landed in Cuba, but almost all of its members died in a shootout ^[10] . Andres Nasario's brother, Aurelio, was captured and executed.

After the defeat of the military landings of 1964 and 1970, Alpha 66 relied on the creation of clandestine cells in Cuba itself. In 1980, the "Maximo Gomez Plan" was developed (named for the national hero - the revolutionary general ). The task was to organize an underground network capable of leading the opposition movement in Cuba. However, the tight control of the Cuban authorities over society blocked this project.

In the summer of 1980, a mass exodus of disgruntled Cubans to the United States was allowed (the authorities described this as “the expulsion of gusanos ”). About 125 thousand people emigrated from Cuba (not only dissidents and those who disagree with the regime, but also criminals and other asocial elements). Many of them settled in Miami , where the Alpha 66 headquarters is located ^[11] . As a result, the organization gained an asset, but the opportunities for organizing structures in Cuba have declined.

Economic sabotage

In the 1990s, the main target of Alpha 66 was Cuba’s tourism infrastructure, which brings foreign exchange earnings to the ruling regime. The organization warned international tour operators that it considered tourist sites in Cuba the legitimate targets of attacks. There were no real attacks, but numerous threats and acts of sabotage followed. In March 1994, an Alpha 66 militant group infiltrated Cayo Coco and engaged in a firefight with security forces.

A few months later, in August 1994, spontaneous street protests took place in Havana ^{[12] [13]} . These events, dubbed Maleconazo , were the first open anti-caste riots after the suppression of the 1960s rebel movement.

The latest active manifestation of Alpha 66 was noted in 2001 : an armed activist of the organization was arrested in Cuba.

After the death of Andres Nasario in 2004, the leadership passed to Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez ^[14] (under Batista, an opposition trade union activist, ally of Gutierrez Menoyo, with Castro a member of the armed underground, then a long-term political prisoner) and Ferdinand de Montejo. In Florida, a training center continues to function ^{[15] [16]} , and militants and political propagandists are being trained. A representative office has also been opened in Madrid.

Currently, armed struggle is not posed by Alpha 66 as an immediate task. The emphasis is on political interaction with the dissident circles of Cuba, providing them with information and financial support:

The center of gravity of emigrant politics is now connected with the opposition and the emergence of civil society on the island. Alpha 66 is part of this trend ^[17] .

At the same time, the readiness under certain circumstances to resume armed activity is emphasized.

This is in the past. But if conditions in Cuba require this, if dissidents agree to confront, we are morally obligated to come to their aid.
Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez ^[18]

Alpha 66 has long been classified as a terrorist organization. In 1976, such characteristics were announced by Miami police officers. They also spoke about relations with organized crime and the drug business. However, such allegations have not been substantiated.

The Cuban authorities in every possible way promoted the terrorist danger emanating from Alpha 66 ^[19] in order to justify political repressions . However, only two cases of the death of Cuban civilians as a result of its actions are reliably known ^[20] . Blows were deliberately targeted at facilities and government infrastructure representatives.

Since 1965, the declared goal - the armed overthrow of the Castro dictatorship - seemed unrealistic. However, the organization’s actions had great political and symbolic significance. Of particular importance was the origin of Alpha 66 from the Cuban revolution and its armed forces. This significantly distinguishes Alpha 66 from a number of other organizations of the anti-caste opposition - a rigidly ultra-right orientation ^[21] that actually practiced terror ^[22] .