Carlos
Prio Socarrás was born in Bahía Honda, Cuba
on 14th
July 1903. Prio became involved in politics while a law
student at the University of Havana. He spent two years in prison
for his anti-government activities. After his release he took part
in the coup that deposed Gerardo Machado's dictatorship in 1933 and
helped organize the Partido Revolucionario Cubano Auténtico.
In
1944 President Ramón Grau appointed him as his Minister of
Labour. He became a popular minister and in 1948 he replaced Grau
as president. However, he never kept his promise of removing the Mafia
from Cuba. He also appeared to acquire considerable wealth during
his period in government.
In 1952 elections the Cuban
People's Party was expected to form the new government. During the
election campaign General Fulgencio
Batista,
with the support of the armed forces, ousted Prio and took control
of the country. Prio fled to the United States.
In 1953, Fidel
Castro, with
an armed group of 123 men and women, attacked the Moncada army barracks.
The plan to overthrow Batista ended in disaster and although only
eight were killed in the fighting, another eighty were murdered by
the army after they were captured. Castro was lucky that the lieutenant
who arrested him ignored orders to have him executed and instead delivered
him to the nearest civilian prison.
Following considerable
pressure from the Cuban population, Fulgencio
Batista
decided to release Fidel
Castro after
he had served only two years of his sentence. Batista also promised
elections but when it became clear that they would not take place,
Castro left for Mexico where he began to plan another attempt to overthrow
the Cuban government.
Prio used some of the money to support the efforts of Castro against
the Batista regime. However, he broke with Castro after he gained
power in 1959.
Prio
worked as a property developer and businessman in Miami. It
was claimed that Prio was involved in the Bay
of Pigs operation. It was also suggested that he had information
on the assassination of President John
F. Kennedy.
He was also linked in testimony with Jack
Ruby
and
Frank
Sturgis.
In
1977 Prio was wanted for questioning by the Select
Committee on Assassinations.
He was found dead from gunshot wounds on 5th April, 1977, outside
the garage of his Miami Beach home. He died at the same time as George
De Mohrenschildt and
Charlie Nicoletti, two other men due
to appear before the committee. Officially Carlos Prio committed suicide,
however, in an article, Did the CIA kill
Carlos Prio?, David Miller suggested in had been murdered.
Open
Debate on the Kennedy Assassination
Available from Amazon
Books (order below)
