Article and photos by Yaimi Ravelo on September 4, 2023 from Havana
Workers of the Copacabana Hotel on behalf of the Cuban people paid tribute today to Fabio Di Celmo, a young Italian who was a victim of a terrorist attack perpetrated from the United States against Cuba, in this tourist center 26 years ago.
From the place that in 1997 was the scene of the bomb explosion, every September 4 flowers are laid in honor of Fabio and in remembrance of the 3,478 people who have died on the island as a result of terrorist actions since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.
“How is it possible that the U.S. government continues to ignore history and advocates the right to include Cuba in a spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism,” denounced Rigoberto Zarza Ross, director for the European region of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) at the ceremony.
workers of the Copacabana Hotel
Faced with the hypocritical policy of the U.S. administrations, Zarza Ross recalled that since 1959, not only 3,478 innocent people have lost their lives as a result of terrorism but another 2099 others have been disabled as a result of this never ending war against this liberated country.
However, “Cuba has never been, nor will it ever be a country that sponsors terrorism, we are and will continue to be an example to the world of solidarity, coexistence and respect, a people that shares what it has and not what it has left over, that has been willing to give the lives of its best children”, the ICAP official pointed out.
Zarza went on to describe the US blockade against Cuba and its inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism “as another form of terror against the Cuban people”, who in spite of all the obstacles continue to defend their sovereignty, independence and self-determination.
René Chirino Palmero, dir. of Hotel Copacabana
In his speech paying tribute to Fabio Di Celmo, the director of the Copacabana Hotel René Chirino Palmero highlighted the fear and horror that this terrorist act meant for the clients and for the workers who witnessed it.
“This event deeply marked the lives of clients and workers, provoked fear and terror -although during the events- many workers stood strong and transmitted tranquility to the rest of the clients.”
“As on other occasions, acts of hatred are counteracted with acts of love, kindness and commitment,” expressed the director of the Copacabana Hotel.
Chirino acknowledged that everyone remembers the sad date every day as an example of the infinite dedication required to protect customers and tourism workers. Because it is a target of those who live to bring Cuba down.
Wreath laying by René Chirino Palmero, director of Hotel Copacabana and Rigoberto Zarza Ross, director for the European region of ICAP
Presiding over the tribute were César Hernández González, First Secretary of the PCC in Playa and Guglielmo Pirrone, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Italian Embassy in Cuba. Also in attendance were members of the International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity to the Peoples, and friends of Italy residing in Cuba.
A solemn moment was also dedicated to Giustino Di Celmo, Fabio’s father and faithful friend of Cuba. Giustino denounced until the last day of his life the crime that took away his son early, he took solidarity as a flag to fight and denounce the injustices towards the Cuban people.
The main perpetrator of the attack on the Copacabana Hotel was the prominent Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who admitted his crime, but was never prosecuted and died peacefully, protected by the US government.
Source: Cuba en Resumen