At Manzanillo Station

For weeks, Jesus Menendez, No. 2 Cuban Communist and leader of the Sugar Workers' Federation, had been touring the eastern end of the island, stirring up the workers. He was a little tired when he took the train at Yara one day last week. His next stop would be the busy sugar port of Manzanillo, where there was to be a big rally.

As the train left Yara, Captain Joaquin Casillas of the Guardia Rural (part of the Cuban Army charged with keeping law and order in rural areas) boarded with a squad and looked up Menendez. The young (36) Communist leader was told that he could not hold his meeting and would be arrested if he tried. Menendez replied that, as a member of the Cuban House of Representatives, he had congressional immunity. By the time the train reached Manzanillo the two men were in heated argument. Suddenly, as they alighted, Captain Casillas whipped out his automatic and fired three .45-caliber slugs into Menendez' body. Menendez died as he was carried from the station.

In 30 minutes the radio had spread the news through Cuba. Next morning, a dozen top government officials and almost all newspapers denounced the shooting. But Army Chief Genovevo Perez D`amera was unimpressed. Said he: "The Army is proud of the action by Captain Casillas, who repelled aggression. We hope all members of the armed forces will conduct themselves in the same manner." President Ramon Grau San Martin kept quiet, but Genovevo had seen him before he made his statement.

At week's end, Menendez' body lay in state in the great marble Capitolio in Havana, where thousands passed his bier. All over Cuba sugar workers staged brief protest strikes. Cuba's Communists, who had been wasting away for months, now had a martyr, and they would make the most of it.

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