Orlando C. Manrique (1924-2008)

Orlando C. Manrique, Luchador por Cuba, Exiliado

Por JENNIFER LEBOVICH

The Miami Herald

Orlando C. Manrique -- que contrabandeó armas a Cuba para tratar de derrocar al gobierno, a quien le dieron siete balazos durante el asalto al Palacio Presidencial para derrocar a Fulgencio Batista en 1957 y participó en la invasión de Bahía de Cochinos, falleció el sábado a los 84 años.

Como muchos cubanos exiliados, esperaba ver el regreso de la democracia a su país. ''Hasta su último minuto estuvo buscando formas de derrocar la tiranía de [Fidel] Castro'', declaró su hijo Carlos Manrique, de 49 años.

Nacido en Playa Daiquirí, Santiago de Cuba, Manrique comenzó a participar desde joven en la política. A los 12 años se unió al ala juvenil del Partido Revolucionario Cubano Auténtico, que estuvo democráticamente en la presidencia entre 1944 y 1952.

En los años 50 ayudó a organizar un golpe para tratar de derrocar al presidente Fulgencio Batista. El y otros viajaron a Sanibel, en la costa oeste de la Florida, para comprar armas a aliados de Al Capone, relató su hijo.

En uno de esos viajes en 1956, Manrique fue arrestado en Coral Way por tráfico de armas. ''Fue la única vez que mi padre infringió la ley'', apuntó Carlos, agregando que los cargos se desestimaron más tarde.

Al año siguiente, Manrique fue uno de los líderes del ataque al Palacio Presidencial en La Habana, donde le dieron siete balazos, y desde entonces celebraba el día del ataque, el 13 de marzo de 1957, como su segundo cumpleaños.

"Siempre estuvo muy orgulloso de ese momento", señaló Carlos, ex legislador de la Florida.

Orlando C. Manrique (1924-2008)

Cuban fighter, Miami exile

By JENNIFER LEBOVICH

jlebovich@MiamiHerald.com
Noviembre 19, 2008

Orlando C. Manrique -- who smuggled weapons into Cuba to try and overthrow the government, was later shot seven times in a failed 1957 coup and took part in the Bay of Pigs invasion -- died Saturday. He was 84.

Manrique suffered a massive heart attack at his Westchester home, his family said.

Like so many Cuban exiles, he hoped he'd someday see democracy in Cuba.

''He lived to the last breath looking for ways to topple the tyranny of [Fidel] Castro,'' said son Carlos Manrique, 49.

Born in Playa Daiquiri, Santiago de Cuba, Manrique was involved in politics at a young age.

At 12, he joined the youth movement of the Partido Revolucionario Cubano Autentico, which held the presidency democratically from 1944 to 1952.

In the 1950s, Manrique helped organize a coup to try and overthrow Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.

He and others would travel to Sanibel Island on Florida's West Coast to buy weapons from associates of gangster Al Capone, his son said.

On one such trip in 1956, Manrique was arrested on Coral Way for weapons trafficking.

''The only time my dad broke the law,'' Carlos said, adding that the charges were later dropped.

The next year, Manrique helped lead the attack on Havana's presidential palace.

Shot seven times -- the most serious wound scarring his right hand while several of the others grazed his legs -- he would come to celebrate the day he survived the attack, March 13, 1957, as his second birthday.

''He was always very proud of that moment,'' said Carlos, a former Florida legislator.

A few years later, he would return to Cuba in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. He was on a U.S. destroyer, which was turned back before arriving on the beach, his son said.

He settled in Miami and started working for 60 cents an hour washing cars at the railroad yard. Working his way up the ranks at the Florida East Coast Railway, he retired 22 years later as a general manager.

He never gave up the cause or his country.

Carlos recalled how as a child on Sunday mornings he would awake to his father playing the Cuban national anthem before prompting his children to do their chores.

Manrique served as president of Brigade 2506, a group of exiles who are veterans of the failed invasion, in the 1980s and even when he wasn't at the helm, he would visit weekly.

''He was a guy of tremendous principles,'' said Maximo Cruz, current president of Brigade 2506, who knew Manrique for decades.

``His love for freedom and democracy went beyond any imagination. He was teaching the younger generations. It was something contagious.''

Manrique also served the Partido Autentico in exile.

Longtime friend Dr. Gustavo Leon, current president of the executive committee of Partido Autentico, said Manrique was always there, not only to talk politics but also to help anyone in need.

''Anyone with a problem or suffering would knock on his door. You could always find an answer from him, a good answer,'' Leon said.

Said his son Carlos: ``He dedicated his whole life to public service. He put his fighting pants on in 1952 for freedom and democracy in Cuba and never took them off to the day he passed away.''

Additional survivors include his wife of 64 years, Beba Manrique; son Orlando V. Manrique; and three grandchildren.

A viewing will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday with Mass to follow at 10 a.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 12800 NW Sixth St.

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