Robert Landori - Havana Harvest

This novel is based on events that took place in the late 1980s, embellished to make the story more exciting.

In the mid-1960s Fidel Castro made it his business to support leftist guerrillas in the trouble spots of the world because he had tohis masters, the men in the Kremlin, insisted that he do so. To please them, Cuba created a superbly trained and well-equipped mercenary army that it rented out to those who needed it.

Fidel's soldiers fought side-by-side with the locals in Ethiopia against the government, in Angola against the South Africans, in Nicaragua against President Somoza's forces, and in Grenada against the United States.

Cuban military advisors were also present in Jamaica, and among the guerrillas in Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.

In 1984 rumours reached the CIA and the DEA that the Cubans had become involved in narcotics and money laundering. At first these were discounted; Castro was still considered by Western intelligence agencies to be a man of scruples.

Then, on June 14,1989, the state-controlled Cuban press announced the arrest of an army general, a deputy minister of the Interior, and twelve accomplices. All stood accused of high treason and of having participated, for their own personal benefit, in drug and money-laundering operations involving Colombian, Panamanian, and U.S. citizens.

In early July the accused were tried in public by a special military tribunal and found guilty without exception. Sentence was passed on July 10. Four of the accused, including the army general and the deputy minister of the Interior, were condemned to death by firing squad, six were sentenced to thirty years in prison each, three to twenty-five years in jail, and one to ten years of deprivation of liberty.

The death sentences were appealed to the Cuban National Assembly, which upheld them. On July 13, 1989, those condemned to death were shot.

Friday
George Town, Grand Cayman, British West Indies

Captain Francisco Fernandez Ochoa recognized the woman sitting behind the counter as soon as he entered the stationery store. She was striking, even more attractive in real life than in the photo he had seen of her.

Buenos dias, Seorita. He tried to make himself sound as Mexican as possible.

Buenos dias, Seor. She gave him a friendly smile. How can I be of assistance?

Do you have a special hardcover copy in Spanish of A Businessman's Guide to the Cayman Islands ?

Her eyes flickered. What year?

He held his eyes on hers and replied, 1985.

She stood up and locked the drawer of the cash register. Let me see what I can do for you, she said and headed for the racks.

Puta madre , but it's hot, Fernandez murmured as he wiped his face with the large handkerchief he kept in his back pocket. He was wearing a T-shirt with Team Mazda emblazoned on it; long, baggy shorts; and loafers. He looked like a typical tourist visiting from Florida, except that he hailed from Matanzas in Cuba.

The woman was back in less than a minute.

I am sorry, Seor, but I could only find an English version. Will it do? The smile was gone; her look was professional, cold.

I suppose so, Fernandez pulled out his wallet. How much do I owe you?