Kelzie said:
Sure...but I don't know what that has to do with Chavez...
Alpha 66:
Our purpose for having a Web-Page on the Internet:
There appears to be a relentless campaign spearheaded by the tyrannical government that misappropriated the island of Cuba, interested organizations, and other foreign governments that pretends that the Castro-Communist system is about to release its grip on the Cuban people and that peace with them is at hand.
This campaign which pretends to believe that little by little the system will surrender all its power and freedom will come to our people lacks perspective and is absolutely wrong. First, it forgets the character of the tyrant -- a totalitarian subhuman incapable of any noble feelings, who has mercilessly taken away from the Cuban people all their human rights.
Secondly, great efforts are being made to conceal the fact that there is a revolution already going on inside Cuba. That this underground revolution could explode at any moment unexpectedly and that throughout the island thousands of secret groups are working day and night to bring about this moment of liberation.
Occasionally news of clandestine operations, sabotages, slowdowns, silent and not so silent protests which keep the prisons full at all times, demonstrates a movement that has only one objective: TOTAL VICTORY. History has shown us that once a people enter into a revolutionary state of mind, in pursuit of its rights, nothing will deter them from obtaining the final triumph.
To inform the world of this revolution in the making, which ALPHA 66 has been a part of since its inception; to give a voice to those Freedom Fighters who are risking their lives and to hold accountable those who are helping the tyrant, we bring our information to the Internet.
We invite all to visit our Web-Page, to work with us, to participate in the pursuit of the glorious day when Cuba's liberation will mark one of the golden pages in the history of the 20th century. All those that work with us will be proud to have had a part in this unique event of seeing the end of Communism in our America.
ALPHA 66 was organized in Puerto Rico at the end of 1961 with 66 men. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, but to us it means the beginning of the fight against communism in Cuba. Thus the reason for its name. Most of the 66 men were professionals; accountants, workers and revolutionaries who had fought against the Batista dictatorship.
ALPHA 66 was created with the intention of making commando type attacks on Cuba to maintain the fighting spirit of the Cuban people after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
FIRST ACTIONS
The first attacks on Cuba were to the port of Isabela de Sagua and Juan Francisco Beach in 1962. Afterwards a Russian ship was attacked in a Cuban port, and G-2 headquarters (Castro's dreaded military police) were ransacked at Isabela. In both attacks at Isabela our men were on Cuban soil. Those actions were followed by many others. The Militia training camps in Tarará were attacked on three different occasions. Other actions and infiltrations took place in the years from 1962 to l964, such as Matanzas Bay, the port of Havana and Caibarien where a British ship was attacked.
In 1964, ALPHA 66 decided to take stronger actions rather that just commando raids and began to work on the "Omega Plan" which consisted of situating a guerrilla force, well equipped, inside Cuba. From the Dominican Republic where ALPHA 66 had a training camp, Major Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo with three other fighters landed in Oriente Province, leaving behind a force of fifty men, who were never able to land in Cuba. Gutiérrez Menoyo and his men were made prisoners and we had to leave our training camp due to the American government's pressure on Dominican authorities.
NEW OPERATION PLANS
Andrés Nazario Sargén, who also had been a Major in the struggle against Batista's regime and one of the founders of the organization worked in different capacities, such as Organization Secretary in charge of maintaining training camps well supplied, became General Secretary of the organization and, in October 1968, Captain Vicente Méndez was appointed in charge of the military operations. ALPHA 66 started a very strong drive to raise enough money to prepare a new plan to land a guerrilla force in Cuba under the command of Vicente Méndez. This operation was to take place before the end of 1969.
By December of that year Vicente Méndez, promoted to Colonel by the organization, was in Cuban waters trying to find a suitable place to land. Their first attempt was unsuccessful. In the first week of 1970, the two boats of the landing force were approaching the Cuban coast when a tropical storm hit and one of the boats capsized. We lost one man on this operation, Captain Julio César Ramírez. Finally, the other boat was rescued by an American ship and they were taken to Guantánamo.
March 18, 1998
http://www.alpha66.org/english/purpose.htm
