Cuba remembers young fallen combatants in Tarará

HAVANA, Cuba, January 9 (ACN) Thirty-four years ago, in the early morning of January 9, 1992, four young Cubans lost their lives in an ambush at the Tarará Nautical Base, east of the capital, when an armed group attempted to steal a boat to flee to the United States, recalled the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) social media profile, Heroes in Blue.

The attack, carried out by seven individuals with bladed weapons and firearms, resulted in the immediate deaths of Border Guard Orosmán Dueñas Santana, 20; Security Guard Rafael Guevara, 30; and National Revolutionary Police (PNR) Sergeant Yuri Gómez Reinoso, 19.

A fourth young man, PNR Sergeant Rolando Pérez Quintosa, was seriously wounded with four gunshot wounds to the abdomen after coming to the aid of his comrades upon hearing the first shots.

Pérez Quintosa was transferred to the Naval Hospital, where he remained for 37 days under specialized medical care.

Complications arising from his injuries required a vital medication that Cuba could not acquire due to the restrictions of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States.

On February 16, 1992, he died as a result of a generalized infection, a fact that demonstrated the direct impact of the U.S. policy of hostility toward the island on the medical care of its citizens.

At his funeral, the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, stated that Rolando's story represented that of Cuban youth and the Revolution, highlighting his example as a symbol of resistance.

The four young men, identified as Orosmán, Rafael, Yuri, and Rolando, became role models for new generations, embodying the defense of sovereignty against external aggression.

34 years after those events, their memory remains as a legacy of strength and dignity, reminding us that Cuban youth continue to be protagonists in the defense of the homeland.