01-05-2016, 12:31 AM
The photo was apparently taken in 1959. This is from Canfield & Weberman's now-deleted Coup D'Etat website:
On January 15, 1959, the wire services carried a story that STURGIS, previously believed dead, was in Cuba. Evidence of this was a photograph of STURGIS standing on a mass grave of 59 of Rolando Masferrer's Tigres, machine gun in hand. The photograph gave the impression he had just massacred the Tigres in their stronghold of San Juan, Santiago de Cuba. Another CIA document stated: "Subject claims he is under orders of Raoul Castro and awaiting orders to begin training 1,000 militia members in SACU (Santiago, Cuba) area. Source (deleted) Appr 2. FC: Number may be exaggerated." [TDCS 3/383,32 1.6.59] Another document stated: "In charge of a separation center, training camp and staging area SACU area." [TDCS 3/384,56 1.15.59] On January 20, 1959, Vice Consul Bernard Femminella of the U.S. Consulate, Santiago De Cuba, advised that he was informed that an individual known as FRANK FIORINI was with the revolutionary forces in the vicinity of Santiago De Cuba. On January 30, 1959, the CIA received information STURGIS
had a falling out with Raoul Castro over incorporating Army officers in the training program. Reportedly left SACU for Havana, where he is working with Air Force Chief.
On January 30, 1959, the Legat, Mexico City sent a highly deleted cable to the Director of the FBI.
Subject: CHANGED (Deleted) IS - CUBA. ReBulets to Miami dated November 20, 1958, and December 5, 1959, in captioned matter; also Mexico letter to the Bureau dated January 26, 1959, in case entitled FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS aka -RA. The title of this case has been marked CHANGED to reflect the addition of the maternal surname of the subject (Deleted) Available details concerning these arrest were set forth in my letter of January 26, 1959, in the STURGIS case. The information is as follows. [page deleted 2-1499 NR 1.30.59]
STURGIS was the commander of the camp in San Juan, Santiago Province, Cuba, where the 59 men were killed. He gave the order to the firing squad. STURGIS claimed he needed permission to allow St. George to photograph a mass execution. STURGIS did not need permission to do anything at the base since he was the highest ranking officer there. St. George arrived too late, so STURGIS posed on the grave of the men he had sent to their death. This act of mass murder, and STURGIS' early gun running activity, was why Fidel Castro trusted him. STURGIS could never have admitted to ordering or approving this mass execution - not with the relatives of the victims living in Miami. This photograph linked STURGIS indelibly with Fidel Castro's revolution. It also linked the 26th of July Movement with mass murder.
On January 15, 1959, the wire services carried a story that STURGIS, previously believed dead, was in Cuba. Evidence of this was a photograph of STURGIS standing on a mass grave of 59 of Rolando Masferrer's Tigres, machine gun in hand. The photograph gave the impression he had just massacred the Tigres in their stronghold of San Juan, Santiago de Cuba. Another CIA document stated: "Subject claims he is under orders of Raoul Castro and awaiting orders to begin training 1,000 militia members in SACU (Santiago, Cuba) area. Source (deleted) Appr 2. FC: Number may be exaggerated." [TDCS 3/383,32 1.6.59] Another document stated: "In charge of a separation center, training camp and staging area SACU area." [TDCS 3/384,56 1.15.59] On January 20, 1959, Vice Consul Bernard Femminella of the U.S. Consulate, Santiago De Cuba, advised that he was informed that an individual known as FRANK FIORINI was with the revolutionary forces in the vicinity of Santiago De Cuba. On January 30, 1959, the CIA received information STURGIS
had a falling out with Raoul Castro over incorporating Army officers in the training program. Reportedly left SACU for Havana, where he is working with Air Force Chief.
On January 30, 1959, the Legat, Mexico City sent a highly deleted cable to the Director of the FBI.
Subject: CHANGED (Deleted) IS - CUBA. ReBulets to Miami dated November 20, 1958, and December 5, 1959, in captioned matter; also Mexico letter to the Bureau dated January 26, 1959, in case entitled FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS aka -RA. The title of this case has been marked CHANGED to reflect the addition of the maternal surname of the subject (Deleted) Available details concerning these arrest were set forth in my letter of January 26, 1959, in the STURGIS case. The information is as follows. [page deleted 2-1499 NR 1.30.59]
STURGIS was the commander of the camp in San Juan, Santiago Province, Cuba, where the 59 men were killed. He gave the order to the firing squad. STURGIS claimed he needed permission to allow St. George to photograph a mass execution. STURGIS did not need permission to do anything at the base since he was the highest ranking officer there. St. George arrived too late, so STURGIS posed on the grave of the men he had sent to their death. This act of mass murder, and STURGIS' early gun running activity, was why Fidel Castro trusted him. STURGIS could never have admitted to ordering or approving this mass execution - not with the relatives of the victims living in Miami. This photograph linked STURGIS indelibly with Fidel Castro's revolution. It also linked the 26th of July Movement with mass murder.