The Tribune

By LARRY SMITH

THIRTY-TWO years ago this month, four Defence Force marines were killed when a 103-foot Bahamian patrol boat was sunk by the Cuban air force less than six weeks after the formation of the RBDF.

Today, most Bahamians know little about the incident, which traumatised the country for months. In fact, the anniversary of this event, which the Castro government described as “a regrettable confusion”, often passes almost unnoticed.

Cuba agreed to pay $10 million in reparations for the sinking of HMBS Flamingo and the murder of the four marines – Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams. And the eight Cuban fishermen who started it all were convicted of poaching in July, 1980.

As the Flamingo approached two fishing vessels near Cay Santo Domingo in the southern Bahamas, the Cubans fled – until warning shots were fired. Eventually, marines boarded both boats and found 3,000 pounds of fish, lobster, conch and stone crab. The vessels were taken in tow to Cay Santo Domingo for a more thorough search.

But on the way, two Cuban MiG jet fighters appeared overhead and began strafing the Flamingo, which was soon rocked by explosions. According to Commander Amos Rolle: “I went to the radio room but there was no power. Water was already ankle deep, so I ordered my men to abandon ship.”

All except four of the 19 crewmen made it to one of the fishing boats, with the Cuban jets strafing the area even as the Flamingo was going down. Despite a search by Bahamian and American rescue teams, the four marines were never found.

Commander Rolle, his crew, and eight Cuban fishermen arrived at Duncan Town on Ragged Island about five hours later, but were unable to contact Nassau until early Sunday morning. Soon, more Cuban jets appeared, as well as a military transport and a helicopter – which actually landed briefly next to the fishing boats. It seemed that an actual invasion was underway to retrieve the poachers.

While the jets buzzed Duncan Town, sending the inhabitants scurrying for cover, a hastily chartered DC-3 arrived from Nassau carrying Defence Force chief Bill Swinley and Police Commissioner Salathial Thompson. Had Cuban troops landed, they could have captured the entire Bahamian high command.

Although the MiG fighters soon withdrew, the Cuban transport and helicopter stayed on the scene for another two hours, preventing evacuation of the Flamingo’s crew. And on Monday afternoon, other Cuban military aircraft were spotted over Ragged Island by Defence Force personnel.

But reaction in Nassau was less than swift. It took hours for the news to get out on Sunday, and until it did an attitude of shocked disbelief prevailed. Swinley, a long-serving British naval officer, said there was “no military explanation” for what had happened.

The cabinet went into emergency session and stayed incommunicado until the early hours of Monday. A shaken and tired-looking Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Hanna then emerged to protest the initial Cuban claim that the Flamingo had been mistaken for “a pirate ship”.

That Sunday night in Nassau resembled the approach of a hurricane. Rumours flew, and there was huge excitement about the prospect of an armed confrontation involving The Bahamas.

Early American radio reports exaggerated the number of aircraft involved and said Cuban troops had actually landed in The Bahamas. Late that evening, a fireworks display at Club Med on Paradise Island ignited fears that the Cubans were sailing up Nassau harbour firing at the Churchill Building.

At the Ministry of Tourism’s news bureau in Centreville (where Tough Call worked at the time), calls flooded in from news organisations around the world – as well as from many frightened Bahamians who wanted to know what was happening.

But in the absence of direct instructions from the government, ZNS remained eerily silent. Their first news bulletin came at about 10pm on Sunday – more than a day after the incident. But a full account had to wait on an official statement issued well after midnight.

On Monday, at the request of the Bahamian government, the US Coast Guard dispatched a rescue helicopter from Puerto Rico to help the Defence Force search for the missing marines around Cay Santo Domingo.

A US Navy destroyer was also on the scene, and there were reports that a British frigate was in the area. As the Coast Guard helicopter began its search, it was buzzed by two Cuban MiGs:

The Miami Herald reported that the US had dispatched two Marine Corps Phantom jets to the scene on Monday after the Coast Guard helicopter was harassed. But a Pentagon spokesmen said the MiGs had left the area by the time the US fighters arrived.

At Prime Minister Lynden Pindling’s press briefing on Tuesday, May 13, this confrontation was down played: “No formal requests had been made for US or British naval or military presence in the area of the incident,” the prime minister said. “Our only request has been to the Coast Guard to help in our search for the missing men.”

The next three weeks saw round after round of diplomatic exchanges with the Cubans, whose vice minister of foreign affairs flew to Nassau twice to meet with External Affairs Minister Paul Adderley. The government threatened to take the case to the United Nations security council, but said diplomatic relations would only be cut off as a last resort.

The Cubans first said the attack was a mistake. But that was soon replaced by a face-saving formula which accused The Bahamas of working for the US Central Intelligence Agency. Prime Minister Pindling retorted that the CIA couldn’t be behind a Bahamian patrol ship on a routine patrol of Bahamian waters.

To explain the incident, a look at the wider context at the time is instructive. Cuban President Fidel Castro had suffered his biggest domestic crisis in 20 years when thousands of Cubans occupied the Peruvian Embassy in Havana seeking to flee the country.

This led to an exodus of more than 100,000 refugees – many brought to Florida in small boats. The Cuban economy, kept afloat by millions of dollars a day in Russian aid, was also showing signs of strain.

Miami Herald reporter Don Bohning wrote that the Flamingo affair had unravelled what Castro had taken decades to achieve – “third world leadership and respectability.”

There were theories about CIA-backed guerrillas operating on remote Bahamian cays and Soviet submarines and fishing boats laden with sophisticated electronic listening devices. But eventually the Cubans admitted that their planes had attacked “without authorisation.”

The incident sparked months of posturing by Bahamian political parties. There were calls for a formal defence treaty with the United States, offers of new patrol craft from several countries, and even some public support for a military draft. At the time, the Defence Force could muster only 200 marines.

The now defunct Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist Party was particularly defensive, lying low throughout most of the controversy. Public demonstrations protesting the sinking of the Flamingo were boycotted by the party. After a few weeks they issued a statement calling the Pindling government to task for its “rude, boorish and undiplomatic behaviour” during the crisis:

“We should not allow emotionalism and political expediency to cloud an otherwise excellent record (of friendship). Territorial disputes are a normal part of international affairs,” said Vanguard Leader John McCartney.

But this was not a territorial dispute. Other than demands for the cession of Cay Sal (which is only 50 miles from the Cuban coast) in the 1950s, the Cubans have never claimed Bahamian territory, and each country’s economic zone is clearly defined by international law.

The Cubans eventually accepted full responsibility for the attack and paid compensation to the families of the dead marines. The eight Cuban poachers who started it all paid $90,000 in fines. But probably no-one will ever understand exactly why it happened.

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