Humboldt 7 massacre

The Humboldt 7 massacre was the extrajudicial killing of four armed Directorio Revolucionario (DR) members by the Havana police on 20 April 1957. The police, led by Lt. Colonel Esteban Ventura Novo, entered apartment 201 of Humboldt 7, a residential building, where the DRE members were hiding. The four men who were killed during the incident had taken part in the Havana Presidential Palace attack and the seizure of the Radio Reloj station at the Radiocentro CMQ Building.

Prior to the incident at Humboldt 7, the Havana police were searching for the four men for their involvement in the attacks on the Presidential Palace and the Radiocentro CMQ Building. The men were alleged to have been betrayed by Marcos Rodríguez Alfonso (also known as "Marquitos"), a fellow revolutionary who was against the conflict to remove Fulgencio Batista from power. After an argument with members of the DR, he informed Lieutenant Colonel Esteban Ventura of their location; police promptly converged on the area and shot the men while they attempted to flee.

The incident was referred to as an assassination and a massacre after it occurred, and the event greatly reduced support for the police. The incident was covered up by police officials until a post-revolution investigation. Marquitos was arrested in 1961 and, after a double trial, he was sentenced by the Supreme Court to the penalty of death by firing squad on 2 April 1964.