08/18/2018
Desi Arnaz helped finance the freedom of hundreds of Bay of Pigs fighters captured in 1961 by Cuban government forces, veterans say.
Surviving vets of the Bay of Pigs invasion presented a posthumous award to daughter Lucie Arnaz for his "moral support and generosity" "He always supported the Cuban cause", said Felix Rodriguez, president of Bay of Pigs Veteran Association. "Anything against Fidel Castro, he supported." Nilo Messer, vice president of the association and one of the invaders who were imprisoned, said, "We would always get news from the common prisoners and the employees. Someone told me that Desi Arnaz was helping with the efforts to get us out. He was one of the people pushing for a commission to negotiate our release."
Arnaz gave the money to a commission headed by Eleonor Roosevelt that arranged to send $53 millon worth of food, medicine and farm equipment to Cuba in exchange for the prisioner's release.
Arnaz also provided seed money for several exile organizations, said the Herald report.
"He cooperated a lot," Rodriguez said. "And he never sought any publicity for helping us or anyone else. Now that he's gone, we want to honor his memory" 🇨🇺🇺🇸🗽❤️🎶🎬🎭
