CARIBBEAN SEA (Central America) – The Sierra Aránzazu, a Spanish merchant ship belonging to the Marítima
del Norte company and carrying foodstuffs, cloths and a large variety of work
tools, was attacked on September 13, 1964, by two launches commanded by members
of the Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria [MRR], one of many anti-
Castro groups financed by the CIA during the Cold War, and only one year after
a rigorous trade embargo was started against the island. For ten minutes that night, the Sierra Aránzazu was shelled incessantly by machine guns and
small cannons fired from the launches, destroying the ship’s bridge and chimney
and causing a fire that spread quickly throughout.
