‘Murderers,’ late freedom fighter’s backers call retired generals

Santo Domingo.- Around a dozen retired generals arrived at the Justice Ministry Monday morning to support their colleague Ramiro Matos Gonzalez, who was subpoenaed for interrogation into the murder of freedom fighter Manolo Tavarez Justo in 1963.

But upon arriving they confronted late freedom fighter’s supporters, including leftist Jose Bujosa Mieses, who traded barbs with retired general Rafael Betances .

“He (Matos) carried out his duty as any officer does on orders from their superiors,” Betances said.

But Bujosa called him and his colleagues a group of genocides. “What Matos Gonzalez and those generals did was genocide; it was a crime against humanity. Some of these generals here are also part of the group who committed the crimes during the Triumvirate (1963-65).”

Last week Justice minister Francisco Dominguez announced the interrogation of Matos, by Deputy minister Bolivar Sanchez, into Tavarez’s murder at Las Manaclas, Santiago province.