Jorge Villaverde

Jorge S. Lamadriz Villaverde was a Cuban-born exile living in the United States of America. He was a lifelong Catholic anticommunist and anti-Castro activist (activista anticastra). He escaped the Castro regime and made his way to Miami. While in Miami, he became a staunch and vocal opponent of Fidel Castro, and was connected through his brother Rafael Villaverde to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

He was later suspected of having been a member of a vast Cuban-American narcotics and drug smuggling ring. In 2002, Villaverde was murdered in a drive-by shooting while taking out the trash.

Early life in Cuba Villaverde was born and raised in Havana, where he attended the Colegio de Belén.

Escape from Cuba and exile in Miami After 18 years as a political prisoner, Villaverde escaped by swimming across Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. Naval Base there.

The Gris Brothers Jorge Villaverde and his two brothers were accused by a federal narcotics strike force sting operation called Operation Tick Talk of having been a member of a vast Cuban-American drug smuggling ring. 43 members were captured and arrested after officers from the Miami Police Department and federal agents from the Strike Force planted listening devices in the houses of the Tick Talk targets. Rafael Villaverde was lost at sea in 1982, and presumed dead, before the trial could commence.

In 1995, Villaverde spent two years in prison after police discovered unlicensed weapons on his property.

Murder On the morning of the June 11, 2002, Villaverde walked through the electronic gate of his ranch house, La Tranquilidad, to take out the trash. A white vehicle with two occupants drove by, and one of the occupants leaned over and shot Villaverde.

Villaverde's murder was similar to the murder of a man who lived down the street only a few months prior. Andrés Nazario Sargén, leader of Alpha 66, suspected that Villaverde was assassinated by the Castro regime. Villaverde was also being looked at as a suspect in a double murder at the time of his death.