At a press conference held on their arrival in Havana on 26 August, the ten Argentinian revolutionaries declared that it was the Chilean people who had secured their freedom.
Marcos Osatinzky, a member of the FAR, explained that various accidents during the operation had prevented a larger number from reaching freedom. On their arrival in Santiago, he said, the Chilean people and certain political organisations on the left had at once declared their solidarity with them. Fernando Vaca Narvaja, a member of the Montoneros, emphasised the united character of this action. He explained that despite ideological differences the common objective of organising a popular army and building socialism was enough to carry out a joint action like the escape from Rawson. There would be further such actions involving the revolutionary organisations in Argentina in the future. Comrade Roberto Sa ntucho, a leader of the PRT-ERP, made a brief analysis of the situation in Argentina, emphasising the political instability and the possibility of a military coup d'etat. He explained that the Trelew massacre was a panic-stricken reaction which showed the weakness of the military dictatorship, faced with a developing revolutionary war. Santucho emphasised that the massascre was carefully prepared by the President, General Alejandro Lanusse, and his government, and added that a special force of officers and NCOs had been sent from Buenos Aires to carry out the crime.
The ERP leader also denounced the massive involvement of the CIA in Argentina, recalling that for more than three years the US Army had been training special units in techniques of counter-insurgency at camps in the north of the country. *The cold-blooded precision with which the massacre was carried out is very reminiscent of the style of the CIA, as seen for instance in the physical liquidation of our comrade Ernesto Che Guevara", commented another of those who had escaped.
The ten militants concluded by saying that the purpose of their escape was to rejoin their organisations as quickly as possible in order to pursue the struggle. They then thanked the Cuban government and people for their hospitality and solidarity. After their surrender at Trelew airport, some of the comr KILLED CARLOS HERIBERTO ASTUDILLO (ERP) EDUARDO ADOLFO CAPELLO (ERP) SUSANA GRACIELA LESGART DE YOFRE (Montoneros)
HUMBERTO ADRIAN TOSCHI (ERP) ALBERTO CARLOS DEL REY (ERP) MARIA ANGELICA SABELLi (FAR) RUBEN PEDRO BONET (ERP MIGUEL ANGEL POLTI (ERP)
CLARISSA ROSA LEA PLACE (ERP) MARIANO PUJADAS BADELL (Montoneros)