On April 20, 1957, one month and seven days after the assault on the Presidential Palace and the takeover of Radio Reloj, due to a cowardly betrayal, repressive forces of the Batista tyranny under the command of the bloodthirsty Colonel Esteban Ventura, murdered four young revolutionaries. participants in these actions, who were hiding in an apartment in the building located at 7 Humboldt Street in Havana.
These young people were Fructuoso Rodríguez, 23 years old, student at the Faculty of Agronomy; Joe Westbrook, 19, and José Machado, 24, both students at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Havana; as well as Juan Pedro Carbó Servia, 30 years old, graduated as a veterinarian in 1923, but maintained revolutionary ties in the capital’s Alma Mater.
Both Fructuoso and his other companions belonged to the National Directorate of the University Student Federation, were founders of the Student Revolutionary Directorate, and the four traveled to Mexico together with José Antonio Echeverría when the Charter of Mexico was signed with the July 26 Movement, represented by Doctor Fidel Castro Ruz, establishing the commitments of student youth to fight for the freedom of the country.
Upon the death of José Antonio Echeverría, the national secretariat of the University Student Federation appointed Fructuoso Rodríguez to replace him as president of the organization, also assuming the responsibility of general secretary of the Student Revolutionary Directory, the armed wing of the FEU for the revolutionary struggle. against the dictatorial regime.
On March 13, 1957, Fructuoso Rodríguez and Joe Westbrook were with José Antonio Echeverría during the Radio Reloj action, while José Machado and Juan Pedro Carbó Servia were part of the command that assaulted the Presidential Palace, the latter being wounded in the foot. . After these events, everyone had to go underground, constantly changing shelters.
Around five in the afternoon on April 20, 1957, a traitor betrayed the place where the young revolutionaries were, who despite their resistance could not escape from the Humboldt 7 building, being massacred mercilessly by the henchmen.
At the time of his death, Fructuoso Rodríguez, as president of the FEU and top leader of the Revolutionary Directorate, drafted a document proclaiming the continuation of the fight against the dictatorship and working on the opening of a new guerrilla front in El Escambray as had been agreed with Fidel in the Letter from Mexico.
