April 28 marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Carlos Muñiz Varela in Puerto Rico, and his killers, at least those who still survive four decades after their cowardly crime, roam freely the streets of San Juan, Miami or whatever city they currently poison with their presence. 

The crime was perpetrated “by elements of the Cuban extreme right in Puerto Rico as a result of Carlos’ efforts to make possible the travel of Cubans to Cuba, the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba and his position related to the independence of Puerto Rico and the social and political project that was developed in its country of origin, Cuba,” said Raúl Álzaga, a friend and partner of Muñiz Varela who has never given up on bringing the criminals to justice. 

It may be hard to believe, but for four decades impunity has defeated justice in the murder of Muñiz Varela, who was only 26 when was he was gunned down outside of San Juan, on April 28, 1979. To this day, his assassins have not been brought to justice, even though for a long time plenty of information about their identities, motives and methods has existed. 

"U.S. authorities, particularly the FBI, have known since 1979, two months after the murder, who were the killers," Álzaga has said. 

The Cuban-born Muñiz Varela was a pioneer of travel to his home country, an unforgivable sin to extremist Cuban-Americans. He had lived in Puerto Rico most of his life where he, Álzaga and Ricardo Fraga founded Viajes Varadero, the first Cuban travel agency opened under a deal negotiated in Havana between Cuban exiles and the Cuban government in 1978. 

As I reported in a previous column “Ninety Cuban-Americans took the first historic trip to their home country in December of that year and received an emotional welcome from their relatives at Havana's José Martí Airport. Four months later, Muñiz Varela was assassinated.” Muñiz Varela was survived by his wife and two children, Carlos Muñiz Pérez, 5, and Yamaira Muñiz Pérez, born less than a year before. Forty years later they haven’t wavered in their demand for justice. 

Muñiz Varela’s son, now 45, is an architect in San Juan. His commitment to bring the criminals to justice is as strong today as when he wrote these words on April 28, 2011: 

"At 32 years of your murder, but not of your 'death,' your smile, your hands and your profound eyes are more alive than ever in our memory," Muñiz Pérez wrote of his father, on the anniversary of his murder eight years ago. 

 "My father was victim of a conspiracy organized and financed by members of the Cuban extreme right in Puerto Rico, who were supported by similar groups in the U.S.," Muñiz Pérez added.  

Forty years after his murder, the pain has not subsided for Muñiz Varela’s family and friends and their struggle for justice continues unabated. 

“We will continue working for the declassification of more documents and for getting justice done by prosecuting the murderers of Carlos who we know still live, some in Miami and others in San Juan. We will not rest until we achieve it. We would not like to conclude that the FBI could have clarified this murder and did not,” Álzaga said. “We will continue asking, we will continue demanding, we will continue fighting until justice is done. It is not asking too much."