Biography
He was best known for his strong opposition to Fidel Castro and his leadership of the Cuban American National Foundation. He was considered by some to be the leading figure in the Cuban exile community in Miami, Florida. Canosa volunteered as a young man to fight in the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 shortly after Castro had taken political control of Cuba.
The New York Times' obituary of Jorge Mas Canosa note that three Presidents of the United States:
sought his advice on Cuban affairs to such an extent that many critics of Mr. Mas considered him the principal architect of an American policy they regarded as excessively rigid. Every significant piece of legislation on Cuba since 1980 has borne his imprint, from the establishment of Radio and TV Marti to last year's Helms-Burton Act tightening the economic embargo of Cuba.
In a series of interviews with the New York Times, Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile paramilitary who claimed responsibility for the bombings at hotels and nightclubs in Cuba in 1997 and is accused of the bombing of Cubana Flight 455, said his activities were directly supported by Jorge Mas Canosa. Posada later disputed the Times claims, but the Times defended its story. According to the London Observer:
The New York Times' claim that Mas Canosa and other foundation leaders funded Posada's terrorist acts has brought threats of legal action from the organisation. The paper has stood by its story, saying its account was based on more than 100 different sources in North and Latin America and FBI files on Posada and Mas Canosa.
Jorge Mas Canosa was the founder of MasTec a publicly traded utility engineering and contracting company. His son Jose Ramon Mas Santos is the current head of the company and was featured on the television program Undercover Boss.
His parents were Dr. Ramon Mas Cayado and Josefa de Carmen Canosa Aguilera and his siblings were Nancy, Ramon, Ricardo and Raul Mas-Canosa. He was married to Irma Santos-Espronceda and they had three children; Juan Carlos, Jose Ramon, and Jorge Mas-Santos. He is buried at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum).
A school was built and named Jorge Mas Canosa in tribute.
Read more about this topic: Jorge Mas Canosa
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“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
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