Diabolito or Little Devil (died July 1823) was a 19th-century Cuban pirate. One of the more violent of the era, he engaged the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and Revenue Marine Service several times, being one of the main fugitives hunted and pursued later by American Naval forces during the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States in the Caribbean during the 1820s. He was also known for having a mixed-race crew, which included “English, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Mulattoes, and Negroes.”

Biography

The Cuban-born Diabolito became known as a particularly dangerous pirate operating from his home island during the early 19th century. He among others including Charles Gibbs, and

Roberto Cofresí Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), better known as El Pirata Cofresí, was a pirate from Puerto Rico. He was born into a noble family, but the political and economic difficulties faced by the island as a c ...

were identified as key figures in piracy when President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

authorized the formation of an anti-piracy squadron to combat attacks on American shipping and naval forces occurring off the Florida coast. Based in Key West under Commodore David Porter, a veteran of the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against Sw ...

, the

Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen ...

, and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the "

Mosquito Fleet The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of naval and commercial uses around the world. United States In U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had ten main meanings: #The United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, leading up to and ...

" soon began patrolling the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and the Caribbean. Diabolito and other Cuban-based pirates were easily able to escape from American vessels, either escaping into the back country of the Florida Keys or retreating to Cuba where Porter's forces were unable to pursue. As the years passed, however, Cuban ship owners and other businessmen petitioned for authorities to cooperate with the United States. Spanish officials were unable to continue turning a blind eye to piracy, which often amounted to attacks on lone merchant vessels and fishing boats, and agreed to assist in hunting down Diabolito and others. In April 1823, Diabolito encountered Porter and was cornered off the northern coast of Cuba. After a brief fight, he and his crew abandoned their ships and fled inland. Out of his 70-man crew, 30 were either killed during the fighting or drowned while trying to swim to land. He managed to elude authorities and, acquiring another ship, he set sail for the Yucatan. He again encountered the Mosquito Fleet when USS ''Gallinipper'' and USS ''Mosquito'', commanded by Lieutenant William H. Watson and Lieutenant William Inman respectively, pursued him upon finding him in Cuba once again. Although outnumbering the Americans, whose total force numbered 31 men compared to the 70 or 80 pirates, Watson gave the order to attack and sailed towards the pirates driving them into the sea. The men began abandoning their ship, the 4-gun schooner ''Catalina'', and the American vessels were "soon in the midst of the swimmers, and, laying about right and left, exterminated dozens of them". All of his men were either killed or were captured by local authorities, Diabolito himself being killed in the water when he refused to surrender.Maclay, Edgar Stanton. ''A History of the United States Navy from 1775 to 1901''. Vol. II. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1906. (pg. 37-38)

References

{{Pirates of the Modern Age Year of birth missing 1823 deaths 19th-century Cuban people 19th-century pirates Spanish pirates