Emilio Milián (September 8, 1931 – March 15, 2001) was a Cuban-American radio commentator and newscaster. Known for his criticism both of communism and of terrorist activity among the Cuban exiles in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, he was the victim of a car-bombing attack in 1976 which left him disabled.

Biography

Emilio Milián was born in the Las Villas Province of Cuba in September 1931. He emigrated to Mexico in 1965 with his wife and three children. After some months, the family moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, in the US state of

. There, Milián began working for a radio station named WMIE as a sports commentator, and also bought a print shop. This station was eventually renamed

WQBA WQBA (1140 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish talk/sports format. Licensed to Miami, Florida, United States, the station is owned by Latino Media Network; under a local marketing agreement, it was operated by former owner Televis ...

, and Milián rose to become its news director in 1971. He presented a Spanish program on WQBA in the 1970s, which was popular among the Cuban exile population in southern Florida. ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

'' stated in 1976 that Milián's radio station had the largest audience of any in the Miami metropolitan area. Milián was best known for criticizing

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

on his radio program "Habla el Pueblo" (The People Speak). However, he also criticized the Cuban exiles who carried out terrorist attacks against the Cuban government, and who believed themselves to be Cuban patriots. The positions he took brought him praise, but also led to him being branded a traitor, and to him receiving death threats. In April 1976, a bomb went off in Milián's car when he started it to return home from work. Milián lost both his legs in the attack, which is generally attributed to his outspoken criticism of violence committed by Cuban exiles. Milián also suffered injuries to his

ear drum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pressur ...

s and eyes. Two Cuban exiles, Gaspar Jiménez and Gustavo Castillo, were indicted by a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

for the bombing in April 1981, nearly five years after it took place. Investigators in the case had identified Jiménez as a chief suspect. A witness said he saw Jiménez working on Milian's car shortly before the bombing. The indictments were kept secret, as the two men were serving prison sentences in Mexico on charges of having kidnapped a Cuban consul, and prosecutors were afraid they would attempt to avoid arrest if the indictments were known. However, soon after Jiménez was released from prison in 1983, the indictments were dropped, with the prosecuting attorney stating that there was insufficient evidence. No one was prosecuted for the bombing. Milian left his job at WQBA after the attack, but returned to working in radio in 1989. He later worked at 670-AM, another radio station, and held this position until late 2000. He died in March 2001, at the age of 69. During the later part of his life, he suffered from heart disease and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

References

External links

Detailed accounts
of the bombing and its investigation in ''The Miami Herald''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milian, Emilio 1931 births 2001 deaths American anti-communists American amputees American people of Cuban descent American radio hosts American terrorism victims Cuban anti-communists Journalists from Miami Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States