Jesús Sosa Blanco (1907/08 – February 18, 1959) was a colonel in the Cuban army under Fulgencio Batista. After Fidel Castro came to power on February 16, 1959, Sosa was arrested and charged with having committed 108 murders for Batista. His show trial took place in the Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva, before 17,000 spectators. The trial was televised. Prior to his execution he was heard to say that the scenes were "worthy of ancient Rome". On February 18, he was found guilty and executed. After his trial, other trials and executions were no longer broadcast live. Gabriel García Márquez attended the trial and execution and used the incident as the basis for his 1975 novel, The Autumn of the Patriarch. In popular culture In Rachel Kushner's 2008 novel Telex from Cuba, Sosa Blanco is described as having been convicted and imprisoned for murdering his wife, mother-in-law and sister-in-law before Batista released him to help establish the Rural Guard. See also Havana Plan Piloto Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva References External links Trials Make 'roman Holiday' (1959) 1959 - Military tribunal puts Batista colonel Sosa Blanco on trial in the Havana Sports Palace of Cuba. 1959 Time magazine report of Sosa Blanco's trial 1900s births 1959 deaths Cuban soldiers Year of birth uncertain People executed by Cuba by firing squad Executed Cuban people 20th-century executions by Cuba