By Ramón Taborda Strusiat - VGM Carlos Eduardo Cequeira passed away this Saturday, April 19, in Ushuaia. He landed in a kayak on the Malvinas Islands on April 1, 1982, becoming the first Argentine to set foot on sovereign soil, accompanied by his comrade Lieutenant Bernardo Schweizer.
Bernardo Schweizer and Carlos Cequeira were members of the Amphibious Commando Group. They arrived on April 1, 1982, at around 10:00 p.m.
This operation, carried out by the Amphibious Commando group, sought to recover the Malvina Islands by capturing the Royal Marines headquarters and the Governor's house.
The objective was perfectly achieved. The British forces were deported back to their country without suffering any casualties, as had been requested of the Argentine troops in order to be able to negotiate with Great Britain.
Among the 94 men who undertook the first mission to those lands were Bernardo Schweizer and Carlos Cequeira , the first Argentines to set foot on the islands around 10:00 p.m. on April 1.
“My right foot was the first to touch the ground. Actually, it was my back, because when I got off, I fell because I had frog legs,” “Negro” Cequeira always remembered, laughing.
“I was part of the group that had to disembark first, we left from Santísima Trinidad. There were two kayaks and two rubber boats, but one kayak broke during the crossing. There were 12 of us,” he said. “We sailed diagonally. It was fast. I didn’t want to go in a rubber boat through the cachiyuyos, if they caught you, they could stop your engine.”
The kayak used to open the beach in Malvinas was exhibited in 2005 at the Virginia Choquintel Municipal Museum in Río Grande.
Sources:
Red 23
Fuegian Radio
