Annie Bain, the widow of Grenada's Minister of Housing, shares her search for answers about the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Witnesses recount chilling details, a soldier describes a horrific incident at a fort, and a former investigator digs for answers but finds an empty burial site. Annie Bain is convinced that someone knows what happened.
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Quick takeaways
Annie Bain encountered officers investigating the assassinations who showed her jewelry, indicating that they had recovered her husband's ring, raising questions about what happened to the remains of the executed individuals.
Colin Brathwaite, a police officer involved in the investigation, found that the grave at Calavani Army camp had been dug up and the bodies were missing, demonstrating the frustration and difficulties in locating the remains.
Deep dives
The Assassination and Invasion
In October 1983, Grenada's Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and his cabinet members were assassinated in a coup. The United States then launched an invasion of the Caribbean island. The bodies of the executed individuals, including Bishop, went missing, creating a never-resolved mystery.
Annie's Encounter and Clues
Annie Bain, whose husband was executed alongside Bishop, had an encounter with officers investigating the assassinations. They showed her jewelry, including her husband's ring. Annie believed this meant they had recovered the ring from his body. However, the officers could not explain what happened to the remains, leaving Annie with unanswered questions.
Efforts to Locate the Bodies
Colin Brathwaite, a police officer from Barbados who was part of the investigation, searched for the bodies at the Calavani Army camp. However, when he arrived, the grave had been dug up and the bodies were missing. Colin encountered difficulties in locating the remains and was frustrated by the lack of answers.
US Military Findings
Photographs and news reports from November 1983 revealed that the US military did find bodies at Calavani. The remains were exhumed, examined by a forensic team, and taken to the US for further analysis. However, the results of the examination were not widely known, leading to speculation about what actually happened during the examination.
In October of 1983, Grenada's Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was assassinated in a coup, along with seven of his cabinet members and supporters. Six days later, the United States invaded the island country, and took control of it. The bodies of those eight people were never found.
Annie Bain's husband, Grenada's Minister of Housing, was one of the people killed alongside the Prime Minister. For 40 years, she's sought answers about what happened. And now, she's convinced that someone knows.
This week we're sharing an episode from the Washington Post's podcast: The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop.