(Cuba) (Opium) (Chinese Immigration) Judicial Case Files on the Prosecution of Two Chinese Immigrants for Operating an Opium Den, Havana, Cuba.

Composed of more than 80 individual documents, the present case files chronicle the prosecution of two Chinese immigrants, Francisco Chi and Kuang Wung Seng (aka Felipe Chi and “El Viejo”), under Cuba’s “Ley de 25 de Julio 1919.” This decree criminalized opium and its byproducts, as well as designating any place in which it was found (or suspected to be present) as an opium den. The reclassification of private spaces into illicit commercial enterprises had serious legal implications for the Chinese community in Havana. The law undermined traditional protections against warrantless search and seizure and provided an effective mechanism for the Cuban state to police the private lives of Chinese immigrants under the guise of social hygiene. As historian Katherine López has argued, the Ley de 1919 criminalized the Chinese cultural practice of communal smoking, central to male social life in a bachelor immigrant community, and reinforced the idea of the Chinese as a source of moral and physical contagion in Cuban society.  

This is a particularly illustrative and complex case - in July 1929, the defendant Franciso Chi was detained, indicted, prosecuted, and eventually convicted for the possession and sale of opium. The other suspect, El Viejo, initially fled, and although he and his many aliases appear in the files, including letters regarding what seems to be his recapture and imprisonment, Chi is the main subject. The extensive reporting describes surveillance of the accused, the seizure of a minor amount of drugs and paraphernalia, 175 pesos, and some personal effects; the files also include correspondence, demographic data, depositions, notes on the movement of the prisoner, defensive arguments, judicial conclusions, and many examples of Chi’s manuscript Chinese signature verifying that he had been provided adequate translation of the proceedings. 

Police testimony in his case and the demanding juridical process highlight the precarious legal status of Chinese immigrants during this era and the use of minor infractions to extract revenue through predatory fines and bail. Chi was represented by a Cuban lawyer and although he likely made around 1 peso a day or less as a farm laborer (his listed occupation), he was able to post the expensive bail of 1000 pesos through a bail bond company. One of the most fascinating aspects of the case is represented by the bond he used, included in this group of material and issued by “La Luz de Oriente" S.A. Compañía General de Fianzas. “The Light of the East” was probably the subsidiary of a Chinese corporate association (e.g. Casino Chung Wah), in which community capital was pooled to pay the state fines and bail of Chinese men targeted by the national and sanitary police. 

The final section of the case file includes significant controversy over the solvency of La Luz de Oriente and its legal right to post bail for Chi; a lengthy and impassioned letter from his lawyer challenges the court’s refusal to accept the company’s bond and the constitutionality of keeping the accused in prison indefinitely. Further correspondence suggests the bond was eventually accepted, or at least Chi was released despite the court’s continued rejection of La Luz de Oriente’s surety, but he failed to appear back in court for his conviction. The last few letters address the state’s seizure and deposit of the 1000 peso bond and the secret police’s search for Chi. The file ends with a letter from February, 1930, stating that he has not been found and is not known to the sugar mill he claimed as his employer when arrested.  

Altogether a compelling and granular record of the use of social hygiene laws to undermine the legal rights of Chinese immigrants in Cuba and punish them with burdensome financial penalties, specifically highlighting aspects of criminal law, the Cuban penal system, and the survival strategies of immigrants persecuted within these systems.

See: López, Kathleen. Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History. Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2013.

Comprised of 80+ documents, broken into 4 principal groups;

1. Court case: a printed paper folder, 32 x 22.25 cm, containing 47 leaves; 1-47 leaves numbered recto. The first leaf is unnumbered and contains an index to the original case documents against the two defendants, with page numbers. Some of the documents are printed legal forms completed in typescript or manuscript, others are letters or testimony in typescript or manuscript. Some are witnessed in Chinese by the accused, Francisco Chi, at least one other Chinese signature appears, possibly of a translator. Leaves of various sizes, most near the folder dimensions, yellowed, some leaves fraying at edges, scattered closed tears and insect damage, outer folder thumbed with some staining. Folder separated, recent amateur tape repair.

2. Bail: a printed paper folder, 31.5 x 21.2 cm, titled “Incidente de Embargo,” concerning the setting of bail, containing 5 numbered leaves, some preprinted and completed in typescript or manuscript. Minor darkening, leaves frayed at some edges, a few small closed tears and chips, pinholes from an earlier binding? 

3. Printed bond policy document, completed in manuscript ink, for a surety bond of 1000 pesos for Francisco Chi, from La Luz de Oriente, Compañia General de Fianzas. 31.2 x 21.5 cm, single leaf, printed recto and verso, edgeworn, colors bright.

4. Prison, Release, and Disappearance: A printed paper folder, 31.5 x 21 cm, “Incidente de Prison,” 32 leaves, leaves 1-21 numbered. A few of the documents are printed legal forms completed in typescript or manuscript, others are letters or testimony in typescript or manuscript. Many written on Carcel de la Habana stationary, some from the Departamento de Vivac. A few with the Chinese signature of Chi and possibly El Viejo. Toned and edgeworn.