Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a former vice president and a key figure of the Cuban Revolution who fought alongside Fidel Castro, died Sunday, the Communist Party and Cuba’s government said. He was 94.
Valdés was one of the closest allies of Fidel and his brother Raúl Castro since the 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks that marked the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. He remained an influential figure in the following decades.
The joint statement did not provide details on the cause of death.
“Ramiro Valdés Menéndez deserves the respect and admiration of the Cuban people for his dedication and proven loyalty to the revolutionary cause,” said the statement published by the official news portal Cubadebate.
On X, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Valdés’ death hurt like the loss of a father.
“Every act in Commander Ramiro’s life was marked by his absolute loyalty to the leadership of Fidel and Raúl,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said.
Valdés was born April 28, 1932, in the western city of Artemisa.
He was 21 when he joined Fidel Castro’s 1953 attack on the Moncada military barracks, the opening act of the revolution that would eventually overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Valdés later fought under the command of legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara and became one of the few rebels to hold the honorary title of Commander of the Revolution. He was also awarded the title “Hero of the Republic of Cuba.”
Valdés fell out with Fidel Castro while serving as interior minister in 1986 and was considered out of the main circle of power until 2003, when he rejoined the Council of State.
In 2006, Raul Castro chose Valdés to lead the telecommunications ministry in his first major decision after taking over presidential powers from his convalescing brother, Fidel. Three years later, Valdés was elevated to vice president.
Just before turning 79 in 2011, he was elected the Communist Party’s number three leader, behind only Raúl Castro and José Ramón Machado Ventura, another veteran revolutionary figure.
Valdés rarely appeared in public and never spoke to the press.
After his clash with Castro, he disappeared from public life until 1997, when he led a mission to Bolivia to locate and repatriate the remains of Guevara, who had been killed in the South American country three decades earlier while attempting to spark a revolution there.
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