Cuban Revolutionary Figure Ramiro Valdes Dies at 94

June 22, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Ramiro Valdes, a veteran figure of Cuba’s 1959 revolution and one of Fidel Castro’s closest early allies, has died at the age of 94.

Valdes was among the small group of revolutionaries who helped bring Castro’s movement to power and later became a senior official in Cuba’s government and ruling Communist Party. He held the titles “Hero of the Republic” and “Commander of the Revolution” and remained a member of the party’s powerful Political Bureau until 2019.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced Valdes’ death in a social media post, describing the loss as one that “hurts deeply, like that of a father.” He ended his message with the phrase, “Until victory, always, Commander!”

Valdes was born on April 28, 1932, and joined Fidel Castro’s early revolutionary movement as a young man. At 21, he took part in the 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks, an event that became a turning point in the struggle against the government of Fulgencio Batista.

After being exiled with Castro in Mexico, Valdes returned to Cuba in 1956 aboard the yacht Granma with 81 other revolutionaries. Only 12 members of the expedition survived the early fighting, including Valdes, who later joined Castro’s forces in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

During the final stage of the revolution, Valdes served as deputy commander to Ernesto “Che” Guevara and fought alongside him during the Battle of Santa Clara, a decisive confrontation before Batista left power on January 1, 1959.

Following the revolution, Valdes became a central figure in Cuba’s state security system and held several senior positions, including interior minister, vice minister of defence, minister of information and communications, and vice president.

Source: FSX Business News