Ramiro Valdes, one of Cuba’s last living revolutionary figures, dies at 94

Valdes was close ally of Castro brothers and helped to found Cuba’s notorious intelligence apparatus.Ramiro Valdes, a commander in Cuba’s Communist revolution and architect of the country’s notorious intelligence apparatus, has died at 94, according to the country’s president.Posting on X on Sunday, Miguel Diaz-Canel likened Valdes to a father figure, while praising his “exemplary dedication to the service of the homeland”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UN human rights leader calls for Cuba sanctions to be ‘lifted immediately’list 2 of 3US military chief Hegseth warns Cuba against acquiring military armslist 3 of 3Trump administration sanctions Cuba’s national oil company, blasts Castrosend of listValdes was among the last surviving leaders of the revolution, along with 95-year-old Raul Castro. He was also a close ally of Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 aged 90.“Every act in Commander Ramiro’s life was marked by his absolute fidelity to the leadership of #Fidel and #Raúl, to his fellow fighters, and to the Moncada Program, whose just essence he defended,” Diaz-Canel wrote.He made reference to the ideological underpinnings of the Cuban revolution, named after the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in an effort to overthrow the country’s then leader, Fulgencio Batista.Valdes took part in the attack alongside Fidel Castro and was later a military leader, fighting alongside Argentina’s Ernesto “Che” Guevara, ahead of Batista’s toppling in 1958.He went on to be a top member of the Cuban Communist Party, the country’s only political party, and twice served as minister of the interior and once as vice president.While in government, he helped establish the notorious G2 state security intelligence service, which followed Russia’s KGB closely, monitoring and cracking down on domestic dissent while monitoring perceived foes outside of the country.