Ramiro Valdes, a commander in Cuba's communist revolution and the architect of the country's notorious intelligence apparatus, has died at the age of 94, according to an announcement from the president.
On social media platform X, President Miguel Diaz-Canel described Valdes as a father figure and praised his exemplary dedication to the homeland.
Valdes was one of the last surviving revolutionary figures, alongside the 95-year-old Raul Castro. He was also a close ally of Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 at age 90.
“Every action in Commander Ramiro's life was marked by absolute loyalty to the leadership of #Fidel and #Raúl, to his comrades, and to the Moncada Program, the just essence of which he defended,” Diaz-Canel wrote.
He was referring to the ideological foundation of the Cuban revolution, named after the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks aimed at overthrowing then-leader Fulgencio Batista.
Valdes participated in that attack alongside Fidel Castro and later became a military leader, fighting alongside Argentine-born Ernesto “Che” Guevara before Batista was ousted in 1958.
He went on to become a senior member of the Cuban Communist Party, the country's sole political party, serving twice as Interior Minister and once as Vice President.
While in government, he helped establish the notorious state security intelligence agency G2, modeled on Russia's KGB, which surveilled and repressed domestic dissidents while tracking potential adversaries abroad.
The announcement of his death came just days after the Cuban Communist Party approved a series of free-market measures, representing the biggest overhaul of the country's economic strategy since the revolution.
The measures aim to further decentralize the state-run economy, create more space for private enterprise, allow exports and imports without state intermediation, and permit free hiring of personnel.
The package also allows for the establishment of private banks and investment by Cubans living abroad.
Diaz-Canel defended the plan, which has the backing of Raul Castro, arguing that internal obstacles as well as external pressures were responsible for the island's dire economic situation.
That situation has worsened amid a fuel blockade by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened military intervention to overthrow the communist government.
