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

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”.

Valdes 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.

Economic reforms

The announcement of his death comes just days after Cuba’s Communist Party approved a series of free-market measures, representing the largest overhaul of the country’s economic strategy since the revolution.

The measures were set to further decentralise Cuba’s state-run economy, creating more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation and free hiring of personnel.

The package also allows for the authorisation of private banks and investment by Cubans abroad.

Diaz-Canel defended the plan, which has been endorsed by Raul Castro, saying internal obstacles, as well as external pressures, were to blame for the island nation’s dire economic plight.

That situation has worsened amid an ongoing fuel blockade imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has repeatedly threatened military intervention to overthrow the Communist government.