Died Ramiro Valdés, one of the main commanders of the Cuban revolution and architect of the G2, the repression, espionage, and political persecution apparatus of the Castro dictatorship. His death, which occurred this Sunday June 21, was confirmed through a brief official note from the leadership of the Communist Party, the State, and the Government, without specifying the causes of death. The regime bids farewell to one of its last "historical commanders", a shadowy figure who remained at the pinnacle of power while the Cuban people sank into oppression.
Beyond the official propaganda, Valdés was the most trusted man of Fidel Castro tasked with consolidating the totalitarian system after 1959. As the first Minister of the Interior (a position he held in two stages: 1961-1968 and 1979-1985), he directed the creation of the State Security and Intelligence bodies, institutions responsible for surveillance, persecution, and repression against opponents, activists, independent journalists, and any form of dissent. Human rights organizations point to him as the historical responsible for the suffering of thousands of political prisoners, religious figures, and critical intellectuals.
His criminal trajectory began with the assault on the Moncada Barracks in 1953, continued as an expeditionary of the Granma yacht in 1956 and as a fighter in the Sierra Maestra, where he was the second-in-command of the Invasion Column No. 8 Ciro Redondo, under the command of "Che" Guevara.
Despite being temporarily sidelined in the 60s to study in the Soviet Union, his loyalty to Castroism allowed him to return to the Political Bureau and hold strategic positions such as Vice Prime Minister and Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers.
