Commander Ramiro Valdés, one of the central figures of the 1959 Cuban Revolution and a historic ally of Fidel Castro, died this Sunday (June 21, 2026) at the age of 94. The information by the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel in a publication in X. The cause of death was not disclosed by the authorities.
Valdés maintained a strong influence on Cuba’s political structure. He was a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party until 2019 and, in recent years, served as deputy prime minister of the island, focusing on managing the national energy crisis.
Born in April 1932, the leader began his activism at the age of 21, participating in the attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953, an action that marked the beginning of the insurgency against the dictator Fulgencio Batista’s regime. He later participated in the landing of the Granma yacht in 1956, being one of the few survivors of the operation alongside Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro and Che Guevara.
After the revolutionaries took power in 1959, Valdés held strategic positions at the top of the Cuban government. He was responsible for heading the State security agency and held the positions of Minister of the Interior, Deputy Minister of Defense, in addition to commanding the Information and Communications portfolio.
During his lifetime, Valdés received the honorary titles of “Hero of the Republic” and “Commander of the Revolution”.
