Key facts
- Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a key figure of the Cuban Revolution and ally of Fidel Castro, died at 94.
- Valdés was a participant in the Moncada Barracks attack and fought alongside Fidel Castro.
- He was the inaugural head of Cuba's Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and founded state security departments.
- President Miguel Díaz-Canel described Valdés as "like a father" and praised his loyalty.
- Valdés's death reduces the founding generation of the Cuban Revolution to two figures: Raúl Castro and Guillermo García Frías.
Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a pivotal figure in the Cuban Revolution and a close ally of Fidel Castro, has died at the age of 94. His passing was announced by Cuba's Communist Party and government, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressing profound grief and likening Valdés's loss to that of a father.
Valdés was a veteran of the revolution, participating in the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack and the Granma expedition, and fighting in the Rebel Army. Following the 1959 revolution, he was instrumental in establishing Cuba's state security apparatus, serving as the first Minister of the Interior (MININT) and founding key intelligence directorates. He held the ministerial post twice and also served as Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers.
President Díaz-Canel lauded Valdés's "absolute loyalty" to Fidel and Raúl Castro and his dedication to the revolution's program. Valdés's absence from public life since September 2025 had led to speculation about his health, with his conspicuous absence from a recent MININT anniversary ceremony further fueling these concerns.
With Valdés's death, the number of surviving figures from the revolution's founding generation has dwindled to two: Raúl Castro and Guillermo García Frías. Several other prominent commanders have passed away in recent years, including Fidel Castro himself in 2016.