Cuban revolutionary commander Ramiro Valdés dies at 94

Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a commander of the Cuban Revolution and one of its last surviving founders, died in Havana on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the age of 94. His death was announced by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who declared a period of official mourning and described the loss as hurting deeply, like that of a father.

Valdés was a central figure in the armed struggle that brought Fidel Castro to power. At age 21, he participated in the failed 1953 assault on the Moncada Barracks, an event considered the revolution's opening act. Exiled to Mexico, he was among the 82 rebels who sailed on the yacht Granma in 1956 to reignite the insurgency against dictator Fulgencio Batista. He was one of only about a dozen survivors of that landing, a group that included Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Valdés fought as Guevara's deputy commander in the Sierra Maestra mountains and played a key role in the decisive Battle of Santa Clara in late 1958.

After the revolutionary victory on January 1, 1959, Valdés held some of the highest positions in the Cuban government for decades. He founded the Ministry of the Interior in 1961 and served twice as its minister, building...