Pedro Miret Prieto

He was a Cuban military officer and politician. Hero of the Republic of Cuba. He participated with Fidel Castro in the assault on the Moncada Barracks for which he suffered imprisonment on the Isle of Pines. In 1955 he joined the National Directorate of the 26th of July Movement from its creation until his departure to Mexico to participate in the preparations for the Granma expedition but did not take part in it because he was detained in that country. In March 1958 he arrived clandestinely in Cuba, joining the ranks of the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra. He ended the war with the rank of Commander.

After the triumph of the Revolution he was Undersecretary of Defense, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Mining, Metallurgy and Fuel. He was also a deputy to the National Assembly and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

He was confined in the Military Hospital where they injected air and camphor into his veins with the aim of assassinating him. He saved his life thanks to an army medical captain named Tamayo, who upon realizing the situation, gun in hand, transferred him, along with Abelardo Crespo and Fidel Labrador to the Civil Hospital.

He was born on February 19, 1927 in the city of Santiago de Cuba. He began his revolutionary activities following the coup d'état of March 10, 1952; he was part of the assailants of the Moncada Barracks.

After the assault on the Moncada he was confined in the Military Hospital where they injected air and camphor into his veins with the aim of assassinating him. He saved his life thanks to an army medical captain named Tamayo, who upon realizing the situation, gun in hand, transferred him, along with Abelardo Crespo and Fidel Labrador to the Civil Hospital.

After the trial he suffered imprisonment in what was then the National Penitentiary of the Isle of Pines, andon October 12, the Minister of Interior, Ramón Heredia, ordered that the group of revolutionaries condemned for the Moncada events, within which Pedro Miret was found, be transferred to the National Penitentiary of the Isle of Pines. According to the Court's orders they should remain in special facilities, separated from common prisoners. Miret was placed, along with the rest of his companions, in one of the hospital wards of the prison, separated from common prisoners by a brick wall that was built for that purpose. Shortly after he was allowed to receive one visit a month and some correspondence, which was always severely reviewed and censored. During his confinement in the Isle of Pines prison, Pedro Miret was in charge of presiding over the meetings that dealt with common matters. In this mission he was assisted by Israel Tapanes as secretary.

Thanks to the amnesty decreed by the government, on May 15, 1955 he was released along with his political prison companions.

He was part of the National Directorate of the 26th of July Movement from its creation in 1955 until the departure to Mexico to participate in the preparations for the Granma expedition, of which he was not a part after being detained in that country. He joined the Rebel Army under the orders of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra in March 1958 and achieved the rank of Commander in December of that year. 

In January 1959 he held the position of Undersecretary of National Defense. On June 12 of that same year he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, a position he held until December 1960 when this Ministry was dissolved. Afterwards he held the same responsibility in the Ministry of Mining, Metallurgy and Fuel.

He held important responsibilities within the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces, among them that of First Vice Minister, and heading the artillery, he participated in the battles of the Bay of Pigs. 

In addition, he held various ministerial positions and was Vice President of the Council of Ministers in the period from 1983 to 2009. 

He was elected a member of the Party's Central Committee and Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power since its constitution in 1965 and 1976, respectively. He was a member of the Council of State from the First to the Sixth Legislature, and Vice President of this body between 1986 and 1993. He was part of the Political Bureau from the First Congress of the Party in 1975 until its Fourth Congress held in 1991. He was elected to the Secretariat of the Central Committee in the First and Second Congresses. 

For the countless services rendered and his loyalty to the Party and the Revolution, he received numerous decorations and recognitions. He held the status of Founder of our Party and the honorary title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba. 

Miret died at age 88 from a myocardial infarction in Havana.