Pedro Sotto Alba

Cuban revolutionary combatant. First lieutenant of the Rebel Army and member of the Movement 26 of July.

He joined the Cuban exiles who in Mexico, under the direction of Fidel Castro, sought to initiate armed struggle against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and was one of the 82 expeditionaries of the yacht Granma who landed on December 2, 1956 in the south of the province of Oriente. After the defeat at Alegría de Pío he managed to evade the army's encirclement and remain hidden until he rejoined the Rebel Army in March 1957.

Founder of the Second Eastern Front Frank País where he achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. He died from wounds received during the attack on Moa on June 26, 1958 and was posthumously promoted to captain. The nickel plant in Moa currently bears his name.

He was born at the El Becerro farm in La Julia, Bayamo, Oriente. From a young age he went to work to contribute to family support and became a sheet metal worker.

He joined the revolutionary struggle shortly after the coup d'état of March 10, 1952.

He went into exile in Mexico and joined the revolutionaries who, with Fidel, were preparing an armed expedition to fight against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He was one of the 82 expeditionaries of the Granma who landed in the south of the province of Oriente on December 2, 1956.

Along with the rest of his comrades he was surprised at Alegría de Pío while camping. After the dispersion caused by this combat he was able to evade the army's encirclement and remain hidden from repressive forces until he rejoined the Rebel Army with the rank of lieutenant in the first reinforcement sent from the plains by the chief of Action and Sabotage of the Movement 26 of July, Frank País García. When Raúl Castro left the Sierra Maestra to create the II Eastern Front Frank País, Pedro Sotto Alba was among the guerrillas selected to accompany him. In the II Front he was promoted to first lieutenant of the Rebel Army.

On the night of June 26, 1958 the troops of the II Front attacked Moa. Pedro Sotto Alba led the attack on the Rural Guard barracks. His men advanced until they were about fifteen meters from the barracks and opened fire. The gunfire became widespread and Pedro Sotto received a wound to the stomach that proved fatal. His chief, commander Raúl Castro, presided over his funeral and referred to Pedro Sotto as:

" (…) the highest symbol of the responsibility of the generation."

Immediately he decreed his posthumous promotion to captain of the Rebel Army. He also named him Commander of Honor of all holders of the Order of Revolutionary Merit of the Frank País Legion of Honor. Raúl promised at his burial on the banks of the Sagua River that when the war was won the nickel plant in Moa would bear the name of Pedro Sotto Alba.