Ramiro Valdés Menéndez

Cuban revolutionary fighter, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, and Commander of the Revolution. He participated in the Moncada Barracks assault on July 26, 1953, was an expeditionary aboard the yacht Granma on December 2, 1956, and fought in the Sierra Maestra against the Batista dictatorship. He served as second-in-command of Invasion Column 8 "Ciro Redondo," led by Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, and played a decisive role in the Battle of Santa Clara before the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959. After the revolutionary victory, he was one of the founders of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in 1961, which he led on two separate occasions. He also served as First Deputy Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Minister of Information Technology and Communications, and Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers. He was a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba and a Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power.