Samuel Carlos Rodriguez Planas

General of Division of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba. He joined the Rebel Army where he was Second Chief of Column No. 6. After the triumph of 1959 he held, among other positions, Second Chief of the National Revolutionary Police, Chief of Staff and Second Chief of the Western Army, and Chief of the FAR Inspection Body. He was appointed Chief of Cuba's Military Mission in Angola.

After the Bay of Pigs in 1961, he completed the First Course for Unit Leaders, later, in 1964, the First Advanced Basic Course and in 1969 he completed the Advanced Academic Course. Along with all this, there has been constant cultural improvement. In 1978, for example, he finished a degree in Social Sciences. General Rodiles has likewise held numerous military responsibilities: Chief of Infantry Division, UM 1270, Chief of Staff of the Armored Corps, Chief of the Western Army, Chief of the Secretary to the Minister of the FAR and Chief of the Inspection Body of the Armed Forces.

Rodiles is the current President of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution. Member of the Central Committee of the Party and Deputy to the National Assembly. In April 2012 he was appointed president of the Institute of Physical Planning.

He was born in Caimanera, Guantánamo. His parents and siblings collaborated with the July 26 Movement, so the entire family had to rise up, with him being the first to go to the mountains.

He studied at the Sarah Ashhurst School, known as the American School of Guantánamo, today Rafael Orejón Forment School, at Máximo Gómez No. 857. He also participated in the First National Student Games, representing the Guantánamo Institute in Santiago de Cuba, obtaining 4 first places in field and track events, then representing the Oriente province in the competition in the capital, obtaining a Silver medal in Javelin Throw, this result was published by the newspaper El Mundo[2].

He began working in the offices of the Cuban Electricity Company, following in the footsteps of his father who was an electrical engineer. While in the fourth year of high school he was elected vice president of the Student Association and, later, president, when the classmate who had been chosen for that position abandoned the struggle. After participating in a strike with several students he was expelled for life from the Institute in late 1952[2]. Although he was expelled from the institute, his sanction was only valid within Guantánamo, so he was able to continue his studies in the city of Santiago de Cuba with the help of an uncle.

After the Bay of Pigs in 1961, he completed the First Course for Unit Leaders, later, in 1964, the First Advanced Basic Course and in 1969 he completed the Advanced Academic Course. Along with all this, there has been constant cultural improvement. In 1978 he finished a degree in Social Sciences.

Revolutionary Career

He joined the July 26 Movement in 1955 through Enrique Soto Gómez, First Coordinator of the movement in Guantánamo, cooperating with money, an automatic rifle, the sale of bonds, distribution of bombs, grenades, propaganda, etc. He became part of the leadership of the Movement in Action and Sabotage, as chief of a cell made up of 10 comrades.

In January 1958 the comrade René Ramos Latour proposed that he be Chief of Action and Sabotage for the province of Matanzas, but he rose up in the Sierra Cristal, in the Mayarí Abajo area where they were being received in small groups by Fredy Ramos Latour. He was responsible for the Supply of Column 6 and participated in courts to judge bandits, informants and criminals.

He was also in charge of collecting taxes from the landowners and main merchants of the area. After participating (as Chief of the reinforcement group of the Shock Troops of Column 6) in the battle of Loma de la Victoria (La Mariposa), Commander Raúl Castro promoted him to Captain on July 31, appointing him Second Chief of Column 6 Juan Manuel Ameijeiras Delgado.

He participated in numerous battles: La Lima, Moa (first attack), La Mariposa, the two attacks on Nicaro, the ambush and capture of two military trains on the Tiguabos curve, against the barracks of Soledad, Ermita, Imías, San Vicente, ambush of the CMQ and Microwave installations, Puerto de Boniato, La Maya and others. In December 1958 the Commander in Chief promoted him to Commander of the Rebel Army.

The revolutionary triumph caught him skirting Guantánamo. The order Raúl gave was to take that city. He took part in the takeover of the airport, the barracks and the institute.

Around January 6, 1959 he entered Havana with the specific order to guarantee Fidel Castro's entry. Che and Camilo Cienfuegos had already arrived. Upon the revolutionary triumph they appointed him Chief of the Motorized Radio. Subsequently Inspector General and Second Chief of the PNR. He was also Supervisor of the Investigation Bureau. Later Chief of the DTI. In November 1959 he was appointed Chief of the Inspection Department of the MINFAR (Army, Police and Navy).

On April 15, due to the events of the mercenary attack at the Bay of Pigs, Fidel gave instructions to guarantee order and neutralize along with Security any counter-revolutionary elements if an invasion occurred. On the 18th Fidel explained that the Police Battalion had to go to the Bay of Pigs. In the evening of April 19 he was among the first combatants to enter the Bay of Pigs to prevent the mercenaries in the bay from reinforcing Playa Larga and those at Playa Larga from retreating to the bay.

Positions Held

Chief of Infantry Division, UM 1270
Chief of Staff of the Armored Corps
Chief of the Western Army
Chief of the Secretary to the Minister of the FAR
Chief of the Inspection Body of the Armed Forces
President of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (ACRC)
President of the Institute of Physical Planning
Internationalist Missions

General Rodiles Plana waves the National Flag in triumph as he boards the last plane as the final Cuban internationalist combatant, concluding the mission in Angola.

General Rodiles Plana waves the National Flag in triumph as he boards the last plane as the final Cuban internationalist combatant, concluding the mission in Angola.
He completed an internationalist mission in Angola as Second Chief of Cuba's Military Mission in that country from 1978 to 1980. He was later appointed Chief of Staff.

In 1987. I participated in the various activities of our troops in the South. At that time I was serving as Chief of Staff of the Mission. I visited all the places where our combatants were located.
There were many acts of heroism. I cannot forget the pilots, tankmen, sappers, artillerymen, infantry who, together with the Angolans, fought the battles that led us to victory.

Constantly. We spoke twice a day. Once in the afternoon and once at night. In one of the conversations he asked me more than twenty questions, and was even interested in knowing whether it had rained in Cuito Cuanavale. He had exact knowledge of everything that was happening in Angola, as did Raúl, with whom I spoke on several occasions. In 1989 the now General of Army Corps Leopoldo Cintra (Polo) returned to Cuba to take charge of the Western Army. Before traveling to Havana we went to see President José Eduardo Dos Santos. We delivered him a letter from the Commander in Chief, informing him of the change in the Mission's leadership.

Decorations
Honorary Title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba

Interview conducted by Luis Báez
—Where are you from?

—I was born in Caimanera and a year later we moved to Guantánamo. We are seven siblings: four boys and three girls (2 deceased). I remember that Toñito (the oldest of the boys) was the first to introduce me to student and revolutionary activities. He originated in the family the current of struggle against injustices.

Fidel presents Rodiles with the insignia of General of Division at the solemn promotion ceremony in front of other comrades in the struggle.

My father was born in Guantánamo. He always cooperated with the Movement. Because he was the father of the Rodiles they persecuted him. He was imprisoned twice. He worked at the Naval Base and one day when he was returning on his motorcycle on the Boquerón to Guantánamo road, a car with several Batistianos, recognizing him, hit him and left him for dead in the ditch. A short while later some civilians, seeing him unconscious but still alive, picked him up and took him to the Paseo and Oriente Clinic in Guantánamo. When my sister Elia found out, she immediately went to see him. He always said that if we were imprisoned and then released, we should take a rifle and rise up.

My mother was born in Manzanillo. She helped a lot with the Movement, gathering medicines, selling bonds, helping comrades move from one place to another, etc. She was imprisoned twice (once she was carrying medicines, bonds, propaganda, etc. all over her body); when she arrived at the Navy barracks, Sergeant Major Federico Colarte (Fico) was there, who was the Second Chief. He had 2 sons in the Movement and sympathized with them. He approached her and said: "old woman, they sent me to find a woman to search, give me everything so they won't catch you with anything" and he saved her on that occasion.

During the clandestine period we all carried out the missions the Movement assigned us. My house became "burned," it was searched on several occasions and it reached the point where anyone who arrived was arrested; only Elvira Guerra visited us (she was a schoolmate of my sister Ñiquita at the School of the Home). To make matters worse we lived across from Captain Basto, Chief of Police.

My 3 sisters, Elia, Antonia and Noemí had permanent, important and active participation in the clandestine struggle, they supplied everything to the Second Eastern Front Frank País, they went to the Naval Base to get medicines, weapons, ammunition, explosives, anything that could help the July 26. This efficient work was recognized in the Credential issued on September 21, 1958 by Commander Raúl Castro Ruz, Chief of the Front.

—How many brothers rose up?

—The entire family had to rise up, including our parents. I was the first to go to the mountains.

—Do they remain in the FAR?

—The only one left is me and my daughter who is a Lieutenant Colonel, professor at the Academy of the Revolutionary Armed Forces General Máximo Gómez. All the others are in civilian life.

—Where did you study?

—At the Sarah Ashhurst School, known as the American School of Guantánamo, today Rafael Orejón Forment School, at Máximo Gómez No. 857. I was somewhat restless. After some trouble with other students I was taken to the Principal's office and expelled from school. My father had to go speak with the principal (Miss Eleanor L. Clancy) and upon my promise to behave well, she accepted it as a last opportunity.

I prepared for the entrance exam to the Secondary School Institute at the Isaac Puentes Zúñiga Academy, which I passed.

Through the fourth year we had the top record: for the girls, Ana Gloria Preval, black, a very good student and for the boys, me.

I participated in the First National Student Games, representing the Guantánamo Institute in Santiago de Cuba. I obtained 4 first places in field and track events. Later, representing the Oriente province, we competed in Havana (University Stadium) where I obtained a Silver medal in Javelin Throw. This result was published by the newspaper El Mundo.

I worked in the offices of the Cuban Electricity Company. My desire was to become an electrical engineer like my father.

While in the fourth year of high school I was elected vice president of the Student Association and, later, president, when the classmate who had been chosen for that position abandoned the struggle.

I went on strike with several students and we were expelled for life from the Institute. It was late January 1952. Carlos Prío Socarrás was governing the country.

—Where were you when the March 10 coup occurred?

—In Havana, waiting for the FEU and for the response from the Minister of Education to annul our expulsion. I was staying in the boarding house where Aldo Rodríguez Camps lived.

—What did you do?

—Several times, together with other students, I presented myself at the University. Seeing that nothing was being done against Fulgencio Batista, I decided to return to Oriente.

—What did you do?

—An uncle of mine who was a professor at the Institute in Santiago de Cuba told me that the expulsion was only valid for Guantánamo. I enrolled in Santiago de Cuba and finished the fourth and fifth years, except for one subject that I passed later in 1960 at the Institute in Havana.

—When did you begin your revolutionary activities?

—Right after the coup d'état and living in Santiago de Cuba with my brother Toñito, I made my first revolutionary activities, transporting a hand machine gun and a pistol to deliver to a comrade.

Already in Guantánamo before joining the July 26 Movement I distributed clandestine propaganda and participated in rallies with revolutionary aims held in Martí Park. In 1955 through Enrique Soto Gómez, First Coordinator of July 26 in Guantánamo, I joined the Movement.

I cooperated with money, bought an automatic rifle and donated it, sold bonds, distributed bombs, grenades, propaganda, etc.

At the house of my sister Ñiquita and my brother-in-law Guillermo García Bendicho we manufactured hundreds of hand grenade shells, "pineapple" type, designed by Leonides Velásquez better known as the Indio Gerónimo.

All that along with other weapons, explosives and ammunition we stored in my sister's aforementioned home and in the bakery of my brother-in-law's father. Already at that time I was part of the leadership of the Movement.

—Who made up that leadership?

—Enrique Soto (Coordinator), Julio Camacho (Chief of Action and Sabotage) with Demetrio Montseny (Villa) as Second, Octavio Louit (responsible for the Workers' Front), followed by Ñico Torres. Soto was also in charge of Propaganda and I was Second.

—Did you stay in that position for a long time?

—No. Later I moved to Action and Sabotage, they appointed me chief of a cell made up of 10 comrades. My war name was Príquiti.

We began giving theoretical and practical classes on pistols, revolvers, Springfield rifles, Winchesters and other weapons.

We practiced on a mountain near Imías and on the Bertrán estate in Guantánamo. I also intervened in the transport of weapons, ammunition, firecrackers, homemade bombs, uniforms, etc.

Following a method devised by my father, we constructed caltrops, which we delivered to the Movement, and also distributed them in the streets and roads because however they landed, they would puncture tires. On several occasions he participated with us.

On November 30, 1956 I was barricaded in a house south of Guantánamo where we would be brought some rifles with ammunition to assault the police station in support of the Granma landing. We could not carry out the action because the ammunition, where it was stored, had swollen from moisture and would not fit in the rifle chamber. Later I moved to Santiago de Cuba.

—With what objective?

—To try to see Frank País.

—Did you succeed?

—Yes. First I went to speak with his mother Doña Rosario. She sent me to a house and told me to say I was from Duque. From there I was sent to another. I think it was Vilma Espín's. There I met with Frank.

—What did you talk about?

—He told me how the action in Santiago had occurred and I expressed my desire to go to the Sierra.

He explained to me that the best help to Fidel at that time was to fight in the cities to prevent the Army from concentrating all its forces against the Sierra Maestra and to send them supplies, so I continued in Guantánamo.

—What actions did you participate in?

—At that time Villa was Chief of Action and Sabotage. I was Second. Camacho and Soto had gone underground.

On one occasion when Rolando Masferrer visited the city to give a rally on radio station CMKS, I was given the mission to throw two grenades at him. I did, but although they didn't explode, the objective was partly achieved, because when they fell and people saw them on the floor, there was panic and the rally ended. This was witnessed by radio announcer Panchín Lescaille and operator Julio Cardet. That night, my brother Toñito sitting on the porch of a house a block from the radio station, saw several cars leave at high speed. The possible reason why they didn't explode, according to what Amancio Floreán and Gustavo Fraga told me later, is that they were stored in a refrigerator or freezer.

We also caused some blackouts by using a thick chain, which attached to a rope, we threw against the high-tension lines heading out to Tiguabos.

Together with several comrades I placed firecrackers and bombs, the most important one was at the Cuban Electricity Company, which I directed as Second Chief of Action and Sabotage in Guantánamo. I also threw Molotov cocktails, painted walls with the M-26-7 initials, participated in sugarcane burning and other activities.

In August 1957, when Villa was arrested, I was appointed Chief of Action and Sabotage. I planned attacks against several traitors and informants.

Some were carried out successfully, like the one executed by Mario Revelo and José Salgado (Tato) in October against "Gallego Morán," a despicable and vile traitor who abandoned the Sierra Maestra and joined the enemy, serving as an informant.

In addition to continuing all types of actions in the city, we coordinated (at Cachita Pérez's house, Martí and 7 Sur-Guantánamo) with Wicho Herrera (Chief of the Group that had its camp in Sierra Canasta) and José Durán (Zapata), sabotage of electrical and telephone lines, sugarcane burning, executions of informants who caused the deaths of revolutionaries, as well as other actions.

At the end of November I was arrested due to the betrayal of José El Mochito, who was from the Movement but became a criminal, and together with another person assaulted the Cuban Electricity Company payroll. They were captured and during interrogation they asked if he knew me (since I worked at the Company). He said yes and that I was Chief of July 26. The guards went to my workplace and arrested me. When I got in the back seat of the jeep (without a roof) there was a pistol, which I was unaware of. I realized it was a trap and then one of them loudly and upset said: "damn it, they left a pistol in the seat" and immediately grabbed it.

At the barracks they locked me in a cell with the assailants. When we were alone, El Mochito justified himself saying he thought I was already risen up and that's why he mentioned me, to which immediately the other assailant (a young man) responded: "Hey José, if you betray this revolutionary, I'll kill you. We may be criminals, but we're not informants."

—Were you in prison for a long time?

—More than a month. After various interrogations they transported me (walking) in handcuffs and escorted by a pair of guards, from the Barracks to the Bus Stop (Prado and Pedro A. Pérez), from there to the Bivouac in Santiago de Cuba. I was accused of being the intellectual author of all the assaults and robberies in Guantánamo for the benefit of the July 26 Movement. I was released on provisional bail.

—Did you return to Guantánamo?

—No. In January 1958 the comrade René Ramos Latour (Daniel) proposed that I be Chief of Action and Sabotage for the province of Matanzas, due to the situation that existed after Goicuría, but when I told Villa about it, he informed me of his decision to rise up in the Sierra Cristal and I went with him after agreeing with Daniel.

—To what zone?

—To Mayarí Abajo. We moved in small groups that were received by Fredy Ramos Latour (Daniel's brother).

—Did you carry out any actions?

—Before the assault on Nicaro, Villa appointed me Second Chief of the Group. We attacked on the night of February 23, 1958. I was Chief of the first vehicle. We took the post, tied up the two security guards, seized the Garand rifle and their short arms, then Villa entered with the rest of the group. Afterwards we went into the mountains. A few days later, Villa decided to march toward Bayate where he had some contacts.

—How long did you stay?

—Until Raúl Castro arrived, who sent for us to the house of old man Regueiro.

—What happened at that meeting?

—Raúl confirmed my rank as an officer and I continued as Second Chief of Platoon with Villa, but now incorporated into Company B Juan Manuel Ameijeiras belonging to Column 6 Frank País; Efigenio Ameijeiras was in command of the Company.

With the Minister of the FAR at the presentation of the diploma for the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Secretary.

Under Raúl's command I participated in the first attack on the Soledad barracks. The men of Reynerio Jiménez attacked from the front, Raúl from the right flank, Villa from the left and I from the rear.

During the attack I observed that Raúl several times left his combat position and got even closer to the Barracks, firing. I say with full responsibility that he took excessive risks.

The "soldiers" put up a stubborn resistance. Finally we were unable to take the barracks. The battle lasted until dawn.

Days later a group of officers signed a document in which we presented to Raúl that he should not continue risking his life in that type of action.

I was also responsible for the Supply of Column 6 and participated in courts to judge bandits, informants and other criminals.

I was also put in charge of collecting taxes from the landowners and main merchants of the area.

After participating (as Chief of the reinforcement group of the Shock Troops of Column 6) in the battle of Loma de la Victoria (La Mariposa), Commander Raúl Castro promoted me to Captain on July 31, appointing me Second Chief of Column 6 Juan Manuel Ameijeiras.

I participated in numerous battles: La Lima, Moa (first attack), La Mariposa, the two attacks on Nicaro, the ambush and capture of two military trains on the Tiguabos curve, against the barracks of Soledad, Ermita, Imías, San Vicente, ambush of the CMQ and Microwave installations, Puerto de Boniato, La Maya and others.

In the second attack on Soledad, before the battle began, I entered the barracks twice to ask the guards to avoid bloodshed and surrender, which they refused to do. We fought all night and in the morning hours they surrendered.

To guarantee the takeover of Caimanera I directed the ambush at Mata Abajo (Canabacoa).

In December 1958 the Commander in Chief promoted me to Commander of the Rebel Army. At the same time Efigenio informed me that in a conversation with Fidel and Raúl we would be assigned about two hundred men to organize two Columns, march together to the West and support Camilo and Che. That was not necessary due to the collapse of the dictatorship.

—Where were you when the revolutionary triumph came?

—Skirting Guantánamo. The order Raúl gave us was to take that city. I took part in the takeover of the airport, the barracks and the Institute.

The dictatorship's troops were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arcadio Casillas. We managed to capture him. He was tried and sentenced to death as were other henchmen. I was in charge of the trial conclusions.

It was proven beyond doubt, with the people present, the guilt of the accused. I even remember a policeman who was very decent and respectful, and we discovered he had seven deaths. Truly those who deserved execution were those who were executed.

—How did you find out you were coming to Havana?

—Commander Raúl Castro informed Efigenio that by instructions from Fidel he had been appointed Chief of the National Revolutionary Police.

Since we had a tank and other weapons we decided to transport the column by land, but before reaching Camagüey the tank engine broke down and it was decided we would come by plane.

Efigenio traveled on the first flight and I on the last, as Second Chief of Column 6.

—What day did you enter the capital?

—Around January 6.

—Did you have any specific orders?

—Guarantee Fidel's entry. Che and Camilo Cienfuegos had already arrived.

—What did you find?

—Much confusion, anarchy among the revolutionary groups themselves. They were all armed.

We set about disarming them, making them understand the need to organize, to discipline themselves.

In front of the Deauville hotel there was a group of comrades who even had grenades. We explained the need to go to the headquarters to see Efigenio, but they didn't understand.

When the situation was getting tense, we had a prearranged signal and immediately they were surrounded by our troops. We had to move quickly because there was one who had a machine gun who refused to hand it over and we had to take it from him. By seconds, a massacre did not occur.

—What position were you given?

—Chief of the Motorized Radio. Later I was made Inspector General and Second Chief of the PNR. I was also Supervisor of the Investigation Bureau. Very serious problems occurred there and we had to act with a firm hand. Then Chief of the DTI. In November 1959 I was appointed Chief of the Inspection Department of the MINFAR (Army, Police and Navy).

—How did the Police participate in the Bay of Pigs?

—On the fifteenth of April, the Commander in Chief had Efigenio and me brought to Point 1, which was in Nuevo Vedado. He gave us instructions to guarantee order and neutralize along with Security any counter-revolutionary elements if an invasion occurred.

On the eighteenth very early Fidel had us brought again. He explained to Efigenio that the Police Battalion had to go to the Bay of Pigs.

—With what mission?

—To prevent the mercenaries in the Bay of Pigs from reinforcing Playa Larga and those at Playa Larga from retreating to the Bay of Pigs.

He explained to us that this way the enemy would feel divided and insecure because having the revolutionary force in their rear would confuse them and prevent cooperation between them.

By Fidel's instructions we were placed under command of the Bazooka Company from the National Institute for Agrarian Reform (INRA) garrison and the Light Combat Company of Battalion 116 of the Militia.

The order Efigenio gave us was to leave the heavy weapons at "El Esperón" (west of the capital, the Battalion's camp upon returning from fighting the rebels in the Villas and Matanzas) and bring submachine guns and rifles. The Battalion quickly organized and the Light Combat Company was sent ahead, divided into two under the command of Captains Luis Artemio Carbó and José Sandino, respectively. The Bazooka Company joined us in Jovellanos.

—What situation did you find upon arriving at the Australia sugar mill?

—Upon arriving at the Australia mill, Efigenio received us and informed us that Playa Larga was already in our hands, that the mission had changed and that I should make contact with Captain José Ramón Fernández who would give us instructions.

—Fernández, what instructions did he give you?

—Upon arriving at Playa Larga I sent Captain Marcelino Sánchez to find Fernández. He contacted him in the cabin where he was resting. Fernández told us to advance toward the Bay of Pigs. The tanks would go first, then a unit of the Rebel Army and then us. He said we would find an officer (I don't remember his name) who would show us the way.

We spent the night at Punta Perdices. Before dawn Efigenio appointed me Chief of the Battalion and gave me instructions to advance, with Marcelino Sánchez remaining as Second Chief.

We started moving. Dawn caught us. We didn't find the officer. We continued moving until we encountered the mercenaries.

The first casualties and wounded were comrades from the Militia Company placed under our command. Because they didn't know the terrain they fell into an ambush on the third curve of the road before reaching the Bay of Pigs. There, three generations fought for our Socialist Revolution. An example of this (though there are many), I wish to mention: Benjamín Moreno García, age 15, José Manuel Lazo de la Vega Quintana, age 41, and Juan Ruiz Serna, age 60, who fell on April 19.

—Our combatants fought with great courage.

—Tremendous courage. I will never forget Fernando Aceña, who was an INDER official. I found him after an intense battle and he told me that he had to protect himself behind a rock because he was caught in crossfire. He was alive by a miracle.

The courage, dynamism and vigor of Captain Carbó were exemplary. He is truly a hero. He advanced and urged others to walk with him until he fell mortally wounded.

I always remember a nineteen-year-old boy, Wilfredo Gonce, Police Sergeant, who was hit by a projectile. He died before he could be attended to.

As well as Rafael Ángel Carini, who didn't even belong to the Battalion. He was from the Technical Investigation Department and asked to go fight. We reluctantly let him join. He fought bravely. He was one of the first to fall.

The Police combatants and Battalion 116 of the Militia had thirty-eight casualties and nearly one hundred were wounded. As a result of several cannon shots against our first position, I was wounded in the neck by shrapnel.

—When did you enter the Bay of Pigs?

—In the evening of the nineteenth. We were the first combatants to enter the Bay of Pigs. At that time the mercenaries were in disarray.

That night I was informed that from north to south a tank was coming at full speed, turning its lights on and off. That caught my attention. I ordered them to try to communicate with its driver. We succeeded. I was greatly surprised to find it was Captain Joel Pardo Guerra.

When he arrived I said: "You're crazy, how have you done this, not knowing whether the mercenaries had abandoned the Bay of Pigs." He answered: "Fidel gave me the order not to stop until I reached the beach and from there fire projectiles and tracer bullets as a signal that I had reached the objective." I said: "Alright, let's complete the mission."

He also told us: "Fidel is in San Blas." That's when comrades Fernández, Flavio Bravo and René Rodríguez asked me to go inform the Commander that we were in the Bay of Pigs. I answered them that I had responsibility for the PNR Battalion and that Efigenio had already left for the Australia mill to call Fidel. Barely minutes after the comrades left, we felt a terrible noise like a vehicle overturning. I sent someone to see what happened. It was them. When the car fell into a crater made by a bomb, they were wounded, including René with a broken leg, and I immediately ordered him transferred to the medical post. The accident location was near the landing strip at Playa Girón.

Shortly after, the Commander in Chief arrived. He was riding on a tank. Our artillery continued shelling the Bay of Pigs.

—What did Fidel do?

—He gave some orders. He wrote the report announcing to the world the victory over the mercenary invasion. He visited several places and had Pedrito Miret told to stop firing.

Then he went to the dock, from where you could see two American warships that had been in front of Playa Girón all day.

Fidel began turning a flashlight on and off. I sat thinking and said to myself: "You'll see..."

I asked him why he was doing that and he answered: "To see if they're mistaken, think they're the mercenaries, come to rescue them and we hit them with cannons." I was surprised and reflected: "With everything that has happened and this man wants to keep looking for trouble."

General Samuel Rodiles Plana waves the National Flag in triumph as he boards the last plane as the final Cuban internationalist combatant, concluding the mission in Angola.

At the Bay of Pigs it was demonstrated once again Fidel's vision. He fell on the enemy from all directions, with all firepower, didn't let them rest a minute to prevent them from establishing a beachhead.

I have been fortunate to live momentous times in our Revolution: Clandestinity, War of Liberation, Struggle Against Bandits, Bay of Pigs, October Crisis and Angola.

—Angola, what did it mean to you?

—An unforgettable experience. I was there on three occasions. The first in 1977 in the South. I was tremendously impressed when I encountered a nomadic tribe. They were cooking herbs and roots.

I saw women no older than thirty who looked like they were sixty. They were naked. Barely wearing a minimal garment. They were mothers with several children. I was struck by the hunger. Incredible misery.

Through an Angolan who served as our interpreter, I spoke with them. This occurred not only in the South but in many parts of Angola.

We began working with our troops. The combatants created the material basis for study to provide combat training with scarce resources. We managed to carry out instruction in very poor conditions. The area was desert. In large parts of the territory there were no buildings of any kind. I didn't stay a long time on this trip.

In the first months of 1978, as Chief of the Combat