Juan Escalona Reguera, who was Attorney General of the Republic and Minister of Justice, passes away

September 29, 2018

Brigadier General (retired) and former Attorney General of the Republic of Cuba, Juan Escalona, died in Havana on Friday, September 28 from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87, Cuban television reported.

Escalona was known internationally as the prosecuting attorney in the 1989 judicial proceedings against generals Arnaldo Ochoa —who was executed along with three other military officers accused of having links to drug trafficking— and José Abrantes, who was then Minister of the Interior.

The television report highlighted that the life and work of General Escalona constituted "an example of modesty, honesty, unlimited dedication to his profession, to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and to the Revolution," as well as his "infinite loyalty" to the late leader Fidel Castro and to General and former president Raúl Castro.

A lawyer by profession, in addition to being a military officer, Escalona held a series of important positions, including Minister of Justice (1983-1990) and president of the National Assembly of People's Power (unicameral parliament), from 1990 to 1993.

He was also attorney general of the island for more than 20 years, until in 2010 he was relieved of that responsibility due to health problems.

Born in Santiago de Cuba on June 22, 1931, Escalona was part of the column commanded by Raúl Castro in the II Eastern Front "Frank País" of the Sierra Maestra guerrilla, and after the revolutionary triumph of January 1959 he was his aide in the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Minfar) and chief of staff of the Western Army.

He was one of the drafters of the law that created Minfar and during the Angola war he held the position of Chief of the General Staff from Havana.

Escalona directed the working group that in 1987 drafted the amendments to the Cuban Penal Code and also worked on the development of laws for the courts, notary offices, associations, civil registries, the Civil Code and Decree Law 87, related to the procedure for review against final court sentences.

At the time of his death he was a member of the Communist Party of the island, whose Central Committee he was part of from 1980 to 2011.

He had also received various decorations "for his contributions to the defense of the nation, his trajectory and loyalty to the revolutionary cause," the television report noted.