Gabriel Molina Franchossi, National Journalism Prize José Martí Winner, Passed Away

November 19, 2024

"We are deeply moved by the death of Gabriel Molina Franchossi, one of the founders and great icons of the Revolutionary press system," states a communication from the presidency of the Upec.

According to the text, Molina Franchossi, "National Journalism Prize José Martí winner for his extraordinary life of service, passed away on the night of November 18 in France, at the age of 91."

He arrived in that country three years ago, at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic had not ended and he maintained contacts and projects in Cuba, "including the Upec, as one of its most beloved, renowned and active members," the text explains.

In that country, it details, "he faced and fought against two serious illnesses that prevented him from returning to Cuba at the planned time."

"It was a French medical institution, where he had been treated, where he was recognized as he proudly defined himself: 'a Cuban of Fidel Castro,'" the communication adds.

According to the organization, "Fidel himself would give him one of his first professional missions in the Revolution, that of correspondent in Algeria, where he became very familiar with the architects of that country's independence."

He was also, it notes, very close to "prominent figures of the Revolution such as Che Guevara, whom he would interview shortly after the triumph of January 1959, and which earned him the admiration and affection of the guerrillero, as well as of Raúl Castro Ruz."

Molina, a fighter against the Batista dictatorship from within the ranks of the Revolutionary Directorate, graduated in law and journalism, the latter profession which he exercised with passion, "guided his life" and placed him "in the honor of the profession."

In addition to Prensa Latina, he was a founder of the newspapers Combate, Granma and Granma Internacional, of which he was director for 27 years, and also served as vice president of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television.