Diary of a Combatant Page 28

  FRÍAS CABRERA, CIRO (EL MORITO): Born in Ensenada, Bayamo, on December 10, 1928. He was a peasant who joined the Rebel Army in Column One and later transferred to Column 18 on the Second Front. He attained the rank of captain. He died in combat during the siege of the barracks of Imías on April 10, 1958, and was posthumously given the rank of commander.

  FRÍAS ROBLEJO, ÁNGEL (1940–69): Born in Manzanillo, Oriente province. He joined the Rebel Army’s Column One and later fought in Column Eight.

  GARCÍA DÍAZ, ANDRÉS (1928–88): Born in Havana on October 30, 1928. He participated in the attack on the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in Bayamo on July 26, 1953. He was captured, tortured and imprisoned. After the amnesty, he became a member of the July 26 Movement, joining the Rebel Army’s Column One in 1957. Later he fought on the Second Front and attained the rank of captain.

  GARCÍA FRÍAS, GUILLERMO: Born in El Plátano, Niquero, Oriente province, on February 10, 1928. He was one of the first peasants to join the Rebel Army’s Column One. He was later a founding combatant on the Second Front and attained the rank of commander in 1958. After the revolution he held various positions in the FAR; he was a member of the Cuban Communist Party’s central committee (1965-91); he was minister of transport (1974-85); and is currently a member of the Council of State. He is a commander of the revolution.

  GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, CALIXTO (1931–2010): Born in Los Arabas, Matanzas, on December 27, 1931. He participated in the attack on the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in Bayamo in July 1953. Exiled in Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico, he joined the Granma expedition and became a member of Column One. Later, he attained the rank of commander on the Third Front.

  GOENAGA BARRÓN, ARNALDO: A veteran of World War II, he was decorated by the US government. He became a founding member of the July 26 Movement in New York and organized the Orión expedition.

  GÓMEZ OCHOA, DELIO (MARCOS): Born in Cacocum, Holguín, on September 18, 1929. A combatant of the Rebel Army, he fought in Column One and attained the rank of commander on April 19, 1958. After the failed general strike of April 9, 1958, he became coordinator of the July 26 Movement in Havana, but he was arrested. He later returned to the Sierra Maestra and resumed command of the Fourth Front.

  GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ, FRANCISCO (PANCHO) (1928–94): Born in Havana on December 31, 1928. He participated in the attack on the Moncada barracks and was captured and imprisoned. Later he was a Granma expeditionary, but after he was wounded as a Rebel Army combatant on May 25, 1957, he went underground until the triumph of the revolution.

  GUERRA GONZÁLEZ, ORESTES: Born in Calambrosio, Oriente province, March 15, 1932. He joined the Rebel Army’s Columns One and Four. He was part of Column Two, which extended the struggle to central Cuba, and attained the rank of captain.

  GUERRA PÉREZ, ANDRÉS ARÍSTIDES (NONITO): Combatant in Column Four of the Rebel Army.

  GUEVARA, ÁNGEL (b. 1930): He joined the Rebel Army’s Column Four. He died on February 23, 1958, as a result of wounds received in the second battle of Pino del Agua.

  GUEVARA DE LA SERNA, ERNESTO (CHE): Born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14, 1928. He met Fidel Castro in Mexico in July 1955 and immediately enlisted in the Granma expedition to initiate the armed struggle to overthrow the Batista dictatorship. He was the first commander appointed in the Rebel Army. He led Columns Four and Eight, directing the victorious battle of Santa Clara. After the revolution, he had many responsibilities, including as head of the department of industrialization of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), president of the National Bank, minister of industry and the central planning organization. In 1965 he participated in the national liberation struggle in the Congo and the following year he arrived in Bolivia to carry out another internationalist mission. He was captured on October 8, 1967, and assassinated the next day.

  GUTIÉRREZ, DALCIO: Combatant of the Rebel Army’s Column Eight. He died in combat on September 9, 1958, in La Federal, Camagüey province.

  GUTIÉRREZ MENOYO, ELOY: Member of the Revolutionary Directorate and commander of the Second National Front of the Escambray that was established on November 10, 1957. He refused to cooperate with the Rebel Army in Las Villas until December 1958, when he signed a pact of collaboration. After the revolution, he went into exile in the United States. In 1965, he returned to Cuba clandestinely (near Baracoa) and was captured by the militia and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was released in 1968 and went to the United States.

  GUTIÉRREZ MONTERO, ONIRIA: Combatant of the Rebel Army. He was a member of Column Four and later fought on the Second Front. He died on August 18, 1971.

  HART DÁVALOS, ARMANDO: Born in Havana on June 13, 1930. As a young lawyer he joined the Orthodox Youth in 1947 and became a member of the National Revolutionary Movement led by Rafael García Bárcenas. He was a founding member of the July 26 Movement and a member of its executive in Oriente province. He participated in the uprising of November 30 and the first meeting of the July 26 Movement in the Sierra Maestra on February 17, 1957. He was arrested and imprisoned in April 1957, but escaped. He was recaptured in January 1958 and sent to prison on the Isle of Pines where he remained until the revolution. Since January 1959 he has held various posts: minister for education (1959-65); secretary of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) (1965-70); first secretary of the PCC in Oriente; minister for culture; member of the central committee of the PCC and member of the political bureau of the PCC.

  HERNÁNDEZ SUÁREZ, JUAN (GUANCHI): Member of Column Eight. He died in the battle of Cuatro Compañeros in Vertientes, Camagüey, on September 14, 1958.

  HIDALGO BARRIOS, MARIO OLIVERIO: Born in Camagüey, on June 7, 1924. He was a Granma expeditionary, but was captured after Alegría de Pío and remained in prison until the revolution.

  HURTADO ARBONA, PABLO ARQUÍMEDES (?–1987): He was a member of the July 26 Movement. Exiled to Mexico, he joined the Granma expedition, but was wounded and captured at Alegría de Pío and later tortured. He remained in prison until the revolution.

  IGLESIA FONSECA, CARLOS JULIO (NICARAGUA): Leader of the July 26 Movement and member of its national leadership. He was arrested but later liberated by a rebel commando unit. A member of Column 16 on the Second Front, he attained the rank of commander.

  IGLESIAS LEYVA, JOEL (b. 1941): Born in San Luis, Santiago de Cuba. He joined the Rebel Army’s Column One in May 1957, and later joined Columns Four and Eight, attaining the rank of captain. After the revolution, he became the first secretary of the Rebel Youth in recognition of his role as a guerrilla.

  INFANTE URIBAZO, ENZO (BRUNO): Born on October 30, 1930, in Santiago de Cuba. He was a provincial leader of the July 26 Movement in Santiago de Cuba and the November 30 uprising. Later he coordinated the July 26 Movement in Camagüey and was national director of propaganda for the movement. After the Mompié meeting in May 1958 he became the leader of the movement in Havana, but was arrested and remained in prison until January 1, 1959.

  JIMÉNEZ LAGE, REYNERIO (1930–87): Born in Santiago de Cuba. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and a combatant in the November 30 uprising. He was part of the first group of fighters sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He joined Column One and later Columns Six and 16 on the Second Front.

  LAFERTÉ PÉREZ, EVELIO: An officer in Batista’s army, who graduated in early 1958. He was captured by the Rebel Army in the second battle of Pino del Agua on February 16, 1958, and subsequently joined the rebels. He became the director of the recruits’ school at Las Minas del Frío. Later he transferred to the general staff and then became director of communications. He attained the rank of captain.

  LAMOTHE CORONADO, HUMBERTO: Born in Matanzas on May 1, 1919. He belonged to Joven Cuba, an organization founded by the revolutionary Antonio Guiteras. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. Exiled to Mexico, he returned with the Granma expedition. He died at Alegría de Pío, December 5, 1956.

  LEYVA FUENTES, ESTANISLAO HERMES (1938–57): Born in Palma Soriano,
Santiago de Cuba. A member of Column Four, he died in the battle of El Hombrito on August 29, 1957.

  LEYVA REYES, EISLER: Born in Niquero, Oriente province, April 17, 1934. He was a founding member of the July 26 Movement and joined the First Front of the Rebel Army and later transferred to Column Three on the Third Front. He was adjutant to commander Juan Almeida and attained the rank of commander.

  LÓPEZ FERNÁNDEZ, ANTONIO (ÑICO): Born in La Lisa, Havana, on October 2, 1934. He was active in the student movement (1952–53) and participated in the assault on the Bayamo barracks on July 26, 1953. He escaped arrest and went into exile in Guatemala, where he met Ernesto Che Guevara. Later in Mexico, he became part of the national leadership of the July 26 Movement. He joined the Granma expedition but was assassinated in Boca del Toro on December 8, 1956, after being captured at Alegría del Pío.

  LÓPEZ TOMÁS, ENRIQUE: He knew Fidel and Raúl Castro from childhood, as an employee of the neighboring Babún family. He collaborated with the Rebel Army and later joined as a combatant. He died on December 24, 1985.

  LUGONES RAMÍREZ, FÉLIX (PILÓN) (1934–70): Born in Ensenada de Mora, Pilón, Oriente province, on May 18, 1934. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. He joined Column One and later Column Six on the Second Front. He attained the rank of captain and was named as a commander in January 1959.

  LLERENA, MARIO (b. 1913): He was a member of Orthodox Party and also of the Movement of Radical Liberation. He joined the July 26 Movement in New York, where he was president and director of public relations until August 1958. He opposed the radical measures taken by the revolution and returned to the United States in June 1960.

  MACEO QUESADA, MARIO: Born in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, on February 28, 1938. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and part of the first group of fighters sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He joined Columns One and Four and later Column Three on the Third Front. He was captured on a mission in Santiago de Cuba, detained and assassinated at Punta Gorda, August 31, 1958.

  MACÍAS ELÍAS, OSCAR: Combatant in Column Eight, but he was later discharged by Che.

  MACÍAS SEGURA, LUIS: Combatant of the Rebel Army and a member of Column Three on the Third Front. He died in Pino del Agua on February 16, 1958.

  MAGADÁN BARANDITA, JOSÉ RAMÓN (PEPÍN): A collaborator, who was later in charge of supplies for the Rebel Army in one of the operational zones. In 1958 he was part of a group of negotiators.

  MANALS RODRÍGUEZ, MIGUEL ÁNGEL (MIKE OR VÍCTOR): Born in Media Luna, Oriente province, on May 8, 1937. He was a member of the first group of combatants sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra and joined Column One. He was wounded in the battle of El Uvero in June 1957. He recovered and went to the Second Front.

  MARKS, HERMAN: A North American participant in the Rebel Army on the First Front. He was an instructor at the recruits’ school in Las Minas del Frío in 1958 and a member of Column Eight. He led a vanguard platoon and attained the rank of captain.

  MÁRQUEZ RODRÍGUEZ, JUAN MANUEL: Born in Havana, on June 15, 1915. He was imprisoned during the 1930s for his opposition to the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado. He was a founder and leader of the Orthodox Party and its president in Marianao. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and played an important role in the preparations for the arrival of the Granma; he was second-in-command of that expedition. He was assassinated at La Norma farm, San Ramón, Oriente province, on December 16, 1956, after the disembarkation at Las Coloradas.

  MARTÍNEZ ÁLVAREZ, JOSÉ RAMÓN: Born in Guanajay, Pinar del Río, on March 28, 1928. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and a Moncada assailant. Seeking asylum in the Panamanian embassy, he went into exile in Costa Rica and later Mexico. He returned to Cuba as part of the Granma expedition. He was assassinated in Monte Macahual, Niquero, Oriente province, December 8, 1956.

  MARTÍNEZ PÁEZ, JULIO: A doctor who joined the First Front of the Rebel Army. He established La Plata hospital in the Sierra Maestra and became a commander in the Rebel Army. After the revolution he was appointed minister of health.

  MAS LÓPEZ, CARLOS (CARLITOS): Born in Niquero, Oriente province, on December 4, 1939. On July 3, 1957, he joined Column One of the Rebel Army. He fought in the actions at Santo Domingo and El Naranjo, where he was seriously wounded on July 11, 1958. He died a few days later in La Plata hospital. He had attained the rank of captain.

  MASETTI BLANCO, JORGE RICARDO (SEGUNDO): Born in Argentina in 1929. He was a journalist who interviewed both Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara in the Sierra Maestra and publicized the guerrilla struggle on radio between April and May 1958. He later founded the press agency Prensa Latina, but died in a guerrilla struggle in the province of Salta, northern Argentina, on September 8, 1964.

  MATOS BENÍTEZ, HUBER (b. 1919): Joined the Rebel Army in March 1958 in Column Nine on the Third Front. He attained the rank of commander, and in 1959 was head of the Rebel Army in Camagüey. In October that year he instigated a counterrevolutionary rebellion. He was captured, tried and sentenced to 30 years in prison for sedition.

  MEDINA REYES, RICARDO: Born in Bueycito, Oriente province, on December 31, 1936. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. As part of Column Four he was wounded in an ambush at Minas de Bueycito and assassinated on March 11, 1958.

  MENDOZA DÍAZ, ELIGIO (?–1957): Member of the Rebel Army’s Column One. He died in the battle of El Uvero on May 28, 1957.

  MENDOZA SOTO, FÉLIX BAUTISTA: Born in Cienfuegos on March 10, 1922. He joined Column Four of the Rebel Army, and attained the rank of captain.

  MIRET PRIETO, PEDRO (b. 1927): Active participant in preparations for the attack on the Moncada barracks as a member of the military committee. He was wounded in action, captured and sentenced to 13 years in prison. After being amnestied, he went into exile in Mexico and subsequently enrolled to join the Granma expedition, but was arrested prior to its departure. In March 1958 he organized another group of rebels, reaching the Sierra Maestra by air. He joined Column One of the Rebel Army, and attained the rank of commander.

  MOLL LEYVA, GUSTAVO ADOLFO (1935–57): Born in Caimanera, Guantánamo. He was a member of the July 26 Movement, a combatant in the Rebel Army and a member of the first contingent of fighters sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros) where he joined Column One. He died in the battle of El Uvero, May 28, 1957.

  MONTANÉ OROPESA, JESÚS SERGIO (1923–99): Born in Nueva Gerona, Isla de Pinos (today the Isle of Youth), April 15, 1923. He was one of the leaders of the attack on the Moncada barracks. He was captured, tried and imprisoned. Exiled to Mexico he joined the expedition on the Granma. After the dispersal at Alegría de Pío he was captured on December 12, 1956, and remained in prison until the revolution.

  MORA MORALES, MENELAO: Born in the barrio Río Feo of Pinar del Río on July 22, 1905. He was active in the struggle against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado. He died in the assault on the presidential palace on March 13, 1957.

  MORA PÉREZ, VÍCTOR: He joined the Rebel Army on April 22, 1957. He was a commander and leader of the Camagüey Front. He later opposed the revolution.

  MORALES HERNÁNDEZ, CALIXTO: Born in Florida, Camagüey, August 14, 1929. An expeditionary on the Granma, he joined Column One. In September 1957 he went to Santiago de Cuba to work with the underground movement there, but rejoined the guerrillas in August 1958 in Las Villas where he was part of Column Eight. He attained the rank of captain.

  MORÁN LOSILLA, JOSÉ LORENZO (EL GALLEGO /“THE SPANIARD”) (1929–57): Born in Camagüey on May 6, 1929. He fought in the Spanish Civil War and was an expeditionary on the Granma. He fought on the First Front of the Rebel Army, but was tried and executed in Guantánamo.

  MORENO MILIÁN, JOSÉ LORENZO (MORENITO): Combatant of the Rebel Army and a member of Column Eight.

  MOTOLÁ HERRIMAN, DANIEL (PITO): Combatant of the Rebel Army and member of Column One on the First Front.

  NARANJO VÁZQUEZ, CRISTINO: Born in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba,
on December 15, 1929. An agricultural laborer and miner, he was a member of the July 26 Movement as part of Columns One and Four. Under the command of Camilo Cienfuegos, he went to work in the underground movement in March 1958. He attained the rank of commander of the Rebel Army before he was assassinated by the traitor Manuel Beatón on November 12, 1959, at Ciudad Libertad.

  NODA GONZÁLEZ, ENRIQUE: Born in Colón, Matanzas, on September 9, 1929. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and a combatant in the Rebel Army’s Column Four. He died in the second battle of Pino del Agua on February 16, 1958.

  NOGUERAS, JUAN: Combatant in the Rebel Army, but was discharged.

  OLAZÁBAL CEPEDA, LUIS RAMÓN: Born in Manzanillo, Oriente province, on August 21, 1926. He was a member of the Popular Socialist Party (PSP) and later of the July 26 Movement and was a member of Column Four, attaining the rank of captain by the end of the war.

  OLTUSKI, ENRIQUE: Born in Havana on November 25, 1930. An engineer, he was a member of the July 26 Movement in Matanzas and Las Villas. He became a combatant in the Rebel Army, an officer in the FAR and minister of communications after the revolution.

  OÑATE CAÑETE, ALEJANDRO (CANTINFLAS): Born in Manzanillo on May 3, 1936. He was a combatant in the Rebel Army and a member of Columns One and Four, and later Column Two under Commander Camilo Cienfuegos.

  PAÍS GARCÍA, FRANK ISAAC (DAVID OR CARLOS): Born in Santiago de Cuba on December 7, 1934. He was president of the student association at his teacher’s college and was active in various organizations, such as Acción Libertadora, Revolutionary National Movement (MNR), Oriente Revolutionary Action (ARO) and ANA. He was a founder and director of the action and sabotage section of the July 26 Movement and the leader of the July 26 Movement in Santiago de Cuba. He directed the November 30, 1956, uprising. He was assassinated in Callejón del Muro in Santiago on July 30, 1957, along with Raúl Pujol.