Cuban revolutionary Almeida dies

One of the original protagonists of the Cuban revolution, Juan Almeida Bosque, has died of heart failure at the age of 82, according to state media.

Almeida was one of several vice-presidents in the Council of State under Raul Castro.

He was the only black commander in the Cuban leadership.

From a poor Havana neighbourhood, Almeida was in the group of guerrillas led by Fidel Castro which eventually seized power in Cuba in 1959.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8252210.stm

Looks like a tyrant to me. :sarcasm:

Cubans pay respect to revolution hero Almeida
3 hours 9 mins ago
Jeff Franks

A solemn President Raul Castro placed a red rose at a memorial to Juan Almeida on Sunday, then looked silently at a photograph of the man whose death on Friday was the loss of both an old friend and a fellow leader in the Cuban revolution five decades ago.

Castro, who left without speaking, was the first of tens of thousands of Cubans to pay tribute to Almeida as they filed past the photograph flanked by flowers and a military honour guard.

One of the floral arrangements was sent by Fidel Castro, who Almeida befriended in 1952, then fought beside from the earliest days of the guerrilla uprising that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.

Fidel Castro, 83, has not been seen in public since falling ill in July 2006 and did not join the multitudes to say goodbye to his former comrade-in-arms.

Almeida, 82, had been ill for several years and died of heart failure late on Friday, the government said.

He was one of several vice presidents and a member of the powerful political bureau of the ruling Communist Party at the time of his death.

More:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090913/tpl-uk-cuba-almeida-0f77d0a.html

September 13th, 2009
Thousands mourn Cuban revolutionary
Posted: 02:51 PM ET
By David Aristo
CNN

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) — Thousands gathered in the Cuban capital on Sunday to pay their respects to one of Cuba’s few remaining original revolutionaries, Juan Almeida, who according to state media died of a heart attack Friday evening.

A single column of people stretched around Havana’s Revolution Square in a well-coordinated show of solidarity and remembrance during what state media reported as a national day of mourning.

President Raul Castro and other top government officials were reportedly on hand, though elder brother and former Communist leader Fidel Castro — not seen in public since abdominal surgery in 2006 — did not make an appearance.

Almeida, 82, fought alongside Fidel Castro and was among only a handful of surviving Cuban leaders who still bore the title “Commander of the Revolution.”

Widely admired among Cuban nationals, Almeida participated in the failed attacks on the Moncada army barracks in 1953. He was aboard the famed yacht “Granma,” that carried the small group of Cuban rebels who would later topple U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/13/thousands-mourn-cuban-revolutionary/