With the presence of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and President of the Republic, the ceremony of military honours and burial of the remains of Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez began today at the Ernesto Che Guevara Sculptural Complex in Santa Clara.

Also accompanying this final farewell, at the very site where the remains of Che and his comrades of the Las Villas Front also rest, are Politburo members Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State; Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Gladys Martínez Verdecia, first secretary of the PCC provincial committee in Artemisa; as well as Rebel Army Commander José Ramón Machado Ventura, members of the PCC Central Committee Secretariat, and Government and State leaders, together with the political and governmental authorities of this central region.

Five floral wreaths, on behalf of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Association of Combatants, family members and the people, perfume, together with the eternal flame of the Mausoleum, pay this tribute to the Commander of the Revolution.

Today, in this historic site, Ramiro’s final wish is fulfilled. He was an Illustrious Son of Villa Clara, second in command to Che in the invading column number eight, Ciro Redondo, with a leading role in the final thrust against the dictatorship in the centre of the island, decisive for the revolutionary triumph of 1 January 1959.

Since the arrival of Che’s remains at this square, escorted by Ramiro Valdés himself from Bolivia to Santa Clara, the Commander accompanied all the burial ceremonies of his comrades of the Las Villas Front.

Today he comes to join as one more, from the humility that always distinguished him, to rest alongside his brothers in battle.