Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CC PCC) and President of the Republic, today expressed deep sorrow after learning of the physical departure of the member of the Political Bureau of the CC PCC and deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power, Army Corps General Ramón Espinosa Martín, first deputy minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
From his account on X, the Cuban leader sent an embrace to the comrades of the FAR, family and friends of the also Hero of the Republic of Cuba and of Labour.
The legendary hero of Cabinda will continue to inspire the brave Cuban military. Farewell, dear comrade, wrote the president on the social network.
«With deep sorrow for the physical departure of Army Corps General Ramón Espinosa Martín, I embrace his comrades in the FAR and his family and friends. The legendary hero of Cabinda will continue to inspire the brave Cuban military. Farewell, dear comrade».
Ramón Espinosa Martín was born on 12 March 1939 in Camajuaní, Las Villas, where he attended school until he reached the sixth grade. At the age of 15, he began working as an agricultural labourer in this area.
At the beginning of 1957 he began to associate with members of the 26th of July Revolutionary Movement, with whom he carried out different insurrectionary activities, becoming head of an Action and Sabotage Group.
In July 1958 he joined the guerrilla forces of the Directorio Revolucionario 13 de marzo in the Sierra del Escambray as a rifleman and took part in different combats with them, ending the war as Second Chief of the Comando Guerrillero Menelao Mora (Menelao Mora Guerrilla Command).
At the triumph of the Revolution he served as Infantry Company Chief and was promoted to Battalion Chief at the beginning of 1961.
After attending the Escuela Básica Superior, between 1963 and 1964 he served as First Officer in the Directorate of Operations of the EMG and later as Chief of the Infantry Division EM.
In mid-1975 he arrived in Cabinda, People’s Republic of Angola, at the head of a group of internationalists, with whom he quickly prepared the FAPLA combatants and successfully organised an effective defence against the virtual aggression by mercenary troops from Zaire, despite the limited resources available.
In view of his outstanding record as a military commander, he was selected to study at the General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the USSR «K. E. Voroshilov». E. Voroshilov» General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the USSR, which he completed in 1979.
In 1979, he went on an international mission as Head of the Cuban Military Mission in Ethiopia, where he carried out effective work.
On his return to the country in December 1981, he was entrusted with the important responsibility of directing the Eastern Army, a function he carried out with dedication and results,
In 2001 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army Corps, and until April 2021 he was Vice-Minister of the FAR. In April 2021 he was appointed First Vice-Minister of the Armed Forces.
He is a founder of the Party, Delegate from the II to the VII Congress, member of the Political Bureau since 1997 and of the Central Committee of the PCC since 1980.
He was a Deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power from 19981 to 1986 and was elected again in 1993 until the present.
In well-deserved recognition of his fruitful career, the Council of State awarded him the Honorary Title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba and the orders «Máximo Gómez» First Degree, «Antonio Maceo», «Playa Girón», «Ernesto Che Guevara» First Degree, among many others received for his services to the Homeland.
