Members of the Cuban Embassy in Angola today remembered Raúl Díaz Argüelles, first head of the Cuban military mission in Luanda, on the 48th anniversary of his death.
At the headquarters of the diplomatic mission and in the presence of the ambassador, Oscar Leon, they paid a minute of silence in tribute to the 2,85 combatants of the island who offered their lives with the Angolan people, in addition to 204 others who died while performing civilian tasks.
The military, naval and air attaché, Colonel Enrique Kindelán, recalled the career of Díaz Argüelles, who joined the Revolutionary Directorate «13 de Marzo» in the struggle against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958) and reached the rank of commander at the age of 22.
After the revolutionary triumph of January 1, 1959, he assumed diverse responsibilities, among them the active combat in the fight against bandits until exterminating the gangs that operated in the province of Matanzas.
In August 1975, at the request of Dr. António Agostinho Neto for military assistance, he was appointed by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, to establish and then lead the military mission in Angola during its first stage.
At that time, he was in charge of a group of 429 officers from the Caribbean nation who participated in the creation of four military instruction centers with a capacity for 500 students each, in which they prepared thousands of combatants of the Popular Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (Fapla).
Once the war broke out, their work was fundamental in the confrontation with the enemy, who did not manage to pass in the direction of Luanda.
On December 11, 1975, while he was traveling to Hengo, in the province of Cuanza Sul, the armored transporter in which he was traveling made contact with an anti-tank mine that destroyed his legs, and he died a few hours later at the age of 39.
Posthumously, on December 2, 1976, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
On the 40th anniversary of Angola’s independence, in 2015, the Council of State agreed to grant him the Honorary Title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba and the Máximo Gómez Order of the First Degree.
The President of Angola, João Lourenço, post mortem awarded him the Agostinho Neto Order, delivered in a solemn ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, on July 1, 2019.
