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The first Colonel Humberto Alfonso Roca Sánchez, one of the 32 Cuban military personnel who died in Venezuela during the operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was for years a member of Fidel Castro's personal security detail and a trusted officer within the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).
Her death has reignited the debate about Cuba's operational presence in the Venezuelan security apparatus and has brought to light an unexpected fact: her two daughters reside in the United States.
Roca Sánchez (67 years old) was born on October 30, 1957 in Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) in 1971.
He was part of the Cuban mission in Angola and later assigned to the Personal Security Directorate (DSP), where he rose to hold command positions directly related to the protection of Fidel Castro.
He was also an active member of the Intelligence Directorate, carrying out missions abroad and being part of the so-called first security ring of the Cuban dictator.
Decorated with numerous military honors, Roca was regarded as a man of "absolute trust" by Fidel and Raúl Castro. He was the head of security at Punto Cero, the residence of the regime's leaders' family. He later continued to serve as head of escorts for distinguished visitors such as Pope Francis and Secretary of State John Kerry.
From Fidel's bodyguard to Maduro's inner circle
In his final years of service, Roca Sánchez was sent to Venezuela as part of the security apparatus for Nicolás Maduro, where he served as one of the chiefs of the personal protection scheme for the Chavist leader.
His presence on the front lines during the military operation on January 3 demonstrates the deep involvement of the Cuban apparatus in defending the Venezuelan regime.
Among the fallen officers in Venezuela, there is a second case that apparently also belonged to the personal guard of the Castro family. This is First Colonel Lázaro Evangelio Rodríguez Rodríguez, born on December 17, 1962, in Mayarí, Holguín.
This official from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) began his career in the Border Guard Troops and later joined the Personal Security Directorate, responsible for protecting the country's top leaders.
Roca Sánchez had two daughters living in the United States
Among the details that have come to light following his death, Martí Noticias emphasized that the daughters of Colonel Roca Sánchez reside in the United States.
The eldest, Mayelín Roca Enríquez, entered the country through the southern border on December 18, 2022, along with her husband and youngest daughter, requested political asylum, and currently lives in New Jersey. After obtaining permanent residency, she traveled back to Cuba for a vacation.
Her sister Marylin Roca Enríquez has been living in the United States since 2014, where she married a U.S. citizen and later became a U.S. citizen.
The passing of Colonel Humberto Alfonso Roca Sánchez highlights both the operational presence of the Cuban regime in Venezuela and the familial and moral contradictions that permeate the political and military elites on the island.
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