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Pedro Roig, a lawyer, historian, and veteran of the Bay of Pigs, passed away in Miami on Tuesday night, at the age of 85 years, due to a cardiopulmonary condition.
The news was confirmed by family sources to the journalist Wilfredo Cancio Isla from Café Fuerte, who described him as "a fighter" and dedicated a lengthy note of sorrow to him.
Born on July 24, 1940 in Santiago de Cuba, Roig studied at the legendary Dolores school and, from a young age, became involved in activities against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, which led his parents to send him into exile in the United States.
After Fidel Castro's triumph, he briefly returned to Cuba, but upon realizing the communist direction of the revolution, he left the country once again to join the Brigada 2506 in the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs in April 1961.
Of the 2,680 members of that brigade, only about 200 survivors remain today. In April of this year, the exiled community inaugurated a new museum for Brigade 2506 in Little Havana, with an investment of five million dollars.
After the operation's failure, Roig built a solid academic and professional career. He earned a master's degree from the University of Miami and obtained his Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University.
He was one of the founding members of the Cuban American National Foundation, where he formed a close friendship with its founder, Jorge Mas Canosa, as they were both from Santiago de Cuba.
In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed him to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees Radio and TV Martí, a role he held until 2008. In September 2010, he received the Excellence Award from the Broadcasting Board of Governors for his leadership in that mission. His successor as the director of Radio and TV Martí was the Cuban-American lawyer Carlos García-Pérez.
In 2011, he joined as an academic and researcher at the Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami.
In his later years, he joined the firm Hirzel Dreyfuss & Dempsey in Coral Gables, where he represented the Cuban-American publicist Ana Margarita Martínez in her defamation lawsuit against Netflix following the release of the film Red Avispa in 2020.
Among his works, notable titles include The Death of a Dream, a comprehensive critical account of the history of Cuba, and The Cuban War of Independence: 1895-1898.
Cancio Isla, who shared an opinion program with Roig on Radio Martí for several years, summed up his legacy as follows: "He was a prominent lawyer, educator, author of numerous history books, and a strong advocate for the promotion of human rights and democratic freedoms in his country of origin."
"In this painful hour of departure, I can only express my gratitude and wish you light and peace on your eternal journey. My condolences to the family. Thank you, Pedro, for your contribution and your strength," wrote the journalist.
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