The reserve rear admiral Roberto Eduardo González Luaces, a military officer with an extensive record of service to the Cuban regime, passed away this Tuesday in the city of Cienfuegos at the age of 80, according to reports from the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).
MINFAR confirmed the death of González Luaces through an official statement that was reported by state media, but did not disclose the causes of his death.
The note underscored that the military officer "dedicated more than five decades of his life to the defense of the Homeland" and noted that his body was cremated and received honors in a family ceremony.
Born on October 13, 1945, in the province of Ciego de Ávila, González Luaces joined the regime's structures in his youth through the Association of Rebel Youth, and participated in the Literacy Campaign.
In his home province, he participated in the so-called "Fight Against Bandits," the military campaign of Fidel Castro's government against armed opposition groups that took place from 1959 to the mid-1965.
González Luaces joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) in the first call of 1964 and, a year later, entered the Naval Academy, from which he graduated as a deck officer of the Revolutionary Navy in 1969.
Throughout his career, he rose from soldier to rear admiral, holding positions such as commander of a missile boat, head of a torpedo boat squadron, and chief of the Central Naval Base of the Central Army, the statement highlighted.
Since 1993, he served as the Chief of the Provincial General Staff of Cienfuegos and, from 1999 to 2006, as the Chief of the Cienfuegos Military Region, a position he held for 14 years.
Among the awards he received are the Order for Service to the Homeland in the FAR of Third Class, the Ignacio Agramonte medals of first, second, and third classes, the Literacy Medal, and the Exemplary Service Medal in the FAR. He was a member of the Communist Party of Cuba.
In recent years, several high-ranking Cuban military officials have passed away. Last January, Brigadier General José Luis Mesa Delgado, who was 88 years old, died. He led the firing squad that executed General Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez and fellow military officers Antonio de la Guardia, Amado Padrón Trujillo, and Jorge Martínez Valdés on July 13, 1989.
Also in January, Major General of the Reserve Claro Orlando Almaguel Vidal passed away at the age of 81. During his years of service, he led the Logistics Department of the FAR and served as president of the National Institute of State Reserve.
Filed under: