The Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) published an official farewell statement this Sunday for Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, who passed away at the age of 94 on Father's Day, describing him as one of its founders and promising that "he will always be in the heart and actions of every member of the Ministry of the Interior."
The institutional message, shared on social media by MININT, bestowed "eternal glory" upon one who was called the guide of the organization "for many years with his intelligence and firmness."
The ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel also expressed himself on his X account, stating that the death "hurts deeply, like that of a father" and concluded with a "Until victory always, Commander!".
The regime referred to him as a "Hero of the Republic of Cuba," but the story that the official narrative omits is that of a man who built the machinery of political repression for the Cuban state from the ground up.
Valdés served as Minister of the Interior since the establishment of MININT on June 6, 1961, and was a central figure in the structuring of State Security and Cuban intelligence services, with close ties to the Soviet security apparatus.
He served as Minister of the Interior during two terms —1961-1968 and 1979-1985— and was also the Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Minister of Informatics and Communications, and a founding member of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Among his detractors, he was known by the nicknames "Puddle of Blood" and "the Butcher of Artemisa," the city where he was born on April 28, 1932.
One of his last significant public acts was in August 2021, when at the age of 89 he personally decorated two MININT officers with the "Distinguished Service" award for repressing protesters on July 11 in Palma Soriano, a gesture that sparked widespread outrage among the opposition and the Cuban diaspora.
His physical decline had been evident for months. His last verifiable appearance was in September 2025, at the inauguration of a solar park in Sancti Spíritus.
Since then, he has been absent from the Council of Ministers meetings in October, November, and December of 2025, as well as the Torch March on January 27, 2026. On June 6, during the ceremony for the 65th anniversary of MININT, Díaz-Canel recognized him as the "founding chief" in front of his empty chair.
While the regime was proclaiming honors, hundreds of Cubans reacted on social media with open celebration. "He left without serving his sentence," wrote a user.
"That is the best gift for the parents of Cuba. Down with the dictatorship. Homeland and Life," another user posted. "Look how nice, for three minutes I'm going to forget that I have no water or electricity," a third person joked.
Before he passed away, Fidel Castro in November 2016, Faure Chomón Mediavilla in December 2019, Efigenio Ameijeiras Delgado in February 2020, and Julio Camacho Aguilera and Marcos Antonio Hernández Alcaraz, both in December 2024.
"Raúl, get ready, you're going out," summarized a Cuban on social media with irony.
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