The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) announced this Friday the passing of Brigadier General Gustavo Fleitas Ramírez, known by the nickname “Mandarria,” through a statement read on the National Television News, following the usual protocol of the organization for communicating the deaths of senior military officials.
The MINFAR did not disclose the cause or circumstances of the death. His remains were cremated, and the ashes will be interred in the Veterans' Pantheon of the Colón Necropolis, where they will remain until transferred to the Mausoleum of the Third Front in the province of Santiago de Cuba, where he will receive military honors.
Fleitas Ramírez joined the Movimiento 26 de Julio at a young age and participated in clandestine activities against the Batista dictatorship. In February 1958, he joined the insurrectional struggle in the Sierra Maestra, in the Third Front "Doctor Mario Muñoz," under the command of Commander Juan Almeida Bosque. After the Revolution triumphed, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
Throughout his career in the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), he held positions such as tank battalion chief, operations chief, and chief of staff of the Camagüey Division, chief of the Motorized Infantry Division, chief of the Holguín Army Corps, second-in-command of the Western Army, and chief of the Central Army.
He also fought at Playa Girón and in the struggle against bandits in the Escambray, rising from soldier to brigadier general.
The Executioner Father
This Thursday, the public testimony of one of his sons, identified on social media as "Guitera Antonio," emerged, who this Thursday announced the passing of his father with words full of pain and ambivalence: "He dedicated his entire life to that cursed Revolution, abandoning his family. When I was imprisoned, he requested that I be shot for being a traitor to the homeland. But he was my father. Rest in peace, General."
The son himself had shared on social media that his father was living in total abandonment after having served the regime.
The most prominent aspect of the regime during his career was his participation in Angola as the head of the Southern Troops Group and as the deputy head of the military mission; in Ethiopia, he served as the brigade commander of tanks and the head of the Cuban military mission.
However, his actions in both scenarios were not without controversy. Testimonies from former Cuban military personnel, gathered in an investigation regarding the Ochoa case, indicate that Fleitas Ramírez was replaced in Angola by General Leopoldo Cintra Frías ("Polo") due to the worsening military situation prior to the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, and that later Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez took command of the mission.
One of those testimonial sources stated: "Arnaldo was sent to Angola because the situation was very complicated; they had already sent Polo to replace Mandarria, who was not qualified to handle such a complicated situation."
The passing of Fleitas Ramírez adds to a series of deaths of high-ranking officials from the historical generation of the FAR recorded throughout 2026.
In less than a year, Brigadier General Alcibíades Wilmer Pérez Rivero passed away on July 3, Brigadier General William Gálvez Rodríguez on July 17, Commander Ramiro Valdés Menéndez on June 21, Rear Admiral Roberto Eduardo González Luaces in May, and Generals Claro Orlando Almaguel Vidal and José Luis Mesa Delgado in January.
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