Farewell to one of the most faithful revolutionaries

During the funeral service, the first honor guard was led by José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Party Central Committee and vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers
Author: Yudy Castro Morales | internet@granma.cu
september 30, 2015 09:09:40

Floral wreaths were placed alongside the ashes of the outstanding revolutionary, Jorge Risquet, on behalf of the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers.

 

Photo: Jorge Luis González

The Cuban people paid posthumous tribute this Tuesday, September 29, to devoted revolutionary Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña. The Veterans’ Pantheon at the Colón Cemetery is Havana, saw a moving tribute by family, friends, compañeros and important leaders of the Party and government.
During the funeral service, the first honor guard was led by José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Party Central Committee and vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers; member of the Party Political Bureau Miguel Díaz-Canel, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers; and the Ministers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frías; and the Heroine of the Republic of Cuba, Brigadier General Teté Puebla.
Other figures and friends also guarded the ashes of the prominent internationalist and founder of the Communist Party of Cuba, next to which were placed floral wreaths on behalf of the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro and Army General Raúl Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers.
Similarly, wreaths were sent by the ambassadors of Algeria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Benin, among others, as an undeniable sign of affection and consideration on the part of these African countries, which Jorge Risquet defended throughout his life.
His ashes will be transferred to the Mausoleum of the Frank País Second Eastern Front at a later date.

 

Cuban Revolutionary Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña Dies in Havana

 

 

 

 

 

Havana.- Cuban revolutionary Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña died of cancer Monday morning in Havana at the age of 85.

In 1943, at the age of 13, Risquet joined the revolutionary youth movement, in which he carried out responsibilities as a member of Socialist Youth and of the People’s Socialist Party. He served as chief editor of the newspaper “Mella”, and secretary general of the Socialist Youth’s National Committee.

Before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, he was arrested on several occasions for his revolutionary activities. Henchmen of the Batista dictatorship kidnapped and tortured him and in 1958, he joined the Rebel Army as a combatant with the “Frank País” Second Eastern Front.

After 1959, Jorge Risquet represented Cuba and Latin America at the World Federation of Democratic Youth. A founder of the Cuban Communist Party, Risquet led the Cuban delegation at the tripartite negotiations that led to the independence of Angola and several other African countries from South Africa’s Apartheid regime. (RHC)