Raúl Castro

Raúl Castro Ruz (born 1931 is a Cuban politician and revolutionary, the brother of Fidel Castro. He is Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, from 1965, First Vice-president of the Councils of State and Ministers, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, from 1959 to date.

He participated actively in the student fights from before the beginning of the Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship. He was member of the group of attackers to the Moncada Quarter and spent 22 months of prison as a result of this action. During his exile in Mexico, he participated in the preparations of the expedition of the ship Granma, disembarking in Cuba on December 2, 1956. As combatant of the Rebel Army he took part in the campaign of the Sierra Maestra mountain range and in February of 1958 was assigned the mission to cross the old province of Oriente at the front of a column of guerrillas to open, to the northeast of that territory, the Eastern front ¨Frank País¨. Together with his brother he finally conquered Santiago de Cuba on January 8, 1959, completing the overthrow of the Batista regime.

Raúl Castro Ruz integrated the National Direction of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations and the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. He is the Second Secretary of the Party's Central Committee since its constitution in October 1965 and Delegated Committee to the National Assembly of the Popular Power from its creation in 1976.