HAVANA (Reuters) – Vice President Juan Almeida, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution and a stalwart in Cuba’s aging old guard, died of heart failure at age 82, state-run media said yesterday.
Almeida was at the side of Fidel and Raul Castro from the earliest days of their guerrilla uprising and was the only black commander in the leadership.
He had been in ill health for several years and died late on Friday, Communist Party newspaper Granma said. The government declared today a national day of mourning and ordered flags flown at half-staff.
“The name of Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque will remain always in the hearts and minds of his compatriots,” it said in a statement in Granma.
Fidel Castro took power after the rebels toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959, and ruled until his brother Raul succeeded him as president last year.
Almeida served in high posts in the revolutionary government and at his death was one of several vice presidents in the Council of State under Raul Castro. He was also a member of the powerful political bureau of the ruling Communist Party.
Many of Cuba’s top leaders are in their late 70s and early 80s and Almeida’s death raises fresh questions about who will succeed them.
