Romárico Vidal Sotomayor García, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, dies in Havana

Via the Communist Party of Cuba, lightly edited and translated from the Spanish

In the early morning hours of September 1, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Major General of the Reserve, Romárico Vidal Sotomayor García, a prominent fighter in the Rebel Army, who was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power and served in important positions in the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), died in Havana, at the age of 85.

At the age of 18 he joined the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra, under the orders of our Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, and at the Triumph of the Revolution he fulfilled various missions and responsibilities in the FAR and the MININT, including those of Deputy Minister of the Interior, Chief of the General Directorate of the National Revolutionary Police, of the Political Directorate of the MININT, of several units of the FAR, of the General Staff of the Eastern Army and Chief of the Southern Troop Group in the People's Republic of Angola.

In Army General Raúl Castro Ruz's prologue to the book dedicated to the life of Major General Sotomayor García, "Without Forgetting My Roots," the leader of the Revolution said: "There are no mysteries in how General Sotomayor has managed to successfully fulfill such varied and complex missions" and added he showed "unconditional fidelity to our people, to the Homeland, to the Revolution, to its Commander in Chief and to those who have acted in its name; and confidence in the decisions of his commanders and absolute commitment to comply with them."

His merits earned him the honorary title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba in November 2015, which was given to him by the Army General, as well as numerous decorations and recognitions throughout his long and brilliant record of service, among which the Order of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos stand out, as well as the medals for the XX Anniversary of Moncada, Combatant of the War of Liberation, Combatant of the Clandestine Struggle, Internationalist Combatant First Class, and the medals Calixto García, Ignacio Agramonte, Olo Pantoja, Eliseo Reyes, which along with many others show the hero's feats.

In compliance with the family's will, his remains were cremated.

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