His remains have been cremated and will be on display on Tuesday at the Calzada and K funeral home, between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm
14ymedio, Havana, 2 September 2024 — Hero of the Revolution for some, known repressor of the dictatorship for others, General Romárico Vidal Sotomayor García died in the early hours of September 1 in Havana at the age of 85. The soldier, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, deputy in the National Assembly and a senior position in the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior for decades, was one of those responsible for the repression of the anti-government demonstrations of July 11, 2021 (11J), for which he was sanctioned by the United States.
“There are no mysteries in how General Sotomayor has successfully managed to fulfill such dissimilar and complex missions,” Raúl Castro had written about him in the prologue of “Sin olvidar mis raíces (Without Forgetting my Roots”), his biography. The former president stated in the text that his “unconditional loyalty to our people, to the Homeland, to the Revolution, to its Commander-in-Chief and to those who have acted on their behalf; confidence in the decisions of their superiors and absolute commitment to comply with them,” the official press reported.
Born in Bartolomé Masó, Granma Province, in 1938, Sotomayor joined the Rebel Army in 1957, where he was part of column I, and after the triumph of the Revolution he was sent to La Cabaña, where hundreds of people were executed under the command of Ernesto Che Guevara, although his biography officially indicates that there “he continued his military studies.”
Sotomayor was in Angola from September 1975, and between 1982 and 1984 he was Chief of Staff, before occupying the post of head of the Southern Troops Group.
Sotomayor was in Angola from September 1975, and between 1982 and 1984 he was chief of the General Staff, before occupying the position of head of the Southern Troop Group
Among the decorations he holds are the order of Che Guevara; the order of Camilo Cienfuegos; the medals of the XX Anniversary of the Moncada; Fighter of the “War of Liberation” [Cuban Revolution] (1956-1958); Combatant of the Clandestine Struggle [the Escambray Rebellion] (1959-1966); First Class Internationalist Fighter; and several others, such as the Calixto García and the Ignacio Agramonte.
In addition, Raúl Castro awarded him the title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba in 2015, coinciding with his retirement, at the age of 77.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included him on the list of those sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2022, for his relationship to “actions to repress peaceful and pro-democratic protests in Cuba,” which is why many Cubans have not regretted his death – in fact, just the opposite.
The messages of condolences – “Before his transfer to the Minint he was head of the 1580 regiment, where I met him. An exceptional boss, my condolences to his family and friends” – have alternated with messages of satisfaction and relief – “He won’t be missed, no great loss” or “I didn’t wish for his death, but we all eventually fade away.”
His remains have been cremated and will be on display on Tuesday at the Calzada and K funeral home, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., according to the official press.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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