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Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society.
Definition
The term—bot ...
. One of the major figures of the Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
, he was considered second only to Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
among the revolutionary leadership.
The son of Spanish anarchists, Cienfuegos engaged with left-wing politics
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
from an early age, going on to join the opposition movement against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
. He joined Castro's 26th of July Movement on its expedition to Cuba and was one of the few survivors of the Landing of the Granma. He quickly distinguished himself as one of the top commanders of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include Cuban Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Army, Cuban Revolutionary Navy, Revolutionary Navy, Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary A ...
and a popular leading figure of the revolution, becoming close friends with Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
during their guerrilla campaign in Las Villas. After winning the Battle of Yaguajay in December 1958, Cienfuegos led the capture of Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...
and Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.commander-in-chief of the armed forces by the new revolutionary government. He oversaw the reorganization of the armed forces, in order to purge leading figures of the Cuban National Army and replace them with guerrilla commanders more loyal to Fidel Castro.
When Huber Matos objected to Castro's consolidation of power, he was arrested by Cienfuegos. While flying back from Matos' former headquarters at
After the landing of the Granma on 2 December 1956, 26 July Movement made its way into the Sierra Maestra, where they were by the Cuban National Army on 5 December. Many of the guerrillas were captured and killed, forcing the rest to escape into the mountains. Cienfuegos' small group wandered around the area for days, eventually being pointed in Castro's direction by local peasants. He found himself to be one of only twelve men that had survived the initial expedition.
During the set up for an ambush of the National Army, Cienfuegos accidentally almost shot
With the rebellion well under way, both the National and Revolutionary armies were now attempting to assert their rule over the Sierra Maestra. In the absence of firm state control, the region fell into chaos, as various armed groups committed a litany of abuses. The rebels themselves had a code of conduct and 
The following month, they received news that Ángel Sánchez Mosquera was leading the National Army through the adjacent valley and destroying the local peasantry's homes there. Cienfuegos was dispatched to ambush them from behind, but the engagement was quick and only resulted in one National soldier's death before both sides withdrew. Cienfuegos then attempted a second attack, taking up position near the National Army camp while waiting for reinforcements from Guevara's column. On 29 November, the rebels set their ambush, covering all routes of escape and concealing themselves in the trees. Most of the National Army soldiers were gunned down in the farmhouse they were stationed in, while guerrilla patrols attempted to hold back reinforcements from arriving. After a bloody day of fighting, the rebels were forced to retreat, having lost a number of men. They were pursued along the way by Sánchez Mosquera's forces, as their defensive lines collapsed.
Again, they attempted to set up an ambush. Cienfuegos was to fire the starting shot at point-blank range from behind a tree, following which partially-concealed sharpshooters would open fire on the road. During the subsequent fire fight, Guevara was hit in the foot, lost his rifle and was again forced to pull back. Guevara went to request urgent reinforcements from Castro, but found that the National Army had withdrawn from the area. He was initially pleased and after his foot was operated on, returned to his base camp in El Hombrito, which he found completely destroyed. As the new year of 1958 dawned, Guevara's column began establishing a new base camp in La Mesa.
In February 1958, Guevara's armory began preparing supplies for the rebel forces' first offensive of the year, a planned attack on a National Army company at Pino del Agua. On 16 February, the rebels attacked the army camp with explosives, overrunning the guard posts. After initial rebel successes, National reinforcements arrived and Cienfuegos was shot twice, while attempting to retrieve a machine gun. At Guevara's command, the rebels attempted to rout the National Army, but ultimately decided to pull back as they did not have support from the wounded Cienfuegos. The rebels retreated into the hills again, where they carried out a series of sabotage attacks against the army.
On 24 May 1958, the National Army launched
Before the arrival of Guevara and Cienfuegos in Las Villas, the insurrection there was mostly directed by independent groups such as the Revolutionary Directorate and the Second National Front of Escambray, as well as small detachments of the Popular Socialist Party and 26 July Movement. Although these groups had accomplished little before, the new leadership of Guevara and Cienfuegos would transform the revolutionary situation in Las Villas and prove instrumental to the adhesion of the Communists to the movement. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns arrived in Las Villas on 14 October 1958, gaining strength from National Army deserters and local 26 July Movement activists along the way. There Cienfuegos' column was joined by another commanded by the Communist Félix Torres, who subordinated himself to Cienfuegos' command. Together they clashed with a 450-strong detachment of the National Army and faced difficulties with a local unit of the Revolutionary Directorate, with Enrique Oltuski coming to them from 
Instead, Cienfuegos and Guevara aimed to cut the island in half by definitively capturing the province. Guevara captured Fomento on 18 December, and Cabaiguán and Guayos on 21 December, before moving on to capture the junction at Placetas. By Christmas Day, they had captured most of the province, leaving only the major cities in the hands of the regime. Meanwhile, Cienfuegos' column moved to the north of the province and launched an attack on the National Army garrison at Yaguajay. During the ensuing Battle of Yaguajay, Cienfuegos' column captured 250 men and 375 rifles, before moving on.
This offensive proved to be the
The following day, 26 July Movement called for a 
Tensions had not yet subsided, as the Revolutionary Directorate held on to the
On the anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks that had started the Revolution, the revolutionary government went to mass, where they commemorated those that fell during the revolution, before presiding over a mass demonstration at Plaza de la Revolución, followed by a military parade. Later that night, they held a baseball game at the Estadio Latinoamericano, where Cienfuegos and Castro played for a team called "Los Barbudos" (). Baseball quickly became a fixture of post-revolutionary Cuban culture, with United States ambassador Philip Bonsal observing: "The spectacle of the Prime Minister, alleged by his admirers to have been a promising pitcher of big league caliber, throwing a few curves to Major Camilo Cienfuegos, a former minor-leaguer, and generally clowning about on the diamond was a feature of the pregame show of many important contests."
In October 1959, Raúl Castro was promoted to Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, formally demoting Cienfuegos, who had previously been his superior officer. This triggered the resignation of Huber Matos, who accused Fidel Castro of "burying the revolution". Fidel responded by publicly denouncing Matos for
On 28 October 1959, Cienfuegos'
To Cuban-American historian Samuel Farber, Cienfuegos "exemplified the quintessential native, male, urban Cuban with his sense of humor, great interest in dancing and
On 28 October each year, school children throughout Cuba throw flowers into the sea or a river to honor Camilo Cienfuegos, repeating the spontaneous tribute of the Cubans who tossed flowers into the ocean when they heard his plane had been lost over the Cuba Florida Strait. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, on 28 October 2009, a steel outline of Cienfuegos' face and the words "''Vas bien, Fidel''" were added to the side of the building on the Plaza de la Revolución.
After the revolution, streets and buildings throughout Cuba were renamed after heroes of the Revolution, including Cienfuegos himself. A village previously known as "Hershey", in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Norte, was renamed to
Bio of Cienfuegos
at ''History of Cuba''
Camilo, la Estrella Cercana
, a podcast about Camilo at Radio Rebelde {{DEFAULTSORT:Cienfuegos, Camilo 1932 births 1950s missing person cases 1959 deaths 20th-century Cuban educators 20th-century Cuban military personnel 20th-century Cuban politicians Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro alumni Baseball players from Havana Cuban communists Cuban guerrillas Cuban people of Asturian descent Cuban revolutionaries Cuban soldiers Missing air passengers Missing person cases in Florida People declared dead in absentia People lost at sea People of the Cuban Revolution Politicians from Havana Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1959 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Cuba
Camagüey
Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...
, Cienfuegos' plane disappeared over the Straits of Florida
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait () is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) an ...
. After a few days of an attempted search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
operation, he was presumed dead by the Cuban government. His disappearance quickly spawned a number of conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
...
, many of which speculated Fidel or Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...
to have been responsible, but no proof of such has been discovered. Cienfuegos has since become known as a revolutionary martyr
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society.
Definition
The term—bot ...
in Cuba, with a number of institutions being dedicated to his name, including a Military Schools System and an Order of Merit
The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
.
Cienfuegos was a popular figure in Cuba, due to his cheerful and carefree personality, which contrasted sharply with the strict austerity of his comrade Guevara. Although he was claimed by different factions to have been a communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
, an anti-communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
or an anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
, he never publicly expressed any political ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
. The soldiers that fought for him remembered him for his friendly and paternal leadership style, while the Cuban government upheld him as a loyal supporter of Fidel Castro. Every year, on 28 October, Cuban children throw flowers into the rivers and seas, in tribute to him.
Early life
In 1932, Camilo Cienfuegos was born into a working-class family, the son of Spanish anarchists who had immigrated to Cuba. His father Ramón Cienfuegos worked as a tailor in Havana and was involved in left-wing political activism, working with Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista (SIA) and the Asociacíon Libertaria de Cuba (ALC). While Camilo was still an infant, his father took him along with him to raise money for the Republicans during theSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
.
Camilo's older brother Osmany Cienfuegos, who had graduated as an architect, became a communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
activist, at a time when student dissidents were highly active and increasingly being repressed by the anti-communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
regime of Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
. Having himself enrolled in an art school
An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...
to study sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, in December 1955, Camilo participated in a series of student demonstrations that were violently broken up by the authorities. After laying a wreath
A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape.
In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...
at a monument to Antonio Maceo, while walking back to their university, he and his fellow students were shot and wounded by police. He was eventually forced to drop out of school due to financial difficulties and began working at the same clothing shop as his father. He also briefly emigrated to the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, where he worked illegally for a period. In 1956, Cienfuegos moved to Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and joined Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
's 26th of July Movement for its expedition back to Cuba.
Guerrilla activities
Landing and first offensive
After the landing of the Granma on 2 December 1956, 26 July Movement made its way into the Sierra Maestra, where they were by the Cuban National Army on 5 December. Many of the guerrillas were captured and killed, forcing the rest to escape into the mountains. Cienfuegos' small group wandered around the area for days, eventually being pointed in Castro's direction by local peasants. He found himself to be one of only twelve men that had survived the initial expedition.
During the set up for an ambush of the National Army, Cienfuegos accidentally almost shot Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
, who was disguised as a National Army officer. Despite this mistake, the ambush went ahead successfully. The ranks of the rebels soon grew, as they gained the support of the local peasantry. Relations with new recruits didn't start off well, as the veterans were frustrated by their lack of experience, knowledge and proper equipment. This larger revolutionary armed force was divided into three companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
, while Cienfuegos took command of a small special vanguard
The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
...
unit. It was also brought under the command of an inner council, of which Cienfuegos was also a member. With Fidel Castro as commander-in-chief, all of the leading commanders of the revolutionary armed forces shared equal rank: that of major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
.
In March 1957, the National Army initiated a counter-offensive against the rebels, confidently declaring victory over them by early April. Within weeks, the rebels returned to Pico Turquino, supported by the local population. There they made efforts to combat the chronic malnutrition and illness of the peasantry, carried out agrarian reform
Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution.
Lan ...
and taught classes on Marxist theory
Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew f ...
. By May 1957, the rebels were marching east, planning to launch another attack against the army. With Castro having appointed Cienfuegos as commander of the Second Column, on 28 May, the rebels surrounded the Uvero barracks and began firing on it. Despite some losses, the rebels were victorious and quickly looted the barracks, taking supplies and prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
back into the mountains with them.
In Guevara's Column
With the rebellion well under way, both the National and Revolutionary armies were now attempting to assert their rule over the Sierra Maestra. In the absence of firm state control, the region fell into chaos, as various armed groups committed a litany of abuses. The rebels themselves had a code of conduct and Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
in particular was committed to strict discipline, which caused tensions with the recruits when rebel commander Lalo Sardiñas shot a disobedient soldier. Castro defended the killing as a disciplinary action, managing to persuade a majority of the soldiers to vote for his demotion. Many of those in the minority that had wanted to see him executed subsequently left the rebel forces.
Sardiñas was stripped of command and replaced by Cienfuegos, who was made captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of Guevara's vanguard platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's leadership styles proved complementary, as "Camilo's devil-may-care personality helped offset Che's strictness", and the two became fast friends. Castro ordered Cienfuegos to pursue and neutralise a group of "bandit
Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...
s", who they wanted to try for abuses being committed under the revolutionary banner. The column went to Mount Caracas, where they captured the Chinese Cuban bandit leader Chino Chang, tried him by revolutionary tribunal and executed him. Three of Chang's young followers were subjected to a mock execution, after which they were invited to join the revolutionary army. They also captured and executed some young bandits that had stolen from the revolutionaries, as well as a rapist that had impersonated Guevara. When interviewed about the executions, Castro downplayed the number and justified the documented cases. In October 1957, Guevara pulled back and began looking to establish industrial infrastructure in the region, so that the guerrilla war could be materially sustained. Before long, the revolutionaries had managed to establish an entire insurgent
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...
economy in El Hombrito, complete with a dam, a hospital, farms, factories and workshops.
The following month, they received news that Ángel Sánchez Mosquera was leading the National Army through the adjacent valley and destroying the local peasantry's homes there. Cienfuegos was dispatched to ambush them from behind, but the engagement was quick and only resulted in one National soldier's death before both sides withdrew. Cienfuegos then attempted a second attack, taking up position near the National Army camp while waiting for reinforcements from Guevara's column. On 29 November, the rebels set their ambush, covering all routes of escape and concealing themselves in the trees. Most of the National Army soldiers were gunned down in the farmhouse they were stationed in, while guerrilla patrols attempted to hold back reinforcements from arriving. After a bloody day of fighting, the rebels were forced to retreat, having lost a number of men. They were pursued along the way by Sánchez Mosquera's forces, as their defensive lines collapsed.
Again, they attempted to set up an ambush. Cienfuegos was to fire the starting shot at point-blank range from behind a tree, following which partially-concealed sharpshooters would open fire on the road. During the subsequent fire fight, Guevara was hit in the foot, lost his rifle and was again forced to pull back. Guevara went to request urgent reinforcements from Castro, but found that the National Army had withdrawn from the area. He was initially pleased and after his foot was operated on, returned to his base camp in El Hombrito, which he found completely destroyed. As the new year of 1958 dawned, Guevara's column began establishing a new base camp in La Mesa.
In February 1958, Guevara's armory began preparing supplies for the rebel forces' first offensive of the year, a planned attack on a National Army company at Pino del Agua. On 16 February, the rebels attacked the army camp with explosives, overrunning the guard posts. After initial rebel successes, National reinforcements arrived and Cienfuegos was shot twice, while attempting to retrieve a machine gun. At Guevara's command, the rebels attempted to rout the National Army, but ultimately decided to pull back as they did not have support from the wounded Cienfuegos. The rebels retreated into the hills again, where they carried out a series of sabotage attacks against the army.
Independent command
With rebel activity increasing around the country, Castro moved to extend their theatre of operations. On 27 February, he appointed Cienfuegos, Juan Almeida andRaúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...
to command their own columns. While Raúl and Almeida were dispatched to carry out guerrilla activities in Oriente, Cienfuegos was left to recover from his wounds. Meanwhile, Castro himself began consolidating his authority within the "free territory" that had been carved out of the Sierra Maestra.
In March 1958, the Catholic Church in Cuba began calling for peace negotiations and the formation of a national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...
, but the initiative was rejected by Castro. As Fulgencio Batista attempted to salvage the situation, the 26 July Movement and the Revolutionary Directorate signed a joint manifesto on 12 March, which called for a general strike
A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
and "total war
Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all (including civilian-associated) resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilises all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare ov ...
" against the Batista regime. However, the call for a general strike was disregarded by the trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s, as many workplaces remained open and any workers taking strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...
were shot by Batista's death squad
A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...
s. The failure of the general strike was a blow to the revolutionaries, with different factions blaming each other, while Batista received new arms shipments from Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...
. In response, 26 July Movement and the Popular Socialist Party formed an alliance against the regime, with many communists joining the army.
On 16 April, Cienfuegos returned to active combat in the Sierra, with Castro appointing him as commander of the guerrilla warfare in the area between Bayamo, Manzanillo and Las Tunas. There he was directed to sabotage the National Army, take over supply lines, implement agrarian reform and a new civil code. Castro aimed to defend Sierra Maestra, as it became clear that Batista was planning a new offensive. Castro and Guevara subsequently moved their headquarters into the hills, where they clashed with Sánchez Mosquera's forces. After Guevara had set up camp, Castro tasked him with establishing and running a military school in order to train new recruits. He had hoped to reunite on the front lines with Cienfuegos, who consoled his friend with a letter:
On 24 May 1958, the National Army launched Operation Verano
Operation Verano (, "Operation Summer") was the name given to the summer offensive in 1958 by the Batista government during the Cuban Revolution, known to the rebels as ''La Ofensiva''. The offensive was designed to crush Fidel Castro's revolutio ...
, an offensive into the Sierra that aimed to cut off Castro's supply lines and weaken his forces. When the National Army advanced in the foothills along the northern front, Castro was forced to withdraw all of his forces from the south, as he only had 300 soldiers for the defense. On 26 June, Cienfuegos' patrol group was recalled from Holguín, in order to reinforce the revolutionary forces against the national offensive. The revolutionaries were then able to continuously ambush the army, which mostly focused on guarding coffee and sugar plantations, while their own insurgent economy only grew.
Las Villas Operation
By August 1958, the National Army had finally withdrawn from the Sierra and Castro began to plan new offensive operations. By this time, independent insurrections had broken out in the Escambray Mountains of Central Cuba. Castro decided to sendChe Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
and Cienfuegos west, in an attempt to bring the direction of the fighting under their command. Cienfuegos himself was directed to lead his 82-strong Antonio Maceo Column across the island towards Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del Río was ...
, in emulation of his column's namesake.
Together with Guevara's own column, they left the revolutionary headquarters on foot, as their vehicles had been rendered useless by a National Army ambush. The two columns travelled together for a while, wading through rice paddies and swamps, while attempting to evade the National Army and any aerial bombardment. They advanced into Camagüey
Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...
on 7 September and clashed with the National Army at Santa Cruz del Sur. The revolutionaries pressed on despite the poor conditions of the expedition, with Cienfuegos reporting in October:
During the "Westward March of Che and Camilo", the revolutionaries took control of a number of towns, cities and transportation hubs. Further clashes occurred during the expedition and sometimes it was necessary to stop and dispense justice, with Cienfuegos being noted to have shot two of his men for looting. In Camagüey, they received assistance from local communists, who helped produce propaganda leaflets for 26 July Movement.
Before the arrival of Guevara and Cienfuegos in Las Villas, the insurrection there was mostly directed by independent groups such as the Revolutionary Directorate and the Second National Front of Escambray, as well as small detachments of the Popular Socialist Party and 26 July Movement. Although these groups had accomplished little before, the new leadership of Guevara and Cienfuegos would transform the revolutionary situation in Las Villas and prove instrumental to the adhesion of the Communists to the movement. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns arrived in Las Villas on 14 October 1958, gaining strength from National Army deserters and local 26 July Movement activists along the way. There Cienfuegos' column was joined by another commanded by the Communist Félix Torres, who subordinated himself to Cienfuegos' command. Together they clashed with a 450-strong detachment of the National Army and faced difficulties with a local unit of the Revolutionary Directorate, with Enrique Oltuski coming to them from Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
, in Sancti Spíritus Province, to mediate the dispute, and in the process meeting Guevara and Cienfuegos.
Cienfuegos' column was supplied with provisions by the local communist militants such as Armando Acosta, who became Guevara's personal aide. Cienfuegos spent much of his time there organising regular collective reading sessions, dedicated to studying the works of Cuban national heroes José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...
and Antonio Maceo, the latter of whom Cienfuegos read aloud himself "in a deep voice". The revolutionaries also implemented a programme of agrarian reform in Las Villas, with Cienfuegos organising local sugar workers to hold a national conference later in the year. As Guevara attempted to form an alliance with the Directorate, Cienfuegos apparently displayed "no eagerness" to move on to his destination of Pinar del Río.
When the 1958 Cuban general election was held, Guevara and Cienfuegos organised a boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
in Las Villas and attempted to prevent voting urns from being brought to the province. Cienfuegos was ordered to attack towns in the north of the province, which succeeded in bringing provincial traffic to a standstill on the day of the election. In an attempt to appeal for US support, president-elect Andrés Rivero Agüero initially promised to negotiate a peaceful solution to the political crisis in the country, but quickly re-committed to Batista's plan of forcefully suppressing the uprising.
In November 1958, the National Air Force began bombarding Guevara's forces daily and the National Army moved several heavily armed companies towards their positions. Cienfuegos brought his Column to reinforce Guevara and the two sides battled for a week. On 4 December 1958, the National Army's offensive was halted and they were then pushed back to Fomento, with the revolutionaries capturing a large amount of territory and materiel
Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context.
Military
In a military context, ...
. As Cienfuegos and Guevara continued to see success against the National Army, Cienfuegos' column was ordered to remain in the province, rather than pushing on to Pinar del Río.
Instead, Cienfuegos and Guevara aimed to cut the island in half by definitively capturing the province. Guevara captured Fomento on 18 December, and Cabaiguán and Guayos on 21 December, before moving on to capture the junction at Placetas. By Christmas Day, they had captured most of the province, leaving only the major cities in the hands of the regime. Meanwhile, Cienfuegos' column moved to the north of the province and launched an attack on the National Army garrison at Yaguajay. During the ensuing Battle of Yaguajay, Cienfuegos' column captured 250 men and 375 rifles, before moving on.
This offensive proved to be the coup de grâce
A coup de grâce (; ) is an act of mercy killing in which a person or animal is struck with a melee weapon or shot with a projectile to end their suffering from mortal wounds with or without their consent. Its meaning has extended to refer to ...
of the Batista regime, with the President himself deciding to flee the country. By the end of December 1958, Las Villas was completely under revolutionary control, cutting communications between the National Army in the east and the west. Guevara then began making preparations for their final campaign. Guevara and Cienfuegos received orders from Castro, directing them to advance on Havana, while specifying that it "be carried out exclusively by the 26th of July forces. Camilo's column should be in the lead, the vanguard, to take over Havana when the dictatorship falls, if we don't want the weapons from Camp Columbia ilitary headquartersto be distributed among all the various groups, which would present a very serious problem in the future."
Revolutionary victory
On 2 January 1959, Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns finally moved on the Cuban capital of Havana, with Guevara capturing the fortress ofLa Cabaña
''Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña'' (Fort of Saint Charles), colloquially known as La Cabaña, is an 18th-century fortress complex, the third-largest in the Americas, located on the elevated eastern side of the harbor entrance in Havana, ...
. That day, Cienfuegos' column arrived at Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...
, where they accepted the unconditional surrender of the local regiment. The soldiers were disarmed of their rifles but allowed by Cienfuegos to keep their pistols. Cienfuegos' column then moved on and occupied Camp Columbia in Havana, which Cienfuegos received command over from Ramón Barquín. When Carlos Franqui
Carlos Franqui (December 4, 1921 – April 16, 2010) was a Cuban writer, poet, journalist, art critic, and political activist. After the Fulgencio Batista coup in 1952, he became involved with the 26th of July Movement which was headed by Fidel ...
arrived in Havana, he reported of Cienfuegos' Camp Columbia that:
The following day, 26 July Movement called for a general strike
A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
to mark the final blow to the Batista regime, with the old institutions falling to the revolution with each passing hour. As Batista's former soldiers defected en masse
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...
to the revolution, the newly installed revolutionary president Manuel Urrutia appointed Cienfuegos as commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. On 5 January, Cienfuegos welcomed members of the new revolutionary Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
as they arrived in Havana, where they awaited Castro.
While Castro delayed in reaching the capital, Cienfuegos became the public face of the revolution in Havana. When visited in Camp Columbia by television reporters, who broadcast the interaction to thousands of viewers, he made a point to release a number of parrots from their birdcage
A birdcage (or bird cage) is a cage (enclosure), cage designed to house birds as pets.
Antique (or antique-style) birdcages are often popular as collectors' items or as household decor but most are not suitable for housing live birds, being to ...
s, declaring "these also have a right to liberty". Cienfuegos' "easy manners" quickly became emblematic of the revolutionaries, who Havana was pleasantly surprised to find on good behavior; neither drinking alcohol nor looting the city after its capture. Due to the saturation of radio and television access in Cuba, before long, "everyone knew who Camilo Cienfuegos was" and could easily identify the rebel commander. Castro himself preferred Cienfuegos taking the center stage over the foreign communist Guevara, as the "handsome, Stetson-wearing, baseball-playing, womanizing, humorous Camilo was Cuban, not known to be a Communist, and had already become a popular folk hero."
Tensions had not yet subsided, as the Revolutionary Directorate held on to the Presidential Palace
A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...
and refused to vacate it for the arrival of the new president, with Cienfuegos considering an attack against the palace. According to Franqui: "Camilo, half joking and half serious, said a couple of cannonballs should be fired off as a warning. ..As I was not an admirer of the palace, I said it seemed like a good idea, but Che, with his sense of responsibility, told us it wasn't the right time to waste cannonballs, and he patiently returned to the palace, met Faure Chomón, and matters were straightened out. Camilo always listened to Che." The situation was thus diffused and the palace was peacefully handed over to Urrutia. On 8 January, Fidel Castro finally arrived in Havana, meeting with Urrutia at the presidential palace and giving a speech at Cienfuegos' Camp Columbia. During the rally, Castro interrupted his speech to ask Cienfuegos "''¿Voy bien, Camilo?''" () Cienfuegos responded in kind, "''Vas bien, Fidel!''" ()
After the Revolution
Initial activities
In the wake of the revolution, most political parties dissolved themselves voluntarily, hoping to make way for a "new political order". By 10 January 1959, Cienfuegos had legalized the Popular Socialist Party (PSP), declaring that it "would have rights to organize themselves like all other democratic parties providing that they did not represent the interests of a foreign power". Che supported Cienfuegos' decision, himself considering the PSP to have proven themselves worthy of participating in the government and aiding them in their early operations. Meanwhile, Camilo solicited his brother Osmany Cienfuegos, a member of the PSP, to establish a Cultural Section of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that would oversee the Cuban literacy campaign. According to Julio García Espinosa, Cienfuegos also commissioned a number of PSP members as officers in the army, even though they hadn't fought in the war. Cienfuegos also participated in talks between 26 July Movement and the Popular Socialist Party, which aimed at merging the two organisations. Having declared victory for the Revolution, Cienfuegos never ended up taking an official position within the government. He instead preferred to enjoy Havana'snightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
, going to clubs and reveling in his status as "the spoiled darling of the masses". In February 1959, Cienfuegos surprised Guevara by arranging a free flight for Guevara's family to come see him from Argentina. If Guevara had known about it, he may not have allowed it, due to his self-imposed austerity. When Guevara married Aleida March on 2 June, Cienfuegos arrived with bottles of rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
"to liven up" the wedding reception
A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for th ...
. Shortly after the wedding, Guevara went to Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
to meet with state representatives of the Bandung Pact. While away, Guevara's men began to worry that he had been removed by Castro, protesting to Cienfuegos when an unpopular commander was named as his substitute. But Cienfuegos proved unmoved by their complaints and reprimanded the soldiers for not obeying orders.
On the anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks that had started the Revolution, the revolutionary government went to mass, where they commemorated those that fell during the revolution, before presiding over a mass demonstration at Plaza de la Revolución, followed by a military parade. Later that night, they held a baseball game at the Estadio Latinoamericano, where Cienfuegos and Castro played for a team called "Los Barbudos" (). Baseball quickly became a fixture of post-revolutionary Cuban culture, with United States ambassador Philip Bonsal observing: "The spectacle of the Prime Minister, alleged by his admirers to have been a promising pitcher of big league caliber, throwing a few curves to Major Camilo Cienfuegos, a former minor-leaguer, and generally clowning about on the diamond was a feature of the pregame show of many important contests."
Consolidation of the Revolution
Before long, Cienfuegos was observing the beginnings of Castro's consolidation of power. Castro quickly tasked Cienfuegos,Ramiro Valdés
Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name from the latinisation of the Gothic given name *𐍂𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌹𐍂 (*Ranamir). Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias
* Ramiro ...
and Victor Pina with establishing a new Intelligence Directorate
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...
, which Valdés took charge of. Castro also began reorganizing the armed forces, purging the officers of the old National Army and replacing them with a new military elite of ex-guerrillas that were personally loyal to Castro.
Although Cienfuegos originally envisioned an equitable merger of the Revolutionary and National Armies, Castro quickly convinced him that it was "necessary to reorganize the armed forces with men loyal to the Revolution, and not accomplices of tyranny." In the process, Cienfuegos was appointed as the chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, replacing Colonel José Rego Rubido. In September 1959, Cienfuegos joined the Castro brothers in going to Santa Clara, where they sacked the provincial heads of 26 July Movement, the revolutionary army and Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA), replacing them with more loyal supporters of Castro.
During this time, Castro also dispatched a group of 200 Dominicans and 10 Cuban guerrillas to invade the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
and oust Rafael Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...
. Almost all of them were captured, tortured and killed. Before it was carried out, Sacha Volman had begged Cienfuegos to call off the expedition, fearing it to be doomed. Cienfuegos agreed and attempted to convince Castro to call it off, but he pushed forward with the plan. Volman later claimed that the expedition was "set up to fail".
The conflict between Castro and the liberal president Manuel Urrutia, in which the former rallied his supporters to oust the latter, lay the foundations for the construction of an authoritarian state, with Castro dissolving all remaining institutions of civilian government. Cienfuegos complained during the events that " is Fidel really likes to fuck around".
Huber Matos affair
Castro's consolidation of power, as well as the increasing role of the Popular Socialist Party in government, began to worry some officers in the Revolutionary Army. The provincial commander of Camagüey, Huber Matos, shared his own concerns with Cienfuegos, who promised to investigate the situation.
In October 1959, Raúl Castro was promoted to Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, formally demoting Cienfuegos, who had previously been his superior officer. This triggered the resignation of Huber Matos, who accused Fidel Castro of "burying the revolution". Fidel responded by publicly denouncing Matos for treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
. Cienfuegos, along with Guevara and President Osvaldo Dorticós, considered Castro's denunciations of Matos to have been a mistake and attempted to persuade Fidel to be lenient while prosecuting him. When Raúl Castro ordered Cienfuegos to arrest Matos, he initially refused, only reluctantly accepting the order when Fidel gave it personally.
Fidel dispatched Cienfuegos to Camagüey, where he found that Matos' forces remained loyal to their commander. Matos ordered his officers to treat Cienfuegos' arrival with respect, so as to make it clear that there was no conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
against the government, but they instead resigned en masse. Cienfuegos arrested Matos and his fellow dissidents without resistance, refusing to handcuff his former comrade and walking side-by-side with him in front of the press. Matos was then taken back to Havana. Cienfuegos remained behind in Camagüey to take over Matos' command, overseeing the complete reorganization of the province's armed forces.
Disappearance
On 28 October 1959, Cienfuegos' Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the second twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production; the first was the Cessna T-50. It was used by the ...
took off from Camagüey, headed for Havana. Cienfuegos disappeared along the way, his plane apparently having been lost in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
.
News of his disappearance was not reported until 30 October. When news of it was brought to the Cabinet by Raúl Castro, Fidel seemed surprised and visibly upset, and the government quickly ordered a search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
operation. Throughout the country, Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
held mass processions in honour of Cienfuegos and the political leadership widely publicised their concern for their lost comrade. The military followed any leads they could, speaking with peasants that claimed to have witnessed a plane crash and even consulting a spiritualist. According to United States ambassador Philip Bonsal, he had provided a number of American planes to cooperate in the search efforts, but the Cuban government assigned them to a location where it was unlikely the plane could have been. Castro never mentioned American assistance in his report of the search efforts.
For publicity
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) via the media. The sub ...
, Castro was filmed searching for Cienfuegos with his parents, who posed for pictures searching the skies for their lost son. But some of those who accompanied Castro on these search flights claimed that he never appeared to be emotionally invested in the search and seemed indifferent to Cienfuegos' fate. While himself investigating the disappearance, Cienfuegos' former aide Major Cristóbal Naranjo was murdered by Captain Manuel Beatón, apparently during a drunken argument after Beatón was passed over for a promotion. After escaping into the Sierra Maestra and becoming a bandit
Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...
, Beatón was himself assassinated the following year, prompting many to suspect foul play in the disappearance of Cienfuegos.
Cienfuegos was falsely reported to have been found on 5 November, and work stopped throughout the country as people came out into the streets to celebrate. Ruby Hart Phillips reported that "merchants were forced to close their stores because the clerks deserted. I was surprised to learn that Major Cienfuegos was so popular." Many Catholics credited Our Lady of Charity or Jude the Apostle for the miracle.
But in reality, no sign of a plane wreckage had actually been found. Hours after the report of Cienfuegos' discovery, the Revolutionary Armed Forces denied its validity, alleging it to have been counter-revolutionary
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...
propaganda that had aimed to assassinate Castro. The Cuban government subsequently declared Camilo Cienfuegos to be presumed dead. His body has never been discovered and the official story has neither been proven nor disproven.
While Matos was given a show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
by a revolutionary tribunal, Cienfuegos was made into a revolutionary martyr
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society.
Definition
The term—bot ...
. Fidel Castro accelerated his consolidation of power after Cienfuegos' death, using it as a reason to convince Cubans of the need to "defend the Revolution at all costs". This meant the end of judicial independence
Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
and the re-establishment of revolutionary tribunals, which expanded the definition of "counter-revolutionary" by criminalising strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...
, eliminating the category of "political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
" and assuming collective guilt
Collective responsibility or collective guilt is the responsibility of organizations, groups and societies. Collective responsibility in the form of collective punishment is often used as a disciplinary measure in closed institutions, e.g., boa ...
by association. After the ''Prensa Libre'' reported on allegations of rising tensions between them and Cienfuegos, the Castros also began to campaign against freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
.
Character
Personality
To Cuban-American historian Samuel Farber, Cienfuegos "exemplified the quintessential native, male, urban Cuban with his sense of humor, great interest in dancing and baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, good looks, love of women, and overall ''joie de vivre
( , ; " joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit, and general happiness.
It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ' ...
''". According to British historian Hugh Thomas, Cienfuegos, "with his open, jovial manner and warm smile, bid fair to become almost as popular as Castro himself". To American historian Robert E. Quirk, Cienfuegos' "easygoing and friendly demeanor and Old Testament beard combined to project a popular counterimage alongside that of the July 26 leader."
United States ambassador Earl E. T. Smith, who met Cienfuegos at Camp Columbia in January 1959, thought him to be "courteous if aloof". To Smith's successor Philip Bonsal, "Cienfuegos was gay and forthcoming. He had proved himself as a leader of men but he did not have any irresistible urge to the exercise of power. He liked the fleshpots, the gay life. He may have had a penchant for friendships and associations deemed undesirable by some of his more austere revolutionary comrades." While to the British ambassador Leycester Coltman "Camilo's austere figure, black beard and gentle, dignified manner gave him an even more Christ-like appearance than Castro."
Finance Minister
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
Raúl Chibás described him as "a childlike fellow, always playing with guns", while his successor Rufo López-Fresquet described him as a "gay, happy-go-lucky, adventuresome sort". The newspaper ''Bohemia'' also compared him to Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...
. Cienfuegos' "devil-may-care personality" was often contrasted with Guevara's "strictness", although the two would become fast friends after joining the revolutionary leadership.
Political ideology
Cienfuegos wasn't openly committed to anypolitical ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
and appeared not to hold any strong political beliefs, although he remained personally loyal to Castro. Farber commented that he "remained less politically sophisticated than the Castro brothers as well as Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
." Cienfuegos himself considered the Cuban Revolution to have been anti-authoritarian and "non-Communist", and continued to reiterate this view even after Castro's line on the matter changed. To Cienfuegos, the Revolution was "''cubanísima'' uban to the extreme ..as Cuban as the palm trees, uniquely and exclusively Cuban." This was the version of the revolution that he vowed to die for "whenever the moment should demand it".
Many have speculated about his possible communist allegiances, but no solid evidence of such has been found. Although described as a "closet Communist" by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist Tad Szulc, to Castro's biographer Georgie Anne Geyer, " at Camilo was far more a romantic revolutionary than a Communist is beyond question." While Fidel Castro himself described Cienfuegos as "a pure revolutionary soul, Communist timber", he also speculated that he could have been removed from command due to his "low political level". Others claimed him to be an anti-communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
or referred to him in neutral terms. Some have also pointed out the influence of his older brother Osmany Cienfuegos, who was a committed communist.
The son of Spanish anarchists, many within the international anarchist movement claimed Cienfuegos himself to have also been an anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
. The Cuban government even played up his libertarian credentials in order to garner international support. But Cuban-American historian Frank Fernández has disputed this characterisation, questioning whether Cienfuegos was ever involved with the Cuban anarchist movement.
Leadership style
During theCuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
, he quickly distinguished himself as one of the most popular revolutionary leaders. As a key lieutenant of Fidel Castro, Cienfuegos was comparable in rank and fame to Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
and Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...
, in some cases even being considered second only to Fidel himself. Although his campaign in Las Villas was not as well-conducted as Guevara's, Cienfuegos' actions in the last months of the war earned him particular distinction as a revolutionary leader.
While a capable military commander, Cienfuegos never demonstrated an authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
desire to exercise power over others. After the revolution, Cienfuegos was remembered fondly by his soldiers, who compared his affectionate leadership style to that of a parent or a teacher, rather than that of a "chief", recalling that "he even insisted that prisoners should eat first". On the question of tactics, he departed from many others in the revolutionary movement in rejecting violence and revenge. In October 1958, when a Cuban Masonic
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
organization expressed concern that someone captured by the rebels might be tortured and killed, he replied that he wouldn't even have considered such an act, which he thought would have lowered the revolutionaries' methods to the level of their opponents.
Legacy
Speculation about disappearance
Almost immediately after Cienfuegos disappeared, many people began to speculate about the events and some even suspected foul play. The pilot of Cienfuegos' plane had been inexperienced, and although the government claimed that the plane had been taken down by asquall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...
, the weather that day had actually been clear for flying. The area that his plane was flying would also have been covered by radar. The captain of the base that Cienfuegos' plane took off from, Roberto de Cárdenas, alleged that the flight's fate had been plotted, claiming that nobody had seen Cienfuegos in the airplane and that others on the base were either killed or overpowered.
Some alleged he had been assassinated by his rival Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...
. Proponents of this hypothesis included Huber Matos himself, who was convinced that his arrest and Camilo's disappearance were related. Carlos Franqui
Carlos Franqui (December 4, 1921 – April 16, 2010) was a Cuban writer, poet, journalist, art critic, and political activist. After the Fulgencio Batista coup in 1952, he became involved with the 26th of July Movement which was headed by Fidel ...
suspected the intelligence agent Osvaldo Sánchez, who had been charged with ensuring the security of Cienfuegos by Raúl Castro. Others suspected that Fidel Castro himself ordered the assassination of Cienfuegos, speculating that it had something to do with his apparent reluctance to arrest Matos, or that Cienfuegos was growing too popular for Castro's liking. Some skeptics speculated that Castro had falsely announced that Cienfuegos was found in order to gauge the public's feelings about him.
Some critics of Castro claimed that while he had not killed Cienfuegos himself, "one of the specialties of Fidel is to send people to be killed." José Pardo Llada, who was with Castro during the search for Cienfuegos, later said that "He astromay not have killed Camilo, but he certainly didn't feel his death". Che Guevara himself never suspected the Castros of involvement in Cienfuegos' disappearance and remained personally loyal to Fidel for years afterwards. Philip Bonsal also never considered foul play by the Castros to have been a possibility, as he believed that "Cienfuegos was no threat to any one."
Another speculation was that his plane had been mistaken for a hostile aircraft and shot down by a Cuban Air Force pilot. There has also been speculation that Cienfuegos faked his death and fled to the US, as some speculate it may have been to Ybor City
Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mai ...
in Tampa
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
. In 1960, a former nurse from Havana that had fled to Miami claimed she had nursed Cienfuegos, but she was later declared " insane". British historian Hugh Thomas himself speculated whether the mystery of Cienfuegos' disappearance would ever be solved.
Friends and family
Shortly after Camilo's death, his brother Osmany Cienfuegos was appointed as Minister of Public Works, replacing the engineer Manuel Ray Rivero. He served in the position until February 1966, when he was appointed as president of the Communist Party's foreign relations commission. He also joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and, in 1976, became a member of theCouncil of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
and secretary of the Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
.
Che Guevara named his son Camilo after Cienfuegos and kept a picture of him on his study wall after leaving Cuba. Guevara also dedicated his 1961 book ''Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
'' to Cienfuegos, a picture of whom adorned the cover.
Memorial dedications
On 28 October each year, school children throughout Cuba throw flowers into the sea or a river to honor Camilo Cienfuegos, repeating the spontaneous tribute of the Cubans who tossed flowers into the ocean when they heard his plane had been lost over the Cuba Florida Strait. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, on 28 October 2009, a steel outline of Cienfuegos' face and the words "''Vas bien, Fidel''" were added to the side of the building on the Plaza de la Revolución.
After the revolution, streets and buildings throughout Cuba were renamed after heroes of the Revolution, including Cienfuegos himself. A village previously known as "Hershey", in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Norte, was renamed to Camilo Cienfuegos
Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary. One of the major figures of the Cuban Revolution, he was considered second only to Fidel Castro among the revolutionary leadership.
The son of An ...
in his honour. A museum dedicated to Cienfuegos was built in Yaguajay, at the site of the barracks of the Batista's forces during the 1958 battle. The museum includes a diorama
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...
of the battle, as well as material relating to Cienfuegos' life before, during, and after the revolution. A large statue of him stands in front of the museum.
As part of a campaign to improve the standards of living in rural areas, in July 1960, Fidel Castro dedicated the Camilo Cienfuegos Mountain Boarding School, which was established as a school for the largely-uneducated peasant children of the Sierra Maestra. In 1966, the Camilo Cienfuegos Military Schools System was also established to provide military education to students aged 11 to 17. Graduates from these high schools received priority admission to cadet schools, such that within five years, 74% of students at the military technological institute were graduates from the Camilo Cienfuegos Schools. The University of Matanzas
The University of Matanzas "Camilo Cienfuegos" (Spanish: ''Universidad de Matanzas "Camilo Cienfuegos"'', UM) is a public university in Matanzas, Cuba. It was founded in 1972 and is organized in seven faculties.
Organization
The seven faculties ...
also bears the name "Camilo Cienfuegos".
On 10 December 1979, the Cuban government decreed the establishment of the Order of Cienfuegos, a socialist order of merit named in his honour. Camilo is also remembered on the 20 Cuban peso bill and the 20 Cuban convertible peso bill. He was also pictured on the 40-cent coins, now discontinued.
Popular culture
Cienfuegos has also been depicted on revolutionary murals, which sometimes assigned to him a religious significance. In the 2008 film '' Che'', the character of Cienfuegos was "played with great verve" bySantiago Cabrera
Santiago Cabrera (; born 5 May 1978) is a Chilean actor who has worked mainly in the UK and United States. Cabrera is best known for his roles as the character Isaac Mendez in the NBC Superhero fiction, superhero Drama (film and television), dra ...
.
See also
*List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Nile Kinnick
Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts remain unknown. In most ocean deaths, bodies are never r ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *Further reading
* *External links
*Bio of Cienfuegos
at ''History of Cuba''
Camilo, la Estrella Cercana
, a podcast about Camilo at Radio Rebelde {{DEFAULTSORT:Cienfuegos, Camilo 1932 births 1950s missing person cases 1959 deaths 20th-century Cuban educators 20th-century Cuban military personnel 20th-century Cuban politicians Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro alumni Baseball players from Havana Cuban communists Cuban guerrillas Cuban people of Asturian descent Cuban revolutionaries Cuban soldiers Missing air passengers Missing person cases in Florida People declared dead in absentia People lost at sea People of the Cuban Revolution Politicians from Havana Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1959 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Cuba