Cuba Appoints New Interior Minister

Havana, Jan 10 (Prensa Latina) Cuba's Council of State, on a proposal of President Raul Castro, has appointed Vice-Admiral Julio Cesar Gandarilla as new Interior Minister, according to an official statement released today.

Gandarilla, who was first deputy minister of that entity, takes office after the death on Saturday, January 7th, of his predecessor, Division General, Carlos Fernandez Gondin, due to complications with a chronic disease.

According to the text, the vice-admiral is also a member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, legislator of the National People's Power Assembly and has achieved an outstanding work in the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Gandarilla has held different posts, including the head of the military counterintelligence direction, which he has been responsible for more than 16 years, the note says.