Díaz-Canel Celebrates 95th Birthday of Revolution Leader Raúl Castro

Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and President of the Republic, today congratulated Army General Raúl Castro on his 95th birthday and exalted his career of service to the homeland.

In an emotional message on the social media platform X, the head of state highlighted that the title of Leader of the Revolution recognizes in Raúl Castro the loving son, the loyal brother, the husband, father, grandfather, friend, and demanding, affectionate, and sincere chief, the intrepid combatant, the original leader, the guardian of essential values.

“A most genuine Cuban, with all the force that redundancy suggests,” Díaz-Canel added.

The president also acknowledged that “an infinite record of service to the homeland, to regional and world peace, to multilateralism, and to the dreams of social justice of millions of human beings, is not his fortune—it is ours.”

He noted that Castro’s long life is the triumph of the love he has given to his people, and that today his people return that love.

“No hatred will ever prevail against that armored shield of deep affection,” he concluded.

Raúl Castro Ruz (Birán, Oriente province, June 3, 1931) participated in decisive actions for the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, including the assault on the Moncada Barracks (Santiago de Cuba, 1953) and the landing of the Granma (1956), which launched the guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra.

He was promoted to the rank of Commander in 1958 and led the Frank País Second Eastern Front, which carried out more than 250 combat actions across the 12,000 square kilometers it came to control.

From 1959 to 2008, Raúl Castro Ruz served as Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces; from October 3, 1965, to April 19, 2011, he was Second Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba; and from that date until April 2021, he held the position of First Secretary of that body.

He assumed national leadership between 2006 and 2018, a period during which he promoted important structural and conceptual changes aimed at updating Cuba’s economic and social model.