Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution; and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, paid tribute, this Tuesday, to the Commander of the Rebel Army Julio Camacho Aguilera, who died last December 14, after a century of committed existence.
Just at ten o'clock in the morning began, at the Colon Necropolis, the ceremony of military honors at the funeral of the Rebel Commander, a man of Fidel's trust, which was also attended by members of the Political Bureau Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization, and Major General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior; as well as the Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, vice prime minister; and the Commander of the Rebel Army, José Ramón Machado Ventura.
Especially there, in the midst of senior officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), family and friends, was his beloved Gina, companion in the struggle and in life until the last of his days.
Accompanied by the music band of the General Staff, the funeral procession advanced through the cemetery to the FAR Pantheon, where the ashes of the outstanding revolutionary were buried. The notes of the National Anthem had already reaffirmed that "the Homeland beholds you proudly," when the fusillade of rifles carved the last details to the solemnity.
In his farewell speech, another rebel Commander, José Ramón Machado Ventura, gave a well-deserved account of Camacho's fruitful history, of his "brilliant services rendered to the Revolution," always in absolute fidelity to the revolutionary cause.
He recalled his participation in the underground and in the actions to overthrow the Batista dictatorship; and highlighted his courage in the face of savage tortures, and his contributions to the guerrilla struggle in Camagüey.
About Camacho, Machado Ventura said that "he was an essential figure in the history of the Cuban Revolution." He was First Secretary of the Party in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Santiago de Cuba and Havana, served abroad, held responsibilities in the FAR and devoted himself entirely to the preservation of the environment, at the head of the Office of Integral Development Guanahacabibes, in the territory of Vueltabajo.
"Commander Camacho's life and work constitute an example of modesty, honesty, boundless devotion to duty, to the Revolutionary Armed Forces, to the people and to the Revolution, to which he united his unwavering loyalty to the Commander-in-Chief and the Army General," Machado Ventura affirmed.
Shortly after, near the five floral offerings placed on behalf of the Army General, the President, the Minister of the FAR, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, and the family, there were also the roses of Raul, Diaz-Canel and the other participants, in a tribute that included a large group of colleagues, and men and women who knew and admired him.
At the end of the ceremony, Raul greeted the relatives, conveyed his heartfelt condolences and embraced Gina. With him, Cuba also embraced her, a country that honors sons of Camacho's moral stature, who will continue to be present "in every effort for the good of the Homeland."
