Leopoldo Cintra Frías is a Cuban military and political leader. Cintra was the former Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.

Military career

He participated in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

in November 1957 at the age of 16. His first actions were to sell bonds, distribute bread in a van, and transport people to the mountains. He later joined the Column 1 José Martí, which was commanded by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, where he remained until the end of the revolution. He accompanied Fidel Castro on his journey from the

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a sm ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, in the commonly known ''Freedom Caravan''. Cintra was sent to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

) to study Artillery in 1960. Upon his return to Cuba, he was appointed head of the artillery and infantry units in the FAR. He finished his studies at the Superior Basic School in 1962 and passed the Superior Academic Course in 1967. Cintra led a large unit of Cuban tanks in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in the late 1970s and in the early 1980s. He graduated in 1982 from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1990, he was appointed the Chief of the Western Army, one of the three regional districts of the FAR. Upon his return to Cuba, he continued lead of the Western Army. In 2001, he was promoted to the rank of Corps General. In October 2008, Cintra held the position of First Deputy Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. President

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeedi ...

promoted him to the post of Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces on November 9, 2011, following the death of General Julio Casas Regueiro. On April 15, 2021, Cintra departed as Minister of the FAR and was replaced with his Chief of Staff Álvaro López Miera.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cintra Frías, Leopoldo 1941 births Living people People from Yara, Cuba Communist Party of Cuba politicians Defense ministers of Cuba Members of the National Assembly of People's Power Cuban generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni People of the Cuban Revolution Cuban military personnel of the Angolan Civil War Hero of the Republic of Cuba

Military career

See also

References