Osmany Cienfuegos Gorriarán (born February 4, 1931) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n politician and older brother of

Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 ''Granma (yacht), Granma'' ...

. He has served in various roles in the Cuban government. Cienfuegos was the only one of three brothers who attended the

University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first ...

, where he graduated as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in 1954. He joined the Popular Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Popular, PSP). He was exiled to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1957, and remained there until 1959. After his brother's death, he was chosen to be the Minister of Construction in 1960. After the foundation of the

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26t ...

in 1965, Cienfuegos was chosen as the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the PCC Central Committee. He played a key role in implementing Cuban policies toward Africa in the 1960s, such as the intervention in the Congo in 1965. In 1966, he was appointed as Secretary General of the Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (

OSPAAAL The Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America ( es, Organización de Solidaridad de los Pueblos de Asia, África y América Latina), abbreviated as OSPAAAL, was a Cuban political movement with the stated purpose of ...

). He was removed from the Politburo of the Party and the Council of State after 17 years of membership (1980–1987). He remained as a member of the Central Committee of the

Cuban Communist Party The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26t ...

and in the 1990s was appointed Minister of Tourism until he was replaced in 1998. He was a Vice-president of the

Council of Ministers of Cuba The Council of Ministers (Spanish: ''Consejo de ministros''), also referred to as simply the Cabinet of Cuba, is the highest ranking executive and administrative body of the Republic of Cuba, and constitutes the nation's government. It consists of ...

until 2009-03-02. His departure caused controversy after some news reports suggested that he had been removed by Cuba's 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 ...

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 ...

responded criticising those reports. Cuban dissident

Armando Valladares Armando Valladares Perez (born May 30, 1937) is a Cuban-American poet, diplomat and former political prisoner for his involvement in the Cuban dissident movement. In 1960, he was arrested by the Cuban government for conflicting reasons; the C ...

has alleged that he was responsible for at least nine extrajudicial killings by asphyxiating political opponents.Armando Valladares, Contra Toda Esperanza (page 195)

References

Cuban Transition Project bio
1931 births Living people Cuban people of Asturian descent Popular Socialist Party (Cuba) politicians Communist Party of Cuba politicians Government ministers of Cuba People of the Cuban Revolution {{Cuba-politician-stub