Pilar D. García (born 12 October 1896) was
Brigadier General and Chief of the National Police in pre-revolutionary
Cuba.
Career
Pilar García was born in
San José de las Lajas
San José de las Lajas is a municipality and the capital city of the newly formed Mayabeque Province of Cuba, after the segmentation of La Habana Province in 2011. It is located in the center north of the province, and is bisected by the Carreter ...
on 12 October 1896.
In 1915 he became a soldier in the
Cuban army. He retired in 1944 with the rank of captain. After the
1952 coup of
Fulgencio Batista he re-entered active service with the rank of colonel. In 1955 García was appointed head of the Guardia Rural
regiment in
Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...
. He repelled the attack on the
Goicuria Barracks.
After the incident he was accused of torture and execution of Julio Adán García Rodriguez.
In March 1958 Garcia was appointed Chief of the National Police and one month later he was promoted to the rank of General. He became known for not taking prisoners.
Personal life
He married Eloisa Baez and had two sons, Rolando Garcia Baez, a lieutenant colonel in the Cuban Military Aviation and Irenaldo Garcia Baez, also a lieutenant colonel as well as Chief of Military Intelligence (SIM).
Garcia and his sons fought on the side of Fulgencio Batista during the
Cuban Revolution.
Garcia along with his sons, their families and other military personnel, including General
Francisco Tabernilla with family and Fulgencio Batista with family, left Cuba for the
United States on
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
1959, since the Cuban people were in support of
Castro
Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''.
...
.
References
External links
*
library.miami.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:García, Pilar
1896 births
Year of death missing
Chiefs of police
Cuban police officers
Cuban generals
Cuban exiles
Cuban emigrants to the United States