Aureliano Sánchez Arango (7 June 1907 – 23 April 1976) was a Cuban

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and university professor. Sanchez served in the government of President Carlos Prio Socarras first as Minister of Education (1948–1951) and then as

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

(1951–1952). In August 1951, Eduardo Chibas accused Sanchez of stealing children's breakfast funds to build a housing project in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. When Chibas could not prove his accusations, he committed suicide on live radio. After

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

overthrew Prio, Sanchez was involved in various undergrown movements to overthrow Batista. He was originally granted asylum in Mexico in 1952, After returning to Cuba to plan an assassination attempt against Batista, he was granted refuge at the Uruguayan embassy. He later helped finance

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

in overthrowing Batista and later went into permanent exile to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was married to Estrella Echeverria on January 22, 1936, at the Parish Church of Vedado, Havana, Cuba, who had two children, Alfredo and Delia (Lela) Sánchez Echeverría. His son, Alfredo Sánchez Echeverría (1936-12/15/2021) was ordered executed by the Castro regime but his sentence was commuted to 30 years and he served 14 years in prison (1961–1975). Sanchez Echeverria was allowed to go into exile in 1977, a few months after his father had died of a heart attack.

References

* ''Spokane Daily Chronicle''; Cuban Dies, 23 April 1976. * ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune''; Castro Frees Foe After 14 Years; 9 March 1975. * ''The Spokesman-Review''; Cuban Senator Shoots Himself; 6 August 1951. * (Spanish) 1907 births 1976 deaths Government ministers of Cuba 20th-century Cuban lawyers {{cuba-politician-stub