Raúl Chibás Ribas (April 25, 1916 – August 25, 2002) was a
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n politician and military officer who initially supported
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 ...
and the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
but later
defected
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
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 ...
. Born in
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
, Chibás spent his childhood in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[University of Havana
The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> and attended the <div class=)
. His older brother,
Eduardo, founded and led the
Orthodox Party (also known as the Cuban People's Party) in 1947. After Eduardo committed suicide in 1951, Raúl took over as party leader.
Chibás vehemently opposed the rule of
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 ...
in the 1950s, and he supported the anti-Batista struggle of
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 July 1957, he signed the
Sierra Manifesto, which proclaimed unity of the disparate anti-Batista groups. He served various positions for Castro's government after the revolution, including railroad commissioner, trial judge and
Minister of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
. He was a Major of the
Cuban Army
The Cuban Revolutionary Army () serve as the ground forces of Cuba. Formed in 1868 during the Ten Years' War, it was originally known as the Cuban Constitutional Army. Following the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary military forces was recon ...
in 1960 when he decided to defect to the United States via a
motor boat
A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats".
Some motorboats are fitted with inboard motor, inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, contain ...
to
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Chibás felt that Castro had betrayed the ideals of the revolution.
Chibás became an active
anti-Castro activist in the United States. In 1960, he joined a group of former Castro aides in issuing a joint 3500-word manifesto calling for the overthrow of the Cuban leader. He found employment teaching
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
at a school in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. After 20 years of living in U.S, Chibás moved to
Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
to join two of his children. In 1991, having spent 10 years in Venezuela, he moved to
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, where he spent the rest of his life.
References
*
*Pace, Eric (September 20, 2002).
Raúl Chibas, 86, Castro Ally Who Fled to Miami in Motorboat. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on December 28, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chibas, Raul
1916 births
2002 deaths
People from Santiago de Cuba
Finance ministers of Cuba
Cuban revolutionaries
Cuban emigrants to the United States