nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

National Assembly of People's Power The National Assembly of People's Power () is the supreme organ of power of the Republic of Cuba. It is the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. It is currently ...

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. During 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 ...

, Puebla fought as one 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 ...

's guerillas in the

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view i ...

mountains as part of the

Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon The Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon (), or , was an all-female military platoon created by Fidel Castro, Celia Sánchez, and Haydée Santamaría during the 26th of July Movement on 4 September 1958, named after the Cuban icon Mariana Grajales C ...

. In July 1996 she was promoted to brigadier general in the

Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include Cuban Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Army, Cuban Revolutionary Navy, Revolutionary Navy, Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary A ...

, becoming the first female general in the nation's history.

Early life

Puebla was born in

Yara Yara may refer to: People * Yara (given name) * Yara (surname), a Japanese surname * Yara (Angolan footballer), Yara Lukenia F. da Costa Lima () * Yara (Brazilian footballer), Yara Silva (born 1964) * Yara (singer), Lebanese pop singer Carl ...

, in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra mountains where she would later fight as a guerrilla. Her large peasant family had nine children and Puebla was raised by her grandparents.

Cuban Revolution

The brutal repression of dictator

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 ...

's

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...

s in Yara drove Puebla to support anti-government dissidents from an early age. In 1956, she left school in Manzanillo to join the

26th of July Movement The 26 July Movement (; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, part of an at ...

(M-26-7), the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

insurgents fighting to overthrow Batista's regime. Her clandestine support for the movement included smuggling weapons, medicine, and money to the rebels. Puebla also participated in low-level sabotage against the government, cutting power lines and slashing

police car A police car is an emergency vehicle used by police for Police transport, transportation during Patrol, patrols and responses to Call for service, calls for service. Police cars are used by police officer, police officers to patrol a Beat (po ...

tires. In 1957 she went into the Sierra Maestra mountains to join the rebel army after her collaboration with the rebels had been revealed to the government by a captured M-26-7 member. In the Sierras she met and worked with the insurgent organizer Celia Sánchez, the "mother" of the rebel forces. The rebel leader

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 ...

formed the

Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon The Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon (), or , was an all-female military platoon created by Fidel Castro, Celia Sánchez, and Haydée Santamaría during the 26th of July Movement on 4 September 1958, named after the Cuban icon Mariana Grajales C ...

in September 1958, a group of thirteen women whom he personally taught to

shoot Shoot most commonly refers to: * Shoot (botany), an immature plant or portion of a plant * Shooting, the firing of projectile weapons * Photo shoot, a photography session; an event wherein a photographer takes photographs Shoot may also refer t ...

. Castro declared that the

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

would be his personal

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

unit. Puebla was made second-in-command. The Marianas participated in combat on multiple occasions and acted as message runners for the army. They had been issued with

M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States carbine, caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine chambered in the .30 carbine (7.62×33mm) cartridge that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and t ...

s, which were lighter in weight and easier to carry than the weapons that were typically issued to rebel guerrilla fighters.

Post-war

In January 1959, after Batista's flight from Cuba and the victory of Castro's revolutionaries, Puebla returned to

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 ...

. She was appointed as the director of the Department for the Care of War Victims, and throughout the 1960s, she took care of war victims from Batista's regime,

Escambray rebellion The Escambray rebellion was an armed conflict from 1959 to 1965 in the Escambray Mountains during which several insurgent groups fought against the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro. The military operation against the rebellion was called th ...

and victims from

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

sponsored by the United States. Puebla also served in a number of government and military roles throughout the 1960s and 1970s including stints at the Department of Education. In 1985 she was appointed director of the Department for Care of Veterans and Martyrs of the Revolution. In 1994 she was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, and on 24 July 1996, she was promoted to brigadier general, becoming the first woman

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in Cuba's history. , Puebla is a member of the

National Assembly of People's Power The National Assembly of People's Power () is the supreme organ of power of the Republic of Cuba. It is the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. It is currently ...

, the Cuban parliament. On 2 December 2001, she was awarded

Hero of the Republic of Cuba The honorary title Hero of the Republic of Cuba () is the highest decoration awarded by the Republic of Cuba. It is equivalent to other hero titles common in the Socialist Bloc. The decoration is physically represented with the Gold Star Medal () ...

by Fidel Castro, Cuba's highest honor.

Personal life

In 1960, Puebla married Raúl Castro Mercader, a brigadier general of the

Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include Cuban Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Army, Cuban Revolutionary Navy, Revolutionary Navy, Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary A ...

. They have three children: Fidel, Raúl and Laura.

References

External links