Manuel Piñeiro
Encyclopedia
Manuel Piñeiro Losada known as Barba Roja (Spanish
: "red beard"), was a Cuban political and military figure, a leading character of the Cuban Revolution
, as the first head of Fidel Castro
's security apparatus (known as Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI): General Intelligence Directorate
). By supporting armed struggle in Latin America
, the DGI would try to help the expansion of radical leftist guerrilla
groups in the subcontinent.
Piñeiro was the Cuban DGI chief from 1961-1964. He then became Deputy Minister of the Interior in charge of the state security apparatus from 1964-1968. A Soviet
reorganization of the DGI forced Piñeiro out of his position and he was then placed in charge of the DGI's Latin America
n affairs division.
.
In September 1953, his relatively prosperous family (he was the son of a Bacardí
executive) sent him to study business management at Columbia University
in New York
, to take him away from the political turmoil of the time. While studying in the US, he began to oppose the social, racial and political discrimination that he saw in the United States
at that time and he felt the need to return to Cuba
.
He returned to his hometown in 1955 and became a founder of the July 26 Movement
. Soon after his comeback, Piñeiro was arrested by Batista's security agencies because of his subversive or underground political activities. After his release, he continued his clandestine activities in Havana. Upon discovering that he was under police surveillance, he decided that it was better to leave for the Eastern Sierra Maestra and join the guerrilla
columns headed by Fidel Castro
.
to be the officer tasked with integrating the recently-created Eastern Front II "Frank País", under the command of Fidel's younger brother, Raúl
.
During that time, he held several meetings with members of the regular (Batistas's) Cuban Army.
Subsequently, he was appointed Chief of Personnel and Inspection, a position that included responsibilities for the Intelligence Service and the recently created Policía Rebelde (predecessor of Castro's Revolutionary Police).
During the battle for Santiago de Cuba
, he was promoted to Commander of the Cuban Revolution. After the triumph of the Revolution he was appointed "Chief of the Military Plaza" in Santiago de Cuba
, the second largest city in the country.
It is at this time that his face is caught by photographic cameras for the first time, showing his red beard and revealing the reason of the nickname given to him by the rebel troops.
He was then transferred to Havana
, where he served various functions in the creation of the intelligence agencies and security of the new Castro regime. During the Bay of Pigs Invasion
, Piñeiro was deputy to Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, head of G-2 (Seguridad del Estado, or state security).
On June 6, 1961, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Interior and head of the so-called Technical Viceministerio, the body that would be later responsible for gathering intelligence and developing strategies to expand communism
in Latin America
.
In 1965, he was appointed to the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, a post he held until 1997.
That same year in Havana
, he received the visit of Markus Wolf
, director of the East German secret police (the Stasi
). Wolf, whose real identity would only be known to the Western intelligence services in 1979, had gone to Cuba
to advise the Communist
regime on how to set up the new General Intelligence Directorate
on the island.
In early 1975, Piñeiro was head of the "Américas Department" of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee.
In 1997, he resigned all his active government positions and started to write and edit books dedicated to a restrospective analysis of the Cuban Revolution
.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: "red beard"), was a Cuban political and military figure, a leading character of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, as the first head of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's security apparatus (known as Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI): General Intelligence Directorate
General Intelligence Directorate
The Intelligence Directorate is the main state intelligence agency of the government of Cuba. The DI, under the big umbrella of the MININT, was founded in late 1961 by Cuba's Ministry of the Interior shortly after the Cuban Revolution...
). By supporting armed struggle in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the DGI would try to help the expansion of radical leftist guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
groups in the subcontinent.
Piñeiro was the Cuban DGI chief from 1961-1964. He then became Deputy Minister of the Interior in charge of the state security apparatus from 1964-1968. A Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
reorganization of the DGI forced Piñeiro out of his position and he was then placed in charge of the DGI's Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n affairs division.
Early beginnings
Piñeiro participated in student protests or demonstrations against the 10 March 1952 coup d'état, which brought to power dictator Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
.
In September 1953, his relatively prosperous family (he was the son of a Bacardí
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
executive) sent him to study business management at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to take him away from the political turmoil of the time. While studying in the US, he began to oppose the social, racial and political discrimination that he saw in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at that time and he felt the need to return to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
He returned to his hometown in 1955 and became a founder of the July 26 Movement
26th of July Movement
The 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba...
. Soon after his comeback, Piñeiro was arrested by Batista's security agencies because of his subversive or underground political activities. After his release, he continued his clandestine activities in Havana. Upon discovering that he was under police surveillance, he decided that it was better to leave for the Eastern Sierra Maestra and join the guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
columns headed by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
Role in the Cuban Revolution
In March 1958, he was recognized for his merits and was personally chosen by Fidel CastroFidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
to be the officer tasked with integrating the recently-created Eastern Front II "Frank País", under the command of Fidel's younger brother, Raúl
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
.
During that time, he held several meetings with members of the regular (Batistas's) Cuban Army.
Subsequently, he was appointed Chief of Personnel and Inspection, a position that included responsibilities for the Intelligence Service and the recently created Policía Rebelde (predecessor of Castro's Revolutionary Police).
During the battle for Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, he was promoted to Commander of the Cuban Revolution. After the triumph of the Revolution he was appointed "Chief of the Military Plaza" in Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, the second largest city in the country.
It is at this time that his face is caught by photographic cameras for the first time, showing his red beard and revealing the reason of the nickname given to him by the rebel troops.
He was then transferred to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, where he served various functions in the creation of the intelligence agencies and security of the new Castro regime. During the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
, Piñeiro was deputy to Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, head of G-2 (Seguridad del Estado, or state security).
On June 6, 1961, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Interior and head of the so-called Technical Viceministerio, the body that would be later responsible for gathering intelligence and developing strategies to expand communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
In 1965, he was appointed to the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, a post he held until 1997.
That same year in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, he received the visit of Markus Wolf
Markus Wolf
Markus Johannes "Mischa" Wolf was head of the General Intelligence Administration , the foreign intelligence division of East Germany's Ministry for State Security . He was the MfS's number two for 34 years, which spanned most of the Cold War...
, director of the East German secret police (the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
). Wolf, whose real identity would only be known to the Western intelligence services in 1979, had gone to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to advise the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime on how to set up the new General Intelligence Directorate
General Intelligence Directorate
The Intelligence Directorate is the main state intelligence agency of the government of Cuba. The DI, under the big umbrella of the MININT, was founded in late 1961 by Cuba's Ministry of the Interior shortly after the Cuban Revolution...
on the island.
In early 1975, Piñeiro was head of the "Américas Department" of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee.
In 1997, he resigned all his active government positions and started to write and edit books dedicated to a restrospective analysis of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
.