José Ramón Fernández

José Ramón Fernández Álvarez (born November 4, 1923) is a Cuban Communist leader who is a Vice-President of the Council of Ministers.

Fernández was born in Santiago de Cuba, where he studied his first and second education. In 1947 he graduated from the Cadet School of Cuba and also from the Artillery School as well as from other courses of the General Staff in Cuba and at Fort Sill in the USA.

From March 10, 1952, he took part in different conspiracy activities and movements against the Batista tyranny with different military and political groups, until 1956 when he was caught when the conspiracy movement called “Los puros” was discovered. He was judged and sentenced to prison at Presidio Modelo on the Isla de Pinos (Isle of Pines), where he was until the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959.

From 1959, as a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, he took part in the different mobilizations, both productive as well as for the defense of the country. He also carried out other tasks of the Cuban Revolution both in Cuba and abroad.

At the time of the Bay of Pigs Invasion on 17 April 1961, he was director of militia training and based at Managua near Havana. He was sometimes referred to as 'El Gallego' like his colleague Manuel Piñeiro. Before dawn that day, Fidel Castro ordered him to command the many battalions of militia and regular army troops engaged in fighting the invading forces of Brigade 2506. Late on 19 April 1961, he was among Cuban government forces that finally broke through to Playa Giron and forced surrender and dispersal of invading troops.

He was promoted to the rank of Capitan in 1959, to Commandant in 1961 and to Brigade General of the reserve in 1966. He was graduated from the Higher War School in the curse 1963 – 1964. From 1959 he has been in charge of different responsibilities and positions, among which there are:

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