Rolando Cubela

Rolando Cubela Secades (born 1932, Cienfuegos, Cuba) is a Cuban Revolutionary leader who played a vital part in the Cuban Revolution, being a founder member of the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil and later the military leader of the DRE's Escambray Mountain front. achieving the rank of Commander, the highest military rank in the Revolutionary Army. After the Revolution succeeded in 1959, Cubela became Cuba's envoy to UNESCO. Under the cryptonym AM/LASH, Cubela became "an important asset" of the Central Intelligence Agency, and worked with them on plots to assassinate Fidel Castro. In 1966 Cubela was arrested for plotting the assassination of Castro, and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Released in 1979, he went into exile in Spain.

In 1955 Cubela was a founder member of the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil (DRE), and was one of eight members of its Executive Council. In 1956 Cubela was part of a DRE group which attempted to assassinate Santiago Rey Perna, a member of Batista's cabinet; Perna was absent at the time of the attack and the group instead assassinated Antonio Blanco Rico, head of Cuban military intelligence. The incident prompted Chief of National Police Rafael Salas Canizares to assault the Haitian Embassy in Havana, where some revolutionaries were seeking political asylum; Canizares and ten revolutionaries were killed. After the assassination Cubela went into exile in the United States in late 1956, returning to Cuba in 1958.

In mid-1958 Cubela was disputing leadership of the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil with Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo. Menoyo had developed the Escambray Mountain front which was the center of DRE activity after the failed March 1957 coup attempt in Havana; but Menoyo had joined DRE more recently whilst Cubela was a founder member. Cubela was ultimately recognized as DRE military leader, and Menoyo left the organization. Cubela was wounded in the Battle of Santa Clara.

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