The Pinar del Río Shield, the highest distinction awarded by the People’s Power bodies of the Pinar del Río province, was delivered to the Commander of the Rebel Army Delio Gómez Ochoa, by Yamilé Ramos Cordero, member of the Central Committee and first secretary of the Party in the territory, and Eumelín González Sanchez, Governor.
The nonagenarian combatant, a native of Holguín, was the founder of the July 26 Movement. In 1957 he joined the guerrilla in the Sierra Maestra, being second in command of Column 1, under the command of Fidel Castro, who on May 5, 1958 appointed him National Action Delegate from the center to the west of the country.
In this return to the clandestine struggle in the cities, he managed to unite the wills and promote the creation of the Pinar del Río Guerrilla Front, on July 26, 1958, for this reason he is considered the father of this force.
In September he returned to the Sierra Maestra and resumed command of the IV Simón Bolívar Eastern Front, which he had founded shortly before leaving to fulfill the task of revitalizing the struggle in the West, after the failure of the April 9 strike. .
Upon victory in January 1959, he took command of the Holguín Regiment until February 23 of the same year.
He was among the Cubans who joined the Dominicans’ fight against Trujillo, he was taken prisoner and suffered savage torture that left him with permanent injuries and partial hearing loss, in that country he is considered a “National Hero.”
He returned to Cuba on June 9, 1961, performed various functions until his retirement and in 1998, published the book “The Victory of the Fallen” about his experiences; He also has a PhD in Social Sciences and a degree in Public Law has received numerous distinctions and recognitions, including the Shield of Pinar del Río.
Representatives of various organizations such as the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the UJC, AHS, FEU, FEEM and officials of the Party and the Provincial Government were present at the award ceremony, carried out in a solemn act in Havana, which was also attended by his wrestling partner Pedro Abreu Mujica.
Gómez Ochoa said that more than being thankful, it is an incentive to ratify his commitment to the country.
