53 Facts About Camilo Cienfuegos

The son of Spanish anarchists, Cienfuegos engaged with left-wing politics from an early age, going on to join the opposition movement against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

Camilo Cienfuegos quickly distinguished himself as one of the top commanders of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and a popular leading figure of the revolution, becoming close friends with Che Guevara during their guerrilla campaign in Las Villas.

Camilo Cienfuegos oversaw the reorganization of the armed forces, in order to purge leading figures of the Cuban National Army and replace them with guerrilla commanders more loyal to Fidel Castro.

Camilo Cienfuegos has since become known as a revolutionary martyr in Cuba, with a number of institutions being dedicated to his name, including a Military Schools System and an Order of Merit.

Camilo Cienfuegos was a popular figure in Cuba, due to his cheerful and carefree personality, which contrasted sharply with the strict austerity of his comrade Guevara.

In 1932, Camilo Cienfuegos was born into a working-class family, the son of Spanish anarchists who had immigrated to Cuba.

Camilo Cienfuegos was eventually forced to drop out of school due to financial difficulties and began working at the same clothing shop as his father.

Camilo Cienfuegos briefly emigrated to the United States, where he worked illegally for a period.

In 1956, Camilo Cienfuegos moved to Mexico and joined Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement for its expedition back to Cuba.

Camilo Cienfuegos found himself to be one of only twelve men that had survived the initial expedition.

Sardinas was stripped of command and replaced by Camilo Cienfuegos, who was made captain of Guevara's vanguard platoon.

Castro ordered Camilo Cienfuegos to pursue and neutralise a group of "bandits", who they wanted to try for abuses being committed under the revolutionary banner.

Camilo Cienfuegos was dispatched to ambush them from behind, but the engagement was quick and only resulted in one National soldier's death before both sides withdrew.

Camilo Cienfuegos then attempted a second attack, taking up position near the National Army camp while waiting for reinforcements from Guevara's column.

Camilo Cienfuegos was to fire the starting shot at point-blank range from behind a tree, following which partially-concealed sharpshooters would open fire on the road.

Camilo Cienfuegos was initially pleased and after his foot was operated on, returned to his base camp in El Hombrito, which he found completely destroyed.

Camilo Cienfuegos had hoped to reunite on the front lines with Cienfuegos, who consoled his friend with a letter:.

Camilo Cienfuegos himself was directed to lead his 82-strong Antonio Maceo Column across the island towards Pinar del Rio, in emulation of his column's namesake.

Camilo Cienfuegos' column was supplied with provisions by the local communist militants such as Armando Acosta, who became Guevara's personal aide.

Camilo Cienfuegos spent much of his time there organising regular collective reading sessions, dedicated to studying the works of Cuban national heroes Jose Marti and Antonio Maceo, the latter of whom Camilo Cienfuegos read aloud himself "in a deep voice".

The revolutionaries implemented a programme of agrarian reform in Las Villas, with Camilo Cienfuegos organising local sugar workers to hold a national conference later in the year.

Camilo Cienfuegos was ordered to attack towns in the north of the province, which succeeded in bringing provincial traffic to a standstill on the day of the election.

Camilo Cienfuegos brought his Column to reinforce Guevara and the two sides battled for a week.

Meanwhile, Camilo Cienfuegos' column moved to the north of the province and launched an attack on the National Army garrison at Yaguajay.

That day, Camilo Cienfuegos' column arrived at Matanzas, where they accepted the unconditional surrender of the local regiment.

The soldiers were disarmed of their rifles but allowed by Camilo Cienfuegos to keep their pistols.

Tensions had not yet subsided, as the Revolutionary Directorate held on to the Presidential Palace and refused to vacate it for the arrival of the new president, with Camilo Cienfuegos considering an attack against the palace.

Meanwhile, Camilo solicited his brother Osmany Cienfuegos, a member of the PSP, to establish a Cultural Section of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that would oversee the Cuban literacy campaign.

Camilo Cienfuegos instead preferred to enjoy Havana's nightlife, going to clubs and reveling in his status as "the spoiled darling of the masses".

In September 1959, Camilo Cienfuegos joined the Castro brothers in going to Santa Clara, where they sacked the provincial heads of 26 July Movement, the revolutionary army and Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria, replacing them with more loyal supporters of Castro.

Camilo Cienfuegos agreed and attempted to convince Castro to call it off, but he pushed forward with the plan.

The provincial commander of Camaguey, Huber Matos, shared his own concerns with Camilo Cienfuegos, who promised to investigate the situation.

In October 1959, Raul Castro was promoted to Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, formally demoting Camilo Cienfuegos, who had previously been his superior officer.

Camilo Cienfuegos arrested Matos and his fellow dissidents without resistance, refusing to handcuff his former comrade and walking side-by-side with him in front of the press.

Camilo Cienfuegos remained behind in Camaguey to take over Matos' command, overseeing the complete reorganization of the province's armed forces.

Camilo Cienfuegos disappeared along the way, his plane apparently having been lost in the Caribbean Sea.

The Cuban government subsequently declared Camilo Cienfuegos to be presumed dead.

Camilo Cienfuegos's body has never been discovered and the official story has neither been proven nor disproven.

Fidel Castro accelerated his consolidation of power after Camilo Cienfuegos' death, using it as a reason to convince Cubans of the need to "defend the Revolution at all costs".

Camilo Cienfuegos had proved himself as a leader of men but he did not have any irresistible urge to the exercise of power.

Some have pointed out the influence of his older brother Osmany Camilo Cienfuegos, who was a committed communist.

Camilo Cienfuegos had the natural intelligence of the people, who had chosen him out of thousands for a privileged position on account of the audacity of his blows, his tenacity, his intelligence, and unequalled devotion.

Almost immediately after Camilo Cienfuegos disappeared, many people began to speculate about the events and some even suspected foul play.

The pilot of Camilo Cienfuegos' plane had been inexperienced, and although the government claimed that the plane had been taken down by a squall, the weather that day had actually been clear for flying.

The captain of the base that Camilo Cienfuegos' plane took off from, Roberto de Cardenas, alleged that the flight's fate had been plotted, claiming that nobody had seen Camilo Cienfuegos in the airplane and that others on the base were either killed or overpowered.

Proponents of this hypothesis included Huber Matos himself, who was convinced that his arrest and Camilo Cienfuegos's disappearance were related.

Some skeptics speculated that Castro had falsely announced that Camilo Cienfuegos was found in order to gauge the public's feelings about him.

Shortly after Camilo's death, his brother Osmany Cienfuegos was appointed as Minister of Public Works, replacing the engineer Manuel Ray Rivero.

Camilo Cienfuegos served in the position until February 1966, when he was appointed as president of the Communist Party's foreign relations commission.

Camilo Cienfuegos joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and, in 1976, became a member of the Council of State and secretary of the Council of Ministers.

Camilo Cienfuegos is remembered on the 20 Cuban peso bill and the 20 Cuban convertible peso bill.

Camilo Cienfuegos was pictured on the 40-cent coins, now discontinued.

Camilo Cienfuegos has been depicted on revolutionary murals, which sometimes assigned to him a religious significance.