• Ramiro Valdes, a crucial ally of Fidel Castro, died at 94.
• He was a commander in the Cuban Revolution and helped establish Cuba’s intelligence apparatus.
• President Miguel Diaz-Canel hailed Valdes as a father figure to the nation.
• Valdes participated in the pivotal Moncada Barracks attack in 1953.
• His death comes shortly after major economic reforms were endorsed by the Cuban Communist Party.

Ramiro Valdes, one of Fidel Castro's earliest collaborators and a celebrated figure of the Cuban Revolution, passed away at the age of 94, according to Reuters. Valdes was recognized as a "Hero of the Republic" and "Commander of the Revolution," holding a prominent position in the Cuban Communist Party until 2019.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed profound sorrow over Valdes' death, referring to it as a loss akin to that of a father. He described Valdes as a paragon of loyalty, stating, "Every act in Commander Ramiro's life was marked by his absolute fidelity," in a post shared on social media, according to Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.

Born on April 28, 1932, Valdes joined Fidel Castro in the 1953 assault on the Moncada Barracks, marking the start of the Cuban Revolution and the effort to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista. He was integral in the armed struggle and later served under Ernesto "Che" Guevara, solidifying his status as one of the few living commanders from the revolutionary era, according to Los Angeles Times.

In the following decades, Valdes held multiple key governmental roles, including twice serving as Minister of the Interior and later as Vice President. He was also influential in the establishment of the G2 state security service, a critical component of Cuba’s intelligence framework, as stated by Al Jazeera and Los Angeles Times.

His death was announced shortly after the Cuban Communist Party approved significant free-market economic reforms, which represent the largest shifts in the country's economic strategy since the revolution began. These reforms are intended to decentralize the state-run economy, as highlighted by South China Morning Post and Reuters.