Víctor Dreke
Encyclopedia
Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz (born 10 March 1937 in Sagua la Grande
) is a Cuban Communist Party leader of notable African descent, and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Following involvement in various student protests in Sagua la Grande 1952-1954, Dreke joined the 26th of July Movement
in 1955, soon after it was formed. In 1957 he helped form the student-based March 13 unit of the Revolutionary Directorate in the Escambray Mountains
in Las Villas Province. In October 1958 he came under the command of Che Guevara
in a unification of the guerillas of the 26th of July Movement and the Revolutionary Directorate. Dreke took part in armed actions against the government forces of the Fulgencio Batista
regime, such as at Placetas
, Báez, Manicaragua
and Santa Clara
.
After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution
in 1959, Dreke was assigned in turn; a prosecutor for revolutionary tribunals; chief of police in Sagua la Grande; a company leader of the Western Tactical Force; head of a squadron of the Revolutionary Rural Police. He then became a Rebel Army platoon leader in the first actions in the War Against the Bandits
in the Escambray. In 1960 he was chief of the Rebel army squadron in Cruces, and was also head of a militia training school in Hatillo. On 17 April 1961, the first day of the Bay of Pigs Invasion
, he assumed command of two companies of the 117th Battalion, taking part in a clash with paratroops of Brigade 2506
. On 19 April, he was wounded and briefly captured after driving towards Girón in a jeep ahead of his tanks. In 1962 he was promoted to the rank of comandante. When the Lucha Contra Bandidos (LCB) special units were created that year in the continuing operations against the CIA-backed anti-communist forces, he became head of LCB operations in the Escambray. He served as second in command to Raúl Menéndez Tomassevich, head of the LCB within the Central Army, until January 1965 when the final cleanup operation was almost finished.
In April 1965, Comandante Dreke served as second in command to Che Guevara in the Cuban military training mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, to help train independence fighters originally organised by former prime minister Patrice Lumumba
(murdered in 1961). Guevara wrote about Dreke in his report to Fidel Castro
: "He was...one of the pillars on which I relied. The only reason I am not recommending that he be promoted is that he already holds the highest rank." The mission ended in November 1965. He then headed a military unit in Cuba preparing internationalist volunteers. In 1966 he headed the Cuban military mission to Guinea-Bissau
/Cape Verde
, where he served alongside Amilcar Cabral
. He then performed a similar function in the Republic of Guinea. He returned to Guinea-Bissau in 1986, heading the Cuban military mission until 1989.
From 1965 to 1975, Dreke served on the central committee of the Cuban communist party. In 1969 he headed the political directorate of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. In 1972 he graduated from the Maximo Gomez Military Academy with a degree in politics. In 1973 he was appointed chief of the newly formed Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo (EJT, or Youth Army of Labor) in Oriente province, working on volunteer agricultural projects. In 1981 he graduated from the University of Santiago de Cuba with a degree in law.
In 1990 General Dreke retired from active military service. He then acted as representative in Africa for Cuban corporations ANTEX and UNECA in trade and construction projects. He is currently vice president of the Cuba-Africa Friendship Association and a member of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution. He has received numerous decorations in Cuba and Africa.
Sagua La Grande
Sagua La Grande is a municipality and city located on the north coast of the province of Villa Clara in central Cuba, on the Sagua la Grande River. The city is close to Mogotes de Jumagua, limestone cliffs...
) is a Cuban Communist Party leader of notable African descent, and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Following involvement in various student protests in Sagua la Grande 1952-1954, Dreke joined the 26th of July Movement
26th of July Movement
The 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba...
in 1955, soon after it was formed. In 1957 he helped form the student-based March 13 unit of the Revolutionary Directorate in the Escambray Mountains
Escambray Mountains
The Escambray Mountains are a mountain range in the central region of Cuba, in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara....
in Las Villas Province. In October 1958 he came under the command of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
in a unification of the guerillas of the 26th of July Movement and the Revolutionary Directorate. Dreke took part in armed actions against the government forces of the Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
regime, such as at Placetas
Placetas
Placetas is a city in the Villa Clara Province in the center of Cuba; before the change in the country's government in 1959 the province was called Las Villas. Close towns include Zulueta , San Juan de los Remedios , Cabaiguán and Fomento , and Santa Clara and Camajuani...
, Báez, Manicaragua
Manicaragua, Cuba
Manicaragua is a municipality and city in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It is located in the southern part of Villa Clara, bordering the provinces of Cienfuegos to the west and Sancti Spíritus to the east.-Demographics:...
and Santa Clara
Battle of Santa Clara
The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of the Cuban city of Santa Clara by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara...
.
After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
in 1959, Dreke was assigned in turn; a prosecutor for revolutionary tribunals; chief of police in Sagua la Grande; a company leader of the Western Tactical Force; head of a squadron of the Revolutionary Rural Police. He then became a Rebel Army platoon leader in the first actions in the War Against the Bandits
War Against the Bandits
The War Against the Bandits was a six-year rebellion in the Escambray Mountains by a group of Cuban insurgents who opposed the new Communist government led by Fidel Castro...
in the Escambray. In 1960 he was chief of the Rebel army squadron in Cruces, and was also head of a militia training school in Hatillo. On 17 April 1961, the first day of the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
, he assumed command of two companies of the 117th Battalion, taking part in a clash with paratroops of Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro...
. On 19 April, he was wounded and briefly captured after driving towards Girón in a jeep ahead of his tanks. In 1962 he was promoted to the rank of comandante. When the Lucha Contra Bandidos (LCB) special units were created that year in the continuing operations against the CIA-backed anti-communist forces, he became head of LCB operations in the Escambray. He served as second in command to Raúl Menéndez Tomassevich, head of the LCB within the Central Army, until January 1965 when the final cleanup operation was almost finished.
In April 1965, Comandante Dreke served as second in command to Che Guevara in the Cuban military training mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, to help train independence fighters originally organised by former prime minister Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
(murdered in 1961). Guevara wrote about Dreke in his report to Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
: "He was...one of the pillars on which I relied. The only reason I am not recommending that he be promoted is that he already holds the highest rank." The mission ended in November 1965. He then headed a military unit in Cuba preparing internationalist volunteers. In 1966 he headed the Cuban military mission to Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
/Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, where he served alongside Amilcar Cabral
Amílcar Cabral
Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and a nationalist thinker and politician. Also known by his nom de guerre Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence...
. He then performed a similar function in the Republic of Guinea. He returned to Guinea-Bissau in 1986, heading the Cuban military mission until 1989.
From 1965 to 1975, Dreke served on the central committee of the Cuban communist party. In 1969 he headed the political directorate of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. In 1972 he graduated from the Maximo Gomez Military Academy with a degree in politics. In 1973 he was appointed chief of the newly formed Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo (EJT, or Youth Army of Labor) in Oriente province, working on volunteer agricultural projects. In 1981 he graduated from the University of Santiago de Cuba with a degree in law.
In 1990 General Dreke retired from active military service. He then acted as representative in Africa for Cuban corporations ANTEX and UNECA in trade and construction projects. He is currently vice president of the Cuba-Africa Friendship Association and a member of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution. He has received numerous decorations in Cuba and Africa.