CIENFUEGOS CAMILO: (1932-1959) Cuban Revolutionary. Member of the 1956 Granma expedition along ...

CIENFUEGOS CAMILO: (1932-1959) Cuban Revolutionary. Member of the 1956 Granma expedition along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida Bosque and Raul Castro, which launched the armed insurgency against dictator Fulgencio Batista. Cienfuegos was one of Castro´s top guerrilla commanders. Appointed Head of Cuba´s armed forces in 1959, he disappeared that same year during a nigh flight at the early age of 27. Rare D.S., `Camilo Cienfuegos´, one page, 4to, La Habana, 12th April 1959, in Spanish. The document bears 5 typed lines, being a judge court decision, fixing terms for a public court case. Cienfuegos signature is beneath the typed text ''Comandante Camilo Cienfuegos''. Also signed by judge Rubio. Bearing at the base several additional countersignatures and ink stamps registrations. Very small age wear, with extremely small tear to the right edge and three pinholes to the left edge, none affecting the text or signatures. G

In 1957 Cienfuegos became one of the leaders of the revolutionary forces, appointed to the rank of Comandante. In 1958 he was put in command of one of three columns which headed west out of the mountains with the intention of capturing the provincial capital city of Santa Clara. Che Guevara was in command of another column and Jaime Vega was in command of the third. Vega's column was ambushed and defeated by Batista's forces. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns reached the central provinces, where they combined their efforts with other groups. Cienfuegos' column attacked an army outpost at Yaguajay and, after a tough fight, forced the garrison to surrender on 30 December 1958. This earned him the nickname ''The Hero of Yaguajay.'' Cienfuegos then advanced against Santa Clara in conjunction with Guevara's forces, together, the two columns captured Santa Clara on 31 December. Batista fled Cuba the next day, leaving the guerrilla fighters victorious. At a rally on January 1959, Castro interrupted his speech to ask Cienfuegos (''Am I doing all right, Camilo?'') His response ''Vas bien, Fidel'' (''You're doing fine, Fidel'') was taken up by the crowd and became a slogan of the revolution.