Major General Humberto Omar Francis Pardo died in Havana, as he was able to confirm this Tuesday 14ymedio. His body, which will be cremated, is being veiled at the Calzada y K funeral home, located at Calzada number 52, in El Vedado. A source close to the family told this newspaper that the military man had suffered from Alzheimer’s for years.
As a Major General, Francis was in charge of the Directorate of Personal Security, the invisible apparatus with the most power on the island, of the Ministry of the Interior, and was in charge of Fidel Castro’s security. He had under his command the “elite” brigade that has more than 3,000 troops, “shock troops” to face protests.
Considered one of the most powerful Cuban military personnel, Francis Pardo was replaced from his duties as Head of the General Directorate of Personal Security (DGSP) in August 2016. Raúl Castro put his grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, son of Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, the “czar” of Gaesa.
Until then, within the military scheme, General Francis at the head of the DGSP commanded an anti-attacks brigade that was made up of snipers and experts in all types of explosives.
Until that moment, within the military scheme, General Francis at the head of the DGSP commanded an anti-attacks brigade that was made up of snipers and experts in all types of explosives, as well as a counterintelligence service, which in coordination with other State agencies controls all the information of that brotherhood, family circle and friends. The military man was also in charge of a department of international relations that coordinated with other secret services the visits to Cuba of persons of interest and personalities.
General Francis was awarded the Order “June 6” of the First Degree in recognition of 55 years of accumulated service in the ranks of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior. His “consecrated performance, skill and reliability, fundamentally in the organization and direction of protection activities for the main leaders,” of the Cuban regime were highlighted.
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