On Twitter, the President stressed that this fighter is an example of Cuban woman, “with an exceptional record in the service of our country and other peoples”.

Likewise, he emphasized Hernández´s connection with the 1953 assault on the Moncada, in Santiago de Cuba province, as she played an important role in the collection and distribution of Fidel Castro´s self-defense plea known as La historia me absolverá.

This revolutonary was one of the first members of the movement led by Fidel Castro, with whom she coincided while studying law at the Havana University, and whom she would support in the fight against Fulgencio Batista´s dictatorship (1952-1959).

She participated in the preparations for the Granma expedition and on November 25, 1956, she bid farewell to the 82 combatants in the Mexican port of Tuxpan, then returned to Cuba and joined the ranks of the Rebel Army in the Third Front Mario Muñoz Monroy, under the command of Commander Juan Almeida.

After the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959, she held various responsibilities in the development of the solidarity movement and the island’s foreign policy.

She was also Cuba’s ambassador to Vietnam and Cambodia, and director of the Center for Studies on Asia and Oceania.

Melba, as she was known by the people, was also a founder of the Communist Party of Cuba, a member of the Central Committee since its Third Congress and a deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament) until her death.

Surrounded by family, colleagues and friends, she died in Havana on March 9, 2014 as a result of complications associated with diabetes mellitus, a disease she suffered for years.

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