Diaz-Arguelles is included in the list of prominent figures who will be recognized with the special decoration for their contributions to Angola, during the 6th ceremony of this kind scheduled for September 29 and 30.

Commander Diaz-Arguelles is the third Cuban to receive the Peace and Development Class decoration. Previously, Army Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frias was personally awarded the Independence Class, and Brigadier General Rafael Moracen Limonta also received the Peace and Development Class posthumously.

The Angolan Presidency stated that the ceremony will award medals to 759 people or their families: 115 in the Independence Class and 644 in the Peace and Development Class. Nearly 1,600 national and international figures, including freedom fighters, political leaders, musicians, writers, artists, athletes, religious figures, and members of civil society, have been honored to date.

Raul Diaz-Arguelles was involved in the early stages of Cuban military collaboration in Angola, at the request of the government of former President Antonio Agostinho Neto, and participated in some of the leading battles that helped secure national independence on November 11, 1975.

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