Harry "Pombo" Villegas (10 May 1940[1] – 29 December 2019)[2] was a Cuban communist guerrilla. He was born in Yara and was a descendant of African slaves.[3] He fought alongside Che Guevara in battles from the Sierra Maestra to the Bolivian insurgency.[4] From 1977 to 1979, and again from 1981 to 1988, Villegas was part of the leadership of Cuba's volunteer military mission in Angola, fighting alongside Angolan and Namibian forces against aggression by South Africa's apartheid regime. Villegas was a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1997 to 2011, a deputy of Cuba's National Assembly, and executive vice president of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution.

Harry Villegas
Born(1940-05-10)May 10, 1940
Yara, Cuba
DiedDecember 29, 2019(2019-12-29) (aged 79)
Havana, Cuba
AllegianceCommunist Party of Cuba
Cuba's National Assembly
Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution

Villegas was also a published writer. He died aged 79 in Havana.

Books in English

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  • Pombo: A Man of Che's guerrilla. With Che Guevara in Bolivia, 1966-68 Pathfinder Press (1997).
  • At the Side of Che Guevara: Interviews With Harry Villegas Pathfinder Press (1997).
  • Cuba and Angola The War for Freedom Pathfinder Press (2017).

References

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  1. ^ James, Daniel (1970). Ché Guevara: A Biography. ISBN 9780812813487.
  2. ^ "General cubano que lutou ao lado de Che Guevara morre aos 79 anos". noticias.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  3. ^ "Harry Villegas, right-hand man and bodyguard to Che Guevara, dies at 81". The Washington Post. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Harry Villegas (Pombo): Fought at Side of Che Guevara". January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
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