Víctor Dreke Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz ( born 10 March 1937 in Sagua La Grande ) is a Cuban Communist Party leader of notable African descent , and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces . Following involvement in various student protests in Sagua la Grande 1952 - 54 , Dreke joined the 26th of July Movement in 1955 , soon after it was formed . In 1957 he helped form the student - based March 13 unit of the Revolutionary Directorate in the Escambray Mountains in Las Villas Province . In October 1958 he came under the command of Che Guevara in a unification of the guerrillas of the 26th of July Movement and the Revolutionary Directorate . Dreke took part in armed actions against the government forces of the Fulgencio Batista regime , such as at Placetas , Báez , Manicaragua and Santa Clara . After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 , Dreke was assigned in turn ; a prosecutor for revolutionary tribunals ; chief of police in Sagua la Grande ; a company leader of the Western Tactical Force ; head of a squadron of the Revolutionary Rural Police . He then became a Rebel Army platoon leader in the first actions in the Escambray . In 1960 he was chief of the Rebel army squadron in Cruces , and was also head of a militia training school in Hatillo . On 17 April 1961 , the first day of the Bay of Pigs Invasion , he assumed command of two companies of the 117th Battalion , taking part in a clash with paratroops of Brigade 2506 . On 19 April , he was wounded and briefly captured after driving towards Girón in a jeep ahead of his tanks . In 1962 he was promoted to the rank of comandante . When the Lucha Contra Bandidos ( LCB ) special units were created that year in the continuing operations against the CIA - backed anti - communist forces , he became head of LCB operations in the Escambray . He served as second in command to Raúl Menéndez Tomassevich , head of the LCB within the Central Army , until January 1965 when the final cleanup operation was almost finished . In April 1965 , Comandante Dreke served as second in command to Che Guevara in the Cuban military training mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo , to help train independence fighters originally organised by former prime minister Patrice Lumumba ( murdered in 1961 ) . Guevara wrote about Dreke in his report to Fidel Castro : " He was . . . one of the pillars on which I relied . The only reason I am not recommending that he be promoted is that he already holds the highest rank . " The mission ended in November 1965 . He then headed a military unit in Cuba preparing internationalist volunteers . In 1966 he headed the Cuban military mission to Guinea - Bissau / Cape Verde , where he served alongside Amílcar Cabral . He then performed a similar function in the Republic of Guinea . He returned to Guinea - Bissau in 1986 , heading the Cuban military mission until 1989 . From 1965 to 1975 , Dreke served on the central committee of the Cuban communist party . In 1969 he headed the political directorate of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces . In 1972 he graduated from the Maximo Gomez Military Academy with a degree in politics . In 1973 he was appointed chief of the newly formed Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo ( EJT , or Youth Army of Labor ) in Oriente province , working on volunteer agricultural projects . In 1981 he graduated from the University of Santiago de Cuba with a degree in law . In 1990 General Dreke retired from active military service . He then acted as representative in Africa for Cuban corporations ANTEX and UNECA in trade and construction projects . He is currently vice president of the Cuba - Africa Friendship Association and a member of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution .