Former Cuban ambassador to Chile dies

In Havana the death of Giraldo Mazola Collazo was reported, at the age of 86.

“The Century”. 14/6/2024. From Havana, it was reported that diplomat Giraldo Mazola Collazo has passed away at the age of 86. Among his other missions, he was Cuban ambassador to Chile for several years from 2006.

Mazola joined the fight against Batista’s tyranny at the age of 16, when he was studying medicine and joined the July 26 action groups in Havana.

Due to his participation in the different actions, he suffered imprisonment and torture. He was Secretary of International Relations of the National Directorate of July 26.

Following the triumph of the Revolution, at the age of 23, he became the founding President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) in 1960. This responsibility allowed him to work closely with Fidel and Che in the creation and implementation of a structure designed to prevent the isolation of revolutionary Cuba.

From 1969 to 1974, he was executive secretary of the Provincial Committee of the PCC in Camagüey.

In 1974 he joined MINREX, holding the positions of Director of North Africa and the Middle East from 1978 to 1989 and Vice Minister from 1980 to 1993 and Head of the Population Assistance Office until 2023.

Mazola also served as ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Chile and Namibia and carried out numerous official missions in other countries.

At the time of his death, he was working at the Document Management Center, from where he continued his work of rescuing the historical memory of MINREX as a legacy for the different generations of Cuban diplomats.