Accompanied by Lawmaker Raúl Lima, third vice president of the Angolan National Assembly; Angolan Ambassador in Havana Maria Cândida Pereira Teixeira, and Cuban Ambassador Oscar León, Lazo paid tribute to National Hero António Agostinho Neto at the memorial dedicated to his figure.
The head of the Council of State and the Cuban delegation were received by the president of the Memorial’s Board of Directors, António Antunes Fonseca, and from the institution’s specialists they learned about the life and work of the first president of Angola.
At the mausoleum that keeps his remains, they laid a wreath, as well as in the sarcophagus of former President José Eduardo dos Santos.
On behalf of the National People’s Power Assembly and the Cuban people, Lazo dedicated a few words in the book of honor to the “Angola’s Founding Father,” and highlighted his close friendship with Cuba and especially with the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.
His legacy is an enduring symbol of the brotherhood between our peoples, he added.
Also on Thursday, Lazo paid tribute to Commander Raúl Díaz Argüelles, first chief of the Cuban military mission in Angola.
At the Alto de las Cruces cemetery, a representation of Cuban collaborators joined the ceremony, chaired by the vice president of the Antex corporation for Angola, Pedro Jaime Bonilla.
At the event, a wreath was laid in front of the mound that keeps the mortal remains of the Cuban fighter, who died on December 11, 1975, when the armored vehicle in which he was traveling made contact with an anti-tank mine.
With this tribute they recalled the 2,085 Cuban combatants who offered their lives alongside the Angolan people, in addition to 204 others who died while carrying out civilian tasks.
The Antex vice president for political work, Ana Margarita Ibáñez, highlighted the career of Argüelles, who joined the “March 13” Revolutionary Directorate in the fight against the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship (1952-1958) and reached the rank of commander at age of 22.
Ibáñez pointed out that Raúl Díaz Argüelles is a symbol of a worthy Cuban, of those who can give their lives for the well-being and independence of the brother peoples of the world.
She stressed that the Cubans who now defend peace in Angola, in the sectors of medicine, education and other spheres of collaboration, will know how to be the heirs of his example.
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