Melba Hernández

Melba Hernández Rodríguez del Rey (28 July 1921 – 9 March 2014) was a Cuban politician and diplomat. She served as the Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam and to Cambodia.

Life Born in Cruces, Las Villas, Hernández was the only child of mulatto conservative parents who resided in a modern third-floor apartment on Jovellar Street in Vedado district of Havana. Her parents were involved in Cuba’s war for independence and inculcated principles of revolutionary advocacy in her. She graduated from the University of Havana School of Law in 1943. Hernández worked as a Customs attorney for the Carlos Prio government. As an attorney, Melba represented some clients who were exploited peasants and dismissed workers.

Cuban Revolution Melba Hernandez was an active member of the Cuban revolution. She was one of the best-known women that fought alongside Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolutionary war against Fulgencio Batista. Melba met Fidel in 1952 after going to a demonstration at a grave of a worker who was killed by Batista’s thugs, there she met Abel Santamaría who later introduced them. Melba was involved with an underground organization led by Fidel Castro before the July 26th attack and joined the revolution because she was attracted to the insurrection against President Fulgencio Batista. She later became one of the four staff members of Fidel Castro.

26 of July Movement Melba Hernandez was one of the women who participated in the 26th of July Movement, a movement named after the Moncada Barrack attack. She helped the movement by obtaining 100 soldiers' uniform and stitching different ranks on them. The uniforms were used to attack the Moncada Barracks. As a woman, Melba had to fight to be included in the attack, she took a stand on being a part of the assault as she played a part in the group. She rode into the fight with one of the columns headed to take over the barracks. During the charge, Melba and Haydee stood by waiting to provide medical assistance to fellow soldiers. Ultimately the attack failed and Fidel Castro, Melba Hernandez, Haydée Santamaria, and the remaining survivors of the attack were arrested. After being arrested Melba and others who were involved in the July 26 assault were interrogated and tortured to release information, Melba however remained silent. The Batista government sentenced Fidel Castro to 15 years in prison since he was the leader of the attack, and Melba and Haydée were sentenced to 7 months in prison.

Melba and Haydée were sentenced to the National Prison for Women, in Guanajay "History Will Absolve Me" was a speech that Fidel Castro wrote while in prison that talk about his will and future of Cuba. After Castro was released in 1955, they rejoin forces in Mexico, where they kept planning for the guerrilla army and the Cuban Revolution. In Mexico, Melba made contact with assailants who were in exile there following the Moncada Barrack assault, and she helped with the preparations for the voyage of the ship Granma. Later, Melba Hernández was given the name "Heroine of the Cuban Revolution" for her actions during the Cuban Revolutionary war.

After the Cuban Revolution Melba Hernandez took a role in the new government run by Fidel Castro. She became the head of the Cuban Committee in Solidarity with Vietnam in the 1960s to 1970s. She was the ambassador to Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1980s. She was the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist Tribunal of Our America, the secretary general of Organization in Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (OSPAAL), director of the Communist Party's Center for Asian Studios, and deputy in Cuba's National Assembly between 1976 and 1986 and was re-elected in 1993.