Víctor Dreke

Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz (born 10 March 1937, in Sagua La Grande) is a Cuban Communist Party leader of 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 Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil 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.

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.