Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, March 12th - The book Fidel Castro: Un guerrilleroantillanoen el paralelo 17 (Fidel Castro: An Antillean guerrilla fighter on the 17th parallel), by journalist José ÁngelLlamosCamejo, was presented at the Guantánamo Press House, as part of the activities for Press Event 2026, which runs from March 5th to 14th.
The event brought together members of the guild to discuss the text, which recalls the visit of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz to South Vietnam 53 years ago, and the affection of that nation's people and youth for the Cuban leader.
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LlamosCamejo explained that he traveled to the land of Ho Chi Minh to investigate and publicize the sites visited by Fidel Castro on September 12, 1973, in the midst of the liberation war against US troops.
The author pointed out that the work is nourished by previously unpublished testimonies from people who were close to the Commander, as well as exchanges, data collection, and consultation of documents.
Published under the imprint of Casa Editora Abril, the book is structured in eight chapters, where readers will find moving experiences narrated through chronicles, reports, and interviews, accompanied by snapshots that show Fidel's passage through that latitude, where no other foreign leader had set foot, he emphasized.
The narrative depicts the emotional scene of a 16-year-old girl, a member of a youth brigade dedicated to clearing landmines planted by the US army, who fell victim to these devices as Fidel Castro's convoy was heading towards the site of the explosion.
Upon seeing her seriously injured, along with other wounded youths, the Cuban leader, at risk to his own safety—since the war still exuded its deadly charges—stopped the convoy and arranged for the teenager to be transferred to the hospital, and although her body was pierced, she survived, he explained.
According to the author, the witness found a second father in Fidel, although that was the first and only encounter between them, and today, now advanced in years, the woman gratefully keeps the image of the historic leader in her home.
Other passages in the book recount the encounter with a guerrilla fighter over 90 years old, who had wielded a rifle for more than a decade against the aggression, and LlamosCamejo mentions that the man initially refused the interview, but upon mentioning Fidel's name, his face lit up.
The hero shook hands with the Commander on Hill 241, a former arsenal of US troops, and proudly recalled having met the leader of the Cuban Revolution, the author assures.
Fidel Castro: A Caribbean Guerrilla Fighter on the 17th Parallel arose from a collaboration with the Vietnamese media outlet The Voice of Vietnam, which asked the author to dedicate a book to the Commander after his physical disappearance in 2016. It reflects in its pages the sensitivity and solidarity that led Fidel to personally visit the war being waged on the 17th parallel, he concluded.
The moment was opportune for Tahimí Pérez Fernández, president of the Union of Journalists of Cuba in the province, to present José ÁngelLlamosCamejo with a seal from The Voice of Vietnam, a media outlet that played a leading role in the celebration of the Centenary of the Press in the Vietnamese land, held in 2025. (Text and photos: ACN)
