Manuel Piñeiro

Who was Manuel Piñeiro?

Manuel Piñeiro Losada, known as Barba Roja, was a Cuban political and military figure, a leading character of the Cuban Revolution, as the first head of Fidel Castro's security apparatus. By supporting armed struggle in Latin America, the DGI would try to help the expansion of radical leftist guerrilla groups in the subcontinent.

Piñeiro was the Cuban DGI chief from 1961-1964. He then became Deputy Minister of the Interior in charge of the state security apparatus from 1964-1968. A Soviet reorganization of the DGI forced Piñeiro out of his position and he was then placed in charge of the DGI's Latin American affairs division.