Rafael Celestino Benítez

Who was Rafael Celestino Benítez?

Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez was a highly decorated submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino during the Cold War. After retiring from the Navy, he was Pan American World Airways' vice president for Latin America. He taught international law for 16 years at the University of Miami School of Law, and served as Associate Dean, Interim Dean and director and founder of the foreign graduate law program. While there, he founded the Comparative Law LL.M. program, the Inter-American Law LL.M. program, and the Inter-American Law Review. After his death, the university established a scholarship in his memory to benefit a foreign attorney who is enrolled in one of the Law School's LL.M. programs.