Eduardo "Lalo" Sardiñas was a merchant who worked in the Sierra Maestra area in the 1950s. In 1957 he joined Fidel Castro's newly established guerrilla group after killing a stranger who had entered his home.[1]
When the Second Column (the so-called Fourth Column) was created under the command of Che Guevara, he appointed Lalo as his second in command, with the rank of captain. In various fights and skirmishes he demonstrated courage and intelligence.[2]
In September 1957, Sardinas decided to punish one of his men for a breach of discipline. He tried to hit him in the head with his pistol, but he, accidentally, shot the man and killed him on the spot. The event produced a general reaction from the guerrillas demanding that Sardiñas be shot. Che Guevara and Fidel Castro had a different opinion than that of the majority of the rebel army. They tried, for a whole day, to convince their men that shooting Sardiñas was an excessive punishment. Finally, a conflictive vote was held among all the members of the rebel army in which for a small difference, it was decided to downgrade but not shoot. Seventy-six guerrillas voted for degradation of the punishment, while seventy voted for death.[3]
As a result of the trial, Lalo Sardiñas lost his position and was replaced by Camilo Cienfuegos as Second Commander of Che Guevara in the Fourth Column. Later, in June 1958, Lalo Sardiñas, now with the rank of lieutenant and in command of a twenty-three-man battalion, played a key role in stopping the government's military offensive on the guerrilla positions in Sierra Maestra; a fact that would later enable the counteroffensive that would finally lead to the fall of the dictator Fulgencio Batista.[4]
A few weeks later, when the guerrillas decided to go down and begin the march on Santa Clara, Sardiñas was promoted to commander and was placed in command of Column No. 12 Simón Bolívar. In that role he again played an important role in preventing government troops from surrounding the columns of Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara that advanced towards the Escambray on the border between Camagüey and Oriente.
Finally, the day before Batista's escape, on December 30, 1958, Sardiñas and his men took the city of Jobabo for good.[5]
^Anderson, Jon Lee (1997), Che Guevara. Una vida revolucionaria, Barcelona: Anagrama. ISBN84-7888-296-0.
^James, Daniel (2001-03-20). Che Guevara: A Biography. Cooper Square Press. ISBN978-1-4617-3206-8.
^ (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
^. 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
^. 2007-06-22. Archived from the original on 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
External linksedit
January 01, 1970
lalo, sardiñas, eduardo, lalo, sardiñas, combatant, cuban, revolution, member, 26th, july, movement, fidel, castro, during, 1958, 1959, contents, biography, also, references, external, linksbiography, editeduardo, lalo, sardiñas, merchant, worked, sierra, maes. Eduardo Lalo Sardinas was a combatant of Cuban Revolution and a member of the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro during 1958 and 1959 Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography editEduardo Lalo Sardinas was a merchant who worked in the Sierra Maestra area in the 1950s In 1957 he joined Fidel Castro s newly established guerrilla group after killing a stranger who had entered his home 1 When the Second Column the so called Fourth Column was created under the command of Che Guevara he appointed Lalo as his second in command with the rank of captain In various fights and skirmishes he demonstrated courage and intelligence 2 In September 1957 Sardinas decided to punish one of his men for a breach of discipline He tried to hit him in the head with his pistol but he accidentally shot the man and killed him on the spot The event produced a general reaction from the guerrillas demanding that Sardinas be shot Che Guevara and Fidel Castro had a different opinion than that of the majority of the rebel army They tried for a whole day to convince their men that shooting Sardinas was an excessive punishment Finally a conflictive vote was held among all the members of the rebel army in which for a small difference it was decided to downgrade but not shoot Seventy six guerrillas voted for degradation of the punishment while seventy voted for death 3 As a result of the trial Lalo Sardinas lost his position and was replaced by Camilo Cienfuegos as Second Commander of Che Guevara in the Fourth Column Later in June 1958 Lalo Sardinas now with the rank of lieutenant and in command of a twenty three man battalion played a key role in stopping the government s military offensive on the guerrilla positions in Sierra Maestra a fact that would later enable the counteroffensive that would finally lead to the fall of the dictator Fulgencio Batista 4 A few weeks later when the guerrillas decided to go down and begin the march on Santa Clara Sardinas was promoted to commander and was placed in command of Column No 12 Simon Bolivar In that role he again played an important role in preventing government troops from surrounding the columns of Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara that advanced towards the Escambray on the border between Camaguey and Oriente Finally the day before Batista s escape on December 30 1958 Sardinas and his men took the city of Jobabo for good 5 See also editCuban RevolutionReferences edit Anderson Jon Lee 1997 Che Guevara Una vida revolucionaria Barcelona Anagrama ISBN 84 7888 296 0 James Daniel 2001 03 20 Che Guevara A Biography Cooper Square Press ISBN 978 1 4617 3206 8 Un episodio desagradable in Spanish Archived from the original on 30 October 2007 Retrieved 15 February 2007 Cuba Majibacoa Las Tunas 2007 09 27 Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2020 08 08 Cuba Jobabo Las Tunas 2007 06 22 Archived from the original on 2007 06 22 Retrieved 2020 08 08 External links editUn episodio desagradable relato de Ernesto Guevara sobre el juicio a Lalo Sardinas publicado originalmente en la revista Verde Olivo el 28 de abril de 1963 Centro de Estudios Che Guevara Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lalo Sardinas amp oldid 1182344807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
