Jesús Larrondo Menéndez

Born Dec 14, 1911, near Encrucijada, Cuba; died Jan. 22, 1948, in Manzanillo, Cuba. A leader of the communist and trade union movements in Cuba.

Menéndez worked in the sugar and tobacco industries from an early age. In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Cuba. In 1938, Menéndez founded the Federation of the Working People of Santa Clara Province and became its first secretary-general. In 1939, Menéndez became a member of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of the Working People of Cuba; from 1940 to 1948 he was general secretary of the National Federation of the Working People of the Sugar Industry and in 1942 he became a deputy to the chamber of deputies. Menéndez was repeatedly arrested for his trade union activity and was killed on orders of the Batista government.