Prestigious Cuban journalist, Luis Báez, died of a heart attack in Havana at the age of 79.

Author of many books dedicated to the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and volumes featuring interview with celebrities, Báez Hernández was born in Havana on November 24th, 1936 and was an exceptional witness to several international events. His books include Absuelto por la historia (Absolved by History), Guerra secreta de la CIA (The CIA’s Secret War), Los que se fueron (The Ones who Left), Los que se quedaron (The Ones who Stayed), Secretos de generales (Secrets of Generals), and Miami, donde el tiempo se detuvo (Miamia, where Time Stood Still), among others.

The renowned professional began his career as a journalist at El Crisol in 1954 and began to report on Fidel Castro as of the victory of the 1959 Revolution as part of the group of journalists, who traveled to Venezuela to report on his visit in January, 1959. He travelled with Fidel Castro to the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, was a war correspondent during the US Bay of Pigs invasion, where he reported for the Revolución newspaper and Bohemia magazine.

Baéz was a founding member of the Cuban Journalists Association and the daily Granma, worked for Juventud Rebelde and the Bohemia and Cuba Internacional magazines and for Prensa Latina news agency, in which he received the José Martí International Journalism Award. The renowned journalists interviewed several personalities, including slain Panamanian President, Omar Torrijos, Vietnamese and North Korean leaders, Ho Chi Minh and Kim IL Sung, and Pope, John Paul II.