When welcoming him, De los Santos expressed that it was a pleasure and an honor for him to receive at the headquarters of the legislative branch the only survivor of the patriotic expeditions of June 14 and 20, 1959.
For his part, Gómez Ochoa, a veteran revolutionary fighter against the dictatorships of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958) in Cuba, and Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (1930-1961), in the Dominican Republic, thanked him for the welcome and then told him: “Here it is “the forever friend.”
«I want, through you, to thank this brother people for the affection and respect they offer me. With solidarity and brotherhood, Cubans and Dominicans have to continue moving towards greater achievements in our relationships, in this time, when the world becomes more complicated every day.
Also present at the meeting were the Cuban ambassador to this country, Ángel Arzuaga, and the consul general of that Caribbean island, Enith Pérez.
Gómez Ochoa belonged to the ranks of the 26th of July Revolutionary Movement, a Cuban organization created in 1953 to combat the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, under the direction of Fidel Castro.
He reached the rank of commander in the Rebel Army and after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution he carried out various functions.
Ochoa was part of the armed expedition against Rafael Leónidas Trujillo that ended in failure in June 1959 and of which he was one of the three survivors. Sent to prison and tortured, he was released after the fall of the Dominican dictator.
For his efforts to free the people of Quisqueya, several years ago he was honored with the Duarte, Sánchez y Mella National Order, the highest award conferred by the country.
jha/mpv
