Ricardo Alarcón dies, key figure of Fidel Castro's regime

Ricardo Alarcón

, former Cuban foreign minister and who was a close collaborator of

, died on Saturday night at the age of 84, after living his last years away from power, the Foreign Ministry confirmed without specifying the causes of death.

"All our tribute to dear

in his loyalty to the

, to the

, to foreign policy and to the glorious tradition of

," Foreign Minister

said on his Twitter account.

Former representative of

in the

,

was a key figure with

in the design of the national policy against the

, his enemy since 1959.

However, in June 2013 he was excluded from the leadership of

(

, only) during the seventh plenary session of

, when

had already succeeded his brother

(1926-2016) as president.

The removal occurred after his main aide,

, was tried and convicted in a discreet trial for espionage.

"Master of the diplomats of our generation, we will always keep deep respect, admiration and infinite affection for you," said the vice-chancellor,

, on her Twitter account in the early hours of the morning.

The diplomat sent her "heartfelt condolences" to

's children ,

and

.

President of the Cuban Parliament from 1998 to 2013, he also held a position in the select

of the

.

With his health evidently deteriorating, he nonetheless remained in advisory work with a small office in the

.

The last telephone interview on relations between

and the

was granted last Friday to the virtual program

, by academician

.

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