Juan Reinaldo Sanchez

Born 1949 in Havana, Cuba, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Reinaldo Sanchez was Fidel Castro's personal bodyguard for 17 years as well as intelligence officer from the Cuban Ministry of Interior (Minint). As well as protecting the Cuban leader's life he also trained the bodyguard team surrounding him. He also organized his trips overseas when the Lider Maximo was travelling to Moscow (Russia), to Pyongyang (North Korea), to Caracas (Venezuela) or to Africa. Best sharpshooter of Cuba Sanchez also had a black belt in karaté and judo. He also hold a Masters of Law. He was emprisonned from 1994 until 1996 for the "crime" of resigning from his post. He left Cuba in 2008 after 10 unsuccessful bids to escape. He is the author of The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years as Personal Bodyguard to El Lider Maximo. Written with the French renowned senior journalist Axel Gyldén (who works for the prestigious french newsmagazine L'Express), the book was originally published in France in 2014 and was later released in other languages including spanish, portuguese and german.