Wife of acting leader Raul Castro of Cuba dies at 77

HAVANA (Winston-Salem Journal) — Vilma Espin Guillois, the wife of acting President Raul Castro and one of Cuba’s most politically powerful women, died yesterday, the Cuban government said. She was 77.

As Raul Castro’s wife, Espin was Cuba’s de facto first lady for years because Cuban leader Fidel Castro is divorced. Born into a wealthy family in eastern Cuba, she became a young urban rebel who battled against Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship throughout the 1950s. After the 1959 triumph of the Cuban revolution, she became Cuba’s low-key first lady as the wife of Defense Minister Raul Castro, Fidel Castro’s designated successor.