Background and position
Raúl Castro was Fidel Castro’s brother and Cuba’s armed forces minister. His discussions with Soviet leaders placed practical military support at the centre of the developing relationship. In July 1960 he pressed Khrushchev to explain the assistance Cuba could expect if attacked.
Sources for this passage: [1]Role in October 1962
Raúl Castro’s earlier discussions with Khrushchev reveal Cuban fears of American intervention and requests for concrete guarantees. As armed forces minister he belonged to the leadership preparing Cuba’s defence. His role was distinct from the Soviet commanders responsible for the deployed Soviet nuclear force.
Those conversations reveal that Cuban leaders did not simply assume Soviet promises amounted to an automatic military guarantee. They wanted to know what Moscow would actually do. The questions help explain the later attraction of placing a Soviet force on the island.
Sources for this passage: [2] [1]Why their role matters
His role belongs to the Cuban side of the alliance: building defence and seeking security. It should be distinguished from Pliyev’s command of Soviet forces and from the negotiations conducted by Kennedy and Khrushchev. Treating those as separate responsibilities makes the limits of Cuban control clearer.
Sources for this passage: [1] [3]