Five high-ranking Cuban military leaders die in a 10-day span

Five high-ranking Cuban generals have died in a 10-day span, according to the Cuban government, which has yet to provide causes of death.

Marta Abreu Central University announced Monday that Brigadier General Armando Choy Rodriguez, 87, a former revolutionary and founder of the "July 26 Movement," died, according to The New York Post.

Cuban television also confirmed Monday that Manuel Eduardo Lastres Pacheco, a former general who had served under Ernesto "Che" Guevara during the revolution in the 1950s, had died. Pacheco had also served as the commander of Cuba's Eastern Army.

The day before, on Saturday, Gen. Ruben Martinez Puente, 79, had died. He was a controversial figure in the military who gave the order in 1996 to shoot down a civilian plane from the Cuban exile group "Brothers to the Rescue," exacerbating tensions between Cuba and the United States

Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo, an Army Reserve brigadier general and former bodyguard to Fidel Castro, died on July 20. While Agustin Pena Porres, who was the commander of the Western Army, died on July 17.

All the deaths follow the death of General Ivan Duponte Cabrales in May at the age of 77.