LOOKING BACK : The People...

He died as he lived, battling the odds. Tony Cuesta, one of Florida’s most controversial anti-Castro guerrillas, succumbed to liver and kidney problems this month, but not before firing a final salvo against the Cuban leader.

Cuesta, 66, was under FBI investigation for launching guerrilla raids against Cuba this year. Defiant to the end, he pledged to keep up the raids until Fidel Castro’s regime was toppled.

A tall, soft-spoken man, Cuesta was a hero to many in Miami’s Cuban-American community. But he was dismissed as a crank and a provocateur by those who hope to improve U.S.-Cuban relations.

“For me, the fight against Castro will never end, and there is no price too big to pay for our freedom,” Cuesta told The Times (View, March 22). He spoke from experience. In a doomed 1966 speedboat raid against Cuba, Cuesta blew up his boat rather than surrender. He spent 12 years in prison before returning to Florida, where he continued his agitation.

Cuesta was working on his memoirs when he died. He is survived by his wife, Maria; son, Ino, and daughter Maria.