Andres Nazario Sargen, 88; a Leader of Alpha 66, an Anti-Castro Group

Andres Nazario Sargen, 88, a leader of the anti-Castro group Alpha 66, died Wednesday in Miami of complications from colon cancer, said his daughter, Olguita Nazario. The disease was diagnosed 18 months ago, but Nazario continued working at the organization’s Florida headquarters until about three weeks ago.

During the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, Nazario worked with guerrillas operating independently of Fidel Castro’s rebel movement. Nazario and other rebel leaders opposed to Castro left for Miami in 1961 and formed Alpha 66 -- named for its original 66 members. The organization is the oldest anti-Castro group in Miami and says it has staged clandestine operations in Cuba seeking to overthrow Castro. It still advocates an armed civil uprising in the island nation.

Nazario was born in the town of Zaza del Medio in central Cuba. He and his brother also helped found the reformist Orthodox Party, which fought corruption.