He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba, and served as the country's Minister of the Interior from 2015 until his death.

[1] He joined the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in 1958, which was led by Raúl Castro, and fought against Fulgencio Batista and later, against the United States in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

[4][5] From 1989, Fernández Gondín was the First Deputy Minister, and in 1993, he became a representative of the National Assembly of People's Power, a role that he held until his death.

[2][6][4] In 2015, Fernández Gondín met with then United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

[7] Fernández Gondín was awarded the titles "Hero of the Cuban Republic" and the Máximo Gómez Order.