[1] Born in the small town of Caibarién, Arcos met Castro while the two attended law school at the University of Havana.
He participated in the 1953 attack on Moncada Barracks that jump-started the Cuban Revolution against then-leader Fulgencio Batista, where he suffered a gunshot wound to the back that partially disabled his right leg and left him a legacy of lifelong pain.
Freed under a pardon, Arcos spent the next several years gathering support, money, and munitions throughout Mexico, South America, and the United States.
His brother, Sebastian Arcos Bergnes was appointed vice-President of the Committee and was responsible for expanding it from a small Havana-based group into a nationwide organization.
Gustavo decided not to leave Cuba and spent the rest of his life trying to improve human rights in the island and promoting a peaceful transition to democracy, stoically suffering repeated harassment, arrests, and "acts of repudiation".