José Toral y Velázquez[a] (August 18, 1832 – July 10, 1904) was a Spanish Army general who was a divisional commander of IV Corps in Cuba during the Spanish–American War.

He entered the Academia General Militar at the age of 10, and served in the administrative branch of the Spanish Army.

In 1895, he was appointed the commander of the garrison of Madrid, which provided security for government buildings and officials as well as ceremonial troops for various functions.

He was assigned to the Spanish Army garrison in Guantánamo, where he performed his duties during the Cuban War of Independence.

When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, Lieutenant General Arsenio Linares y Pombo requested that Toral become his deputy at the garrison at Santiago de Cuba.

[5] In late May, a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Santiago de Cuba saw an attempted uprising.

The United States Navy had cut the telegraph cables to Guantánamo on June 7,[8] so Toral sent a messenger to Brigadier General Félix Pareja Mesa asking for reinforcements.

[5] Early in the morning on July 3, U.S. Major General William Rufus Shafter asked Toral to surrender.

On July 8, Toral offered to surrender[5] — but only if he would be permitted to withdraw his men and arms to the town of Holguín.

Meanwhile, General Ramón Blanco y Erenas, commander of all Spanish forces in Cuba, pressured Toral to surrender to spare the city further shelling.

[12] Concerned with his post-war reputation, Toral successfully demanded that the word "capitulation" rather than "surrender" be used in all documents and that his men be allowed to retain their weapons.