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THE CUBAN REVOLUTION

The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batista's regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements within the country. The Cuban Revolution also refers to the ongoing implementation of social and economic programs by the new government since the overthrow of the Batista government, including the implementation of Marxist policies.

Pre-December 1956

The starting point of the Cuban Revolution is generally accepted to be July 26, 1953, the date on which a group of about one hundred poorly armed guerrillas attacked the Moncada Barracks. Many of them were killed in the battles after the attack or tortured, as was Abel Santamaria. The survivors, among them Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro Ruz, were captured shortly afterwards. In a highly political trial, Fidel Castro spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words; "Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me." Fidel Castro was sentenced 15 years in the presidio modelo prison, located on Isla de Pinos; Raúl was sentenced to 13 years.

In 1955, due to pressure from civil leaders, the general opposition, and the Jesuits who had helped educate Fidel Castro, and perhaps because he had known the Castro brothers in their youth, Batista freed all political prisoners, including the Moncada attackers. The Castro brothers went into exile in Mexico, where they gathered more exiled Cubans to fight in the Cuban revolution for the overthrow of Batista. During that period, Castro also met Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who joined their forces. They were trained by Alberto Bayo, a former military leader of the failed "loyalists" in the Spanish Civil War.

The group trained in Mexico under the leadership of Fidel Castro and returned to Cuba in November 1956, on a small yacht named Granma. They hoped their landing in Eastern Cuba would coincide with planned uprisings in the cities and a general strike, coordinated by the llano wing of the 26th of July Movement. It was their intention to launch an armed offensive and swiftly topple the Batista government.

December 1956 to Mid-1958

The Granma arrived in Cuba on 2 December 1956. It was delayed in route to Cuba, arriving late and at a location further east than was planned. This dashed any hopes for a coordinated attack with the llano wing of the movement. After arriving and exiting the ship, the band of rebels began to make their way into the Sierra Maestra mountains, a range in Southwestern Cuba. Shortly after their trek began, they were attacked by men from the army. Most of the Granma participants were killed in this attack, but a small number, between ten and two dozen, escaped. The survivors were separated from one another, and alone or in small groups, wandered through the mountains, looking for other survivors. Eventually, this small group of persons, which included Fidel Castro, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Juan José Pàjaro, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Raúl Castro, would find one another with the help of peasant sympathizers and would form the core leadership of the guerrilla army. Celia Sanchez and Haydee Santamaria, sister of Abel Santamaria, were two women revolutionaries that assisted Fidel Castro in the mountains.

There was another group of revolutionaries, who carried out the most dramatic act of the Revolution since the Moncada Barracks attack of 1953. This second group of revolutionaries were members of the decidedly anticommunist, Student Revolutionary Directorate (RD; Directorio Revolucionario), who in plain daylight and in the middle of Havana traffic stormed the Presidential Palace in an attempt to decapitate the government from the top-- i.e., to assassinate President Fulgencio Batista-- on March 13, 1957.

But it was the RD that was virtually decapitated after this suicidal attack. Jose Antonio Echeverria, student leader of the group, died of gun-shot wounds fighting Batista's forces after seizing a Havana radio station to broadcast the anticipated news of the success of the operation and the death of the dictator. Only a handful of the assailants (and RD leaders) survived, among them Dr. Humberto Castello, who became Inspector General in the Escambray, Comandante Rolando Cubela and Comandante Faure Chomon, the last two, dual leaders of the pro-freedom, 13 of March Movement, in the Escambray Mountains in Las Villas Province. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Castro learned of Batista's flight in the morning and immediately started negotiations to take over Santiago de Cuba. On January 2nd, the military commander in the city, Colonel Rubido, ordered his soldiers not to fight and Castro's forces took over the city. The forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos entered Havana at about the same time. They had met no opposition on their journey from Santa Clara to Cuba's capital. Castro himself arrived in Havana on January 8th after a long victory march, his choice of President, Manuel Urrutia Lleó taking up office on the 3rd.

Post-1959: After the Revolution

Hundreds of suspected Batista-era agents, policemen and soldiers were put on public trial for human rights abuses and war crimes, including murder and torture. Most of those convicted in revolutionary tribunals of political crimes were summarily executed by firing squad, and the rest received long prison sentences. One of the most notorious examples of revolutionary justice was the executions of over 70 captured Batista regime soldiers, directed by Raúl Castro after capturing Santiago. For his part in Havana, Che Guevara was appointed supreme prosecutor in La Cabaña Fortress. This was part of a large-scale attempt by Fidel Castro to cleanse the security forces of Batista loyalists and potential opponents of the new revolutionary regime that could launch a counter-revolution. Others were fortunate to be dismissed from the army and police without prosecution, and some high-ranking officials in the ancien régime were exiled as military attachés.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Cuba also nationalized all United States and other foreign-owned property in the nation on August 6, 1960. The United States, in turn, responded by freezing all Cuban assets in the US and tightening the embargo on Cuba, which is still in place after more than 45 years.<ref> Faria (2002), op.cit.q

Many attempts have been made by the U.S. to overthrow Cuba's government. One of the most notorious is the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion at the height of the Cold War, but after the Cuban Missile Crisis, it promised verbally to never invade the island. In July 1961, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (IRO) was formed by the merger of Fidel Castro's 26th of July Revolutionary Movement, the People's Socialist Party (the old Communist Party) led by Blas Roca and the Revolutionary Directorate March 13th led by Faure Chomón. On March 26, 1962 the IRO became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC) which, in turn, became the Communist Party of Cuba on October 3, 1965 with Castro as First Secretary.

Desperate but unsuccessful rebellions known as the War Against the Bandits continued until about 1965.

Notes

1. Thomas, Hugh, Cuba: The pursuit of freedom, pp. 691–3

Fermoselle, Rafael The Evolution of the Cuban Military: 1492-1986 Miami, Ediciones Universal, 1987

Pawley, William D. Unpublished manuscript and notes - A Concise Overview of the Central Intelligence Agency's paramilitary operations in the Caribbean, 1945 to 1965 Miami, 1977

Servicio de Inteligencia Militar Situation report, dated 23 November 1958 (Via LCOL Irenaldo Garcia Baez)

- Marquez Sterling, Carlos & Manuel Historia de la Isla de Cuba New York, Regents Publishing, 1975

- Portell Vila, Dr Herminio Nueva Historia de la Republica de Cuba Miami, La Moderna Poesia, 1986

- Fernandez Miranda, Roberto Mis Relaciones con el General Batista Miami, Ediciones Universales, 1999

- Dorschner, John & Fabricio, Roberto The Winds of December New York, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980

Another available reference on post-Revolutionary Cuba is Cuban Revolutionis Post-Revolutionary Cuban Spanish: A Glossary of Social, Political, and Common Terms (Glosario de términos socio-políticos y autóctonos de actualidad (español-inglés)) by Jesus Núñez Romay .

Bibliography

• Bonachea, Ramon L. and San Martin, Marta. The Cuban Insurrection: 1952–1959. New York, Transaction Books, 1974.
• The Spirit Of Moncada: Fidel Castro's Rise To Power, 1953–1959. Bockman, Larry (Major USMC), 1984.
• Faria, Miguel A. Cuba in Revolution--Escape from a Lost Paradise. Haciendapub.com, 2002.
• Clark, Juan. Cuba: Mito y Realidad: Testimonio de un Pueblo. Saeta Ediciones, Miami, 1992.
• Sweig, Julia E. Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
• Lazo, Mario. American Policy Failures in Cuba--Dagger in the Heart Twin Circle Publishing Co., New York, Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 68-31632, 1970.

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