Cuban Revolution

Cuban Revolution
Part of the Cold War

Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra

Date 26 July 1953 – 1 January 1959

(5 years, 5 months and 6 days)
Location Cuba
Result 26th of July Movement victory

Overthrow of Fulgencio
Batista's government
Establishment of a
government led by Fidel
Castro
Escambray rebellion

Belligerents

Cuba 26th of July

Movement
Cuban Armed Revolutionary
Forces Directorate of March
Supported by: 13th
United States Second
Dominican Republic National Front of
Escambray

Commanders and leaders

Fulgencio Batista Fidel Castro
Eulogio Cantillo Raúl Castro
José Quevedo Pérez Che Guevara
 Alberto del Rio Abel
Chaviano Santamaría
Joaquín Casillas Camilo
Cornelio Rojas Cienfuegos

Fernández Suero Huber Matos

Cándido Hernández Juan Almeida

Bosque
Alfredo Abon Lee
Frank País †
René Ramos
Latour †
Roberto
Rodríguez †
Humberto Sorí
Marin Eloy
Gutiérrez Menoyo
William
Alexander Morgan
José Antonio
Echeverría †
Rolando Cubela
Secades

Strength
20,000 (1958) 3,000 (1958)
Casualties and losses
[1]
2,000 killed 1,000 killed[1]

Arms captured:
1 M4 Sherman tank
12 mortars
2 bazookas
33 machine guns
142 M-1 rifles
200 Cristóbal carbines[2]

Thousands of civilians tortured and murdered

by Batista's government; unknown number of
people executed by the Rebel Army[3][4][5][6]

The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cubana) was a military and political effort to overthrow the
government of Cuba between 1953 and 1959. It began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed
Fulgencio Batista as head of state. After failing to contest Batista in court, Fidel Castro organized an armed
attack on the Cuban military's Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953. The rebels were arrested and while in
prison formed the 26th of July Movement (M-26-7). After gaining amnesty the M-26-7 rebels organized an
expedition from Mexico on the Granma yacht to invade Cuba. In the following years the M-26-7 rebel
army would slowly defeat the Cuban army in the countryside, while its urban wing would engage in
sabotage and rebel army recruitment. Over time the originally critical and ambivalent Popular Socialist Party
would come to support the 26th of July Movement in late 1958. By the time the rebels were to oust Batista
the revolution was being driven by the Popular Socialist Party, 26th of July Movement, and the
Revolutionary Directorate of March 13.[7]

The rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his government. 26 July 1953 is celebrated in
Cuba as Día de la Revolución (from Spanish: "Day of the Revolution"). The 26th of July Movement later
reformed along Marxist–Leninist lines, becoming the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.[8]

The Cuban Revolution had powerful domestic and international repercussions. In particular, it transformed
Cuba–United States relations, although efforts to improve diplomatic relations, such as the Cuban thaw,
gained momentum during the 2010s.[9][10][11][12] In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Castro's
government began a program of nationalization, centralization of the press and political consolidation that
transformed Cuba's economy and civil society.[13][14] The revolution also heralded an era of Cuban
intervention in foreign conflicts in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle
East.[15][16][17][18] Several rebellions occurred in the six years following 1959, mainly in the Escambray
Mountains, which were suppressed by the revolutionary government.[19][20][21][22]

Background

Corruption in Cuba
The Republic of Cuba at the turn of the 20th century was largely
characterized by a deeply ingrained tradition of corruption where
political participation resulted in opportunities for elites to engage in
wealth accumulation.[23] Cuba's first presidential period under Don
Tomás Estrada Palma from 1902 to 1906 was considered to uphold
the best standards of administrative integrity in the history of the
Republic of Cuba.[24] However, a United States intervention in
1906 resulted in Charles Edward Magoon, an American diplomat,
taking over the government until 1909. Although Magoon's
government did not condone corrupt practices, there is debate as to
how much was done to stop what was widespread especially with
the surge of American money coming into the small country. Hugh
Thomas suggests that while Magoon disapproved of corrupt
practices, corruption still persisted under his administration and he
undermined the autonomy of the judiciary and their court
decisions.[25] On January 29, 1909, the sovereign government of
Estrada Palma in 1899
Cuba was restored, and José Miguel Gómez became president. No
explicit evidence of Magoon's corruption ever surfaced, but his
parting gesture of issuing lucrative Cuban contracts to U.S. firms was a continued point of contention.
Cuba's subsequent president, José Miguel Gómez, was the first to become involved in pervasive corruption
and government corruption scandals. These scandals involved bribes that were allegedly paid to Cuban
officials and legislators under a contract to search the Havana harbour, as well as the payment of fees to
government associates and high-level officials.[24] Gómez's successor, Mario García Menocal, wanted to
put an end to the corruption scandals and claimed to be committed to administrative integrity as he ran on a
slogan of "honesty, peace and work".[24] Despite his intentions, corruption actually intensified under his
government from 1913 to 1921.[25] Instances of fraud became more common while private actors and
contractors frequently colluded with public officials and legislators. Charles Edward Chapman attributes the
increase of corruption to the sugar boom that occurred in Cuba under the Menocal administration.[26]
Furthermore, the advent of World War One enabled the Cuban government to manipulate sugar prices, the
sales of exports and import permits.[24] While in office, García Menocal hosted his college fraternity, in the
1920 Delta Kappa Epsilon National Convention, the first international fraternity conference outside the US,
which took place in Cuba. He was responsible for creating the Cuban Peso; until his presidency Cuba used
both the Spanish Real and US Dollar. President Menocal left the Cuban national treasury in overdraft and
therefore in precarious financial situation. Menocal supposedly spent $800 million during his 8 years in
office and left a floating debt of $40 million.

Alfredo Zayas succeeded Menocal from 1921 to 1925 and engaged in what Calixto Masó refers to as the
"maximum expression of administrative corruption".[24] Both petty and grand corruption spread to nearly
all aspects of public life and the Cuban administration became largely characterized by nepotism as Zayas
relied on friends and relatives to illegally gain greater access to wealth.[25] Gerardo Machado succeeded
Zayas from 1925 to 1933, and entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the
major political parties. However, his support declined over time. Due to Zayas' previous policies, Gerardo
Machado aimed to diminish corruption and improve the public sector's performance under his successive
administration from 1925 to 1933. While he was successfully able to reduce the amounts of low level and
petty corruption, grand corruption still largely persisted. Machado embarked on development projects that
enabled the persistence of grand corruption through inflated costs and the creation of "large margins" that
enabled public officials to appropriate money illegally.[27] Under his government, opportunities for
corruption became concentrated into fewer hands with "centralized government purchasing procedures"
and the collection of bribes among a smaller number of bureaucrats and administrators.[27] Through the
development of real estate infrastructures and the growth of Cuba's tourism industry, Machado's
administration was able to use insider information to profit from private sector business deals.[27] Many
people objected to his running again for re-election in 1928, as his victory violated his promise to serve for
only one term. As protests and rebellions became more strident, his administration curtailed free speech and
used repressive police tactics against opponents. Machado unleashed a wave of violence against his critics,
and there were numerous murders and assassinations committed by the police and army under Machado's
administration. The extent of his involvement in these is disputed, but in the end, Machado is described as a
dictator. In May 1933, Machado was forced out as newly appointed US ambassador Sumner Welles arrived
in Cuba and initiated negotiation with the opposition groups for a government to succeed Machado's. A
provisional government headed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada (son of Cuban independence
hero Carlos Manuel de Céspedes) and including members of the ABC was brokered; it took power in
August 1933 amidst a general strike in Havana.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada subsequently was offered the position of President by ambassador
Sumner Welles. He took office on August 13, 1933, and Welles proposed that "general elections may be
held approximately 3 months from now so that Cuba may once more have a constitutional government in
the real sense of the word." Céspedes agreed, and declared that a general election would be held on
February 24, 1934, for a new presidential term to begin on May 20, 1934. However, on September 4–5,
1933, the Sergeants' Revolt took place while Céspedes was in Matanzas and Santa Clara after a hurricane
had ravaged those regions. The junta of officers led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista and students proclaimed
that it had taken power in order to fulfill the aims of the revolution; it briefly described a program which
included economic restructuring, punishment of wrongdoers, recognition of public debts, creation of courts,
political reorganization, and any other actions necessary to construct a new Cuba based on justice and
democracy.[28] Only five days after the coup, Batista and the Student Directory promoted Ramón Grau to
the role of President. The ensuing One Hundred Days Government issued a number of reformist
declarations but never gained diplomatic recognition from the US; it was overthrown in January 1934 under
pressure from Batista and the US ambassador. Grau was replaced by Carlos Mendieta, and within five days
the U.S. recognized Cuba's new government. The corruption was not curtailed under Mendieta and he
resigned in 1935 after unrest continued, and their followed a number of interim and weak presidents under
the guidance of Batista and the US. Batista, supported by the Democratic Socialist Coalition which
included Julio Antonio Mella's Communist Party, defeated Grau in the first presidential election under the
new Cuban constitution in the 1940 election, and served a four-year term as President of Cuba. Batista was
endorsed by the original Communist Party of Cuba (later known as the Popular Socialist Party), which at
the time had little significance and no probability of an electoral victory. This support was primarily due to
Batista's labor laws and his support for labor unions, with which the Communists had close ties. In fact,
Communists attacked the anti-Batista opposition, saying Grau and others were "fascists" and
"reactionaries".

Senator Eduardo Chibás dedicated himself to exposing corruption in the Cuban

government, and formed the Partido Ortodoxo in 1947 to further this aim.
Argote-Freyre points out that Cuba's population under the Republic had a high
tolerance for corruption. Furthermore, Cubans knew and criticized who was
corrupt, but admired them for their ability to act as "criminals with
impunity".[29] Corrupt officials went beyond members of congress to also
include military officials who granted favours to residents and accepted
bribes.[29] The establishment of an illegal gambling network within the military
enabled army personnel such as Lieutenant Colonel Pedraza and Major Mariné
Senator and anti- to engage in extensive illegal gambling activities.[29] Mauricio Augusto Font
corruption crusader and Alfonso Quiroz, authors of The Cuban Republic and José Martí, say that
Eduardo René Chibás corruption pervaded in public life under the administrations of Presidents Ramón
Ribas Grau and Carlos Prío Socarrás.[30] Prío was reported to have stolen over $90
million in public funds, which was equivalent to one fourth of the annual
national budget.[31] Prior to the Communist revolution, Cuba was ruled under
the elected government of Fulgencio Batista from 1940 to 1944. Throughout this time period, Batista's
support base consisted mainly of corrupt politicians and military officials. Batista himself was able to
heavily profit from the regime before coming into power through inflated government contracts and
gambling proceeds.[29] In 1942, the British Foreign Office reported that the U.S. State Department was
"very worried" about corruption under President Fulgencio Batista, describing the problem as "endemic"
and exceeding "anything which had gone on previously". British diplomats believed that corruption was
rooted within Cuba's most powerful institutions, with the highest individuals in government and military
being heavily involved in gambling and the drug trade.[32] In terms of civil society, Eduardo Saenz Rovner
writes that corruption within the police and government enabled the expansion of criminal organizations in
Cuba.[32] Batista refused U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's offer to send experts to help reform the Cuban
Civil Service. Batista didn't run in the 1944 election, and Partido Auténtico party member Ramón Grau was
elected president,[33] and oversaw extensive corruption during his administration. He had Carlos Prío
Socarrás serve turns as Minister of Public Works, Minister of Labor and Prime Minister. On the next
election July 1, 1948, Prio was elected president of Cuba as a member of the Partido Auténtico which
presided over corruption and irresponsible government of this period. [34][35] Prío was assisted by Chief of
the Armed Forces General Genobebo Pérez Dámera and Colonel José Luis Chinea Cardenas, who had
previously been in charge of the Province of Santa Clara.

The eight years under Grau and Prío, were marked by violence among political factions and reports of theft
and self-enrichment in the government ranks.[36] The Prío administration increasingly came to be perceived
by the public as ineffectual in the face of violence and corruption, much as the Grau administration before
it.

With elections scheduled for the middle of 1952, rumors surfaced of a planned military coup by long-shot
presidential contender Fulgencio Batista. Prío, seeing no constitutional basis to act, did not do so. The
rumors proved to be true. On March 10, 1952, Batista and his collaborators seized military and police
commands throughout the country and occupied major radio and TV stations. Batista assumed power when
Prío, failing to mount a resistance, boarded a plane and went into exile.

Batista, after his military coup against Prío Socarras, again took power and ruled until 1959. Under his rule,
Batista led a corrupt dictatorship that involved close links with organized crime organizations and the
reduction of civil freedoms of Cubans. This period resulted in Batista engaging in more "sophisticated
practices of corruption" at both the administrative and civil society levels.[23] Batista and his administration
engaged in profiteering from the lottery as well as illegal gambling.[23] Corruption further flourished in civil
society through increasing amounts of police corruption, censorship of the press as well as media, and
creating anti-communist campaigns that suppressed opposition with violence, torture and public
executions.[37] The former culture of toleration and acceptance towards corruption also dissolved with the
dictatorship of Batista. For instance, one citizen wrote that "however corrupt Grau and Prío were, we
elected them and therefore allowed them to steal from us. Batista robs us without our permission."[38]
Corruption under Batista further expanded into the economic sector with alliances that he forged with
foreign investors and the prevalence of illegal casinos and criminal organizations in the country's capital of
Havana.[38]

Batista regime
In the decades following the United States' invasion of Cuba in 1898, and formal independence from the
U.S. on 20 May 1902, Cuba experienced a period of significant instability, enduring a number of revolts,
coups and a period of U.S. military occupation. Fulgencio Batista, a former soldier who had served as the
elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944, became president for the second time in 1952, after seizing
power in a military coup and canceling the 1952 elections.[39] Although Batista had been relatively
progressive during his first term,[40] in the 1950s he proved far more dictatorial and indifferent to popular
concerns.[41] While Cuba remained plagued by high unemployment and limited water infrastructure,[42]
Batista antagonized the population by forming lucrative links to organized crime and allowing American
companies to dominate the Cuban economy, especially sugar-cane plantations and other local
resources.[42][43][44] Although the US armed and politically supported the Batista dictatorship, later US
president John F. Kennedy recognized its corruption and the justifiability of removing it.[45]

During his first term as president, Batista was supported by the original Communist Party of Cuba (later
known as the Popular Socialist Party),[40] but during his second term he became strongly anti-
communist.[42][46] Batista developed a rather weak security bridge as an attempt to silence political
opponents. In the months following the March 1952 coup, Fidel Castro, then a young lawyer and activist,
petitioned for the overthrow of Batista, whom he accused of corruption and tyranny. However, Castro's
constitutional arguments were rejected by the Cuban courts.[47] After deciding that the Cuban regime could
not be replaced through legal means, Castro resolved to launch an armed revolution. To this end, he and his
brother Raúl founded a paramilitary organization known as "The Movement", stockpiling weapons and
recruiting around 1,200 followers from Havana's disgruntled working class by the end of 1952.

Early stages: 1953–1955

Attack on the Moncada Barracks

Striking their first blow against the Batista government, Fidel and
Raúl Castro gathered 70 fighters and planned a multi-pronged
attack on several military installations.[48] On 26 July 1953, the
rebels attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago and the barracks
in Bayamo, only to be decisively defeated by the far more
numerous government soldiers.[49] It was hoped that the staged
attack would spark a nationwide revolt against Batista's
government. After an hour of fighting most of the rebels and their
Fidel Castro under arrest after the
July 1953 attack on the Moncada
leader fled to the mountains.[50] The exact number of rebels killed
Barracks in Santiago de Cuba in the battle is debatable; however, in his autobiography, Fidel
Castro claimed that nine were killed in the fighting, and an
additional 56 were executed after being captured by the Batista
government. [51] Due to the government's large number of men, Hunt revised the number to be around 60
members taking the opportunity to flee to the mountains along with Castro.[29] Among the dead was Abel
Santamaría, Castro's second-in-command, who was imprisoned, tortured, and executed on the same day as
the attack.[52]

Imprisonment and immigration

Numerous key Movement revolutionaries, including the Castro brothers, were captured shortly afterwards.
In a highly political trial, Fidel spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words "Condemn
me, it does not matter. History will absolve me." Castro's defense was based on nationalism, the
representation and beneficial programs for the non-elite Cubans, and his patriotism and justice for the
Cuban community.[53] Fidel was sentenced to 15 years in the Presidio Modelo prison, located on Isla de
Pinos, while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years.[54] However, in 1955, under broad political pressure, the
Batista government freed all political prisoners in Cuba, including the Moncada attackers. Fidel's Jesuit
childhood teachers succeeded in persuading Batista to include Fidel and Raúl in the release.[55]

Soon, the Castro brothers joined with other exiles in Mexico to prepare for the overthrow of Batista,
receiving training from Alberto Bayo, a leader of Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. In June 1955,
Fidel met the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who joined his cause.[55] Raúl and Fidel's
chief advisor Ernesto aided the initiation of Batista's amnesty.[53] The revolutionaries named themselves the
"26th of July Movement", in reference to the date of their attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953.[49]

Student demonstrations
 By late 1955, student riots and demonstrations became more
common, and unemployment became problematic as new graduates
could not find jobs.[56][57] These protests were dealt with
increasing repression. All young people were seen as possible
revolutionaries.[58] Due to its continued opposition to the Cuban
government and much protest activity taking place on its campus,
the University of Havana was temporarily closed on 30 November
1956 (it did not reopen until 1959 under the first revolutionary
government).[59]

Student protests in Havana, 1956 Attack on the Domingo Goicuria Barracks

While the Castro brothers and the other 26 July Movement
guerrillas were training in Mexico and preparing for their amphibious deployment to Cuba, another
revolutionary group followed the example of the Moncada Barracks assault. On 29 April 1956 at 12:50 pm
during Sunday mass, an independent guerrilla group of around 100 rebels led by Reynol García attacked
the Domingo Goicuria army barracks in Matanzas province. The attack was repelled with ten rebels and
three soldiers killed in the fighting, and one rebel summarily executed by the garrison commander, Pilar
García.[60] Florida International University historian Miguel A. Bretos was in the nearby cathedral when the
firefight began. He writes, "That day, the Cuban Revolution began for me and Matanzas."[61][62]

Insurgency: 1956–1957

Granma landing
The yacht Granma departed from Tuxpan,
Veracruz, Mexico, on 25 November 1956,
carrying the Castro brothers and 80 others
including Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Camilo
Cienfuegos, even though the yacht was only Map of Cuba showing the location of the arrival of the
rebels on the Granma in late 1956, the rebels'
designed to accommodate 12 people with a
stronghold in the Sierra Maestra, and Guevara and
maximum of 25. On 2 December,[63] it landed in Cienfuegos' route towards Havana via Las Villas
Playa Las Coloradas, in the municipality of Province in December 1958
Niquero, arriving two days later than planned
because the boat was heavily loaded, unlike
during the practice sailing runs.[64] 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 southeastern Cuba. Three days after the trek began, Batista's army
attacked and killed most of the Granma participants – while the exact number is disputed, no more than
twenty of the original eighty-two men survived the initial encounters with the Cuban army and escaped into
the Sierra Maestra mountains.[65]

The group of survivors included Fidel and Raúl Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. The
dispersed survivors, alone or in small groups, wandered through the mountains, looking for each other.
Eventually, the men would link up again – with the help of peasant sympathizers – and would form the core
leadership of the guerrilla army. A number of female revolutionaries, including Celia Sánchez and Haydée
Santamaría (the sister of Abel Santamaría), also assisted Fidel Castro's operations in the mountains.[66]

Presidential palace attack

On 13 March 1957, a separate group of revolutionaries – including
the student opposition group Directorio Revolucionario 13 de
Marzo – stormed the Presidential Palace in Havana, attempting to
assassinate Batista and overthrow the government. The attack
ended in utter failure. The RD's leader, student José Antonio
Echeverría, died in a shootout with Batista's forces at the Havana
radio station he had seized to spread the news of Batista's
anticipated death. The handful of survivors included Dr. Humberto
Havana Presidential Palace attack,
Castello (who later became the Inspector General in the
13 March 1957
Escambray), Rolando Cubela and Faure Chomon (both later
Comandantes of the 13 March Movement, centered in the
Escambray Mountains of Las Villas Province).[67]

The plan, as explained by Faure Chaumón Mediavilla, was to attack the Presidential Palace and occupy the
radio station Radio Reloj at the Radiocentro CMQ Building in order to announce the death of Batista and
call for a general strike. The Presidential Palace was to be captured by fifty men under the direction of
Carlos Gutiérrez Menoyo and Faure Chomón, with support from a group of 100 armed men occupying the
tallest buildings in the surrounding area of the Presidential Palace (La Tabacalera, the Sevilla Hotel, the
Palace of Fine Arts). However this secondary support operation was not carried out, as the men failed to
arrive at the scene due to last-minute hesitation. Although the attackers reached the third floor of the palace,
they did not locate or execute Batista.

Humboldt 7 massacre
The Humboldt 7 massacre occurred on 20 April 1957 at apartment 201 of the Humboldt 7 residential
building when the National Police led by Lt. Colonel Esteban Ventura Novo assassinated four participants
who had survived the assault on the Presidential Palace and in the seizure of the Radio Reloj station at the
Radiocentro CMQ Building.

Juan Pedro Carbó was sought by police for the assassination of Col. Antonio Blanco Rico, Chief of
Batista's secret service.[68] Marcos Rodríguez Alfonso (also known as "Marquitos") began arguing with
Fructuoso, Carbó and Machadito; Joe Westbrook had not yet arrived. Marquitos, who gave the airs to be a
revolutionary, was strongly against the revolution and was thus resented by the others. On the morning of
20 April 1957, Marquitos met with Lt. Colonel Esteban Ventura and revealed the location of where the
young revolutionaries were, Humboldt 7.[69][70] After 5:00 pm on 20 April, a large contingent of police
officers arrived and assaulted apartment 201, where the four men were staying. The men were not aware
that the police were outside. The police rounded up and executed the rebels, who were unarmed.[71]
The incident was covered up until a post-revolution investigation in
1959. Marquitos was arrested and, after a double trial, was
sentenced by the Supreme Court to the penalty of death by firing
squad in March 1964.[72]

Frank País
Frank País was a revolutionary organizer who had built an
extensive urban network, who had been tried and acquitted for his
role in organizing an unsuccessful uprising in Santiago de Cuba in
support of Castro's landing. On 30 June 1957, Frank's younger
brother, Josué País, was killed by the Santiago police. During the
latter part of July 1957, a wave of systematic police searches forced
Frank País into hiding in Santiago de Cuba. On 30 July he was in a
safe house with Raúl Pujol, despite warnings from other members
of the Movement that it was not secure. The Santiago police under
Colonel José Salas Cañizares surrounded the building. Frank and
Havana police at the entrance door
Raúl attempted to escape. However, an informant betrayed them as
of apartment 201, 20 April 1957
they tried to walk to a waiting getaway car. The police officers
drove the two men to the Callejón del Muro (Rampart Lane) and
shot them in the back of the head. In defiance of Batista's regime, País was buried in the Santa Ifigenia
Cemetery in the olive green uniform and red and black armband of 26 July Movement.

In response to the death of País, the workers of Santiago declared a spontaneous general strike. This strike
was the largest popular demonstration in the city up to that point. The mobilization of 30 July 1957 is
considered one of the most decisive dates in both the Cuban Revolution and the fall of Batista's dictatorship.
This day has been instituted in Cuba as the Day of the Martyrs of the Revolution. The Frank País Second
Front, the guerrilla unit led by Raúl Castro in the Sierra Maestra was named for the fallen revolutionary. His
childhood home at 226 San Bartolomé Street was turned into The Santiago Frank País García House
Museum and designated as a national monument. The international airport in Holguín, Cuba also bears his
name.[73]

Naval mutiny at Cienfuegos

On 6 September 1957 elements of the Cuban navy in the Cienfuegos Naval Base staged a rising against the
Batista regime. Led by junior officers in sympathy with the 26th of July Movement, this was originally
intended to coincide with the seizure of warships in Havana harbour. Reportedly individual officials within
the U.S. Embassy were aware of the plot and had promised U.S. recognition if it were successful.[74]

By 5:30am the base was in the hands of the mutineers. Most of the 150 naval personnel sleeping at the base
joined with the twenty-eight original conspirators, while eighteen officers were arrested. About two hundred
26th of July Movement members and other rebel supporters entered the base from the town and were given
weapons. Cienfuegos was in rebel hands for several hours.[75] By the afternoon Government motorised
infantry had arrived from Santa Clara, supported by B-26 bombers. Armoured units followed from Havana.
After street fighting throughout the afternoon and night the last of the rebels, holding out in the police
headquarters, were overwhelmed. Approximately 70 mutineers and rebel supporters were executed and
reprisals against civilians added to the estimated total death toll of 300 men.[76]
The use of bombers and tanks recently provided under a US-Cuban arms agreement specifically for use in
hemisphere defence, now raised tensions between the two governments.[77]

Escalation and US involvement

The United States supplied Cuba with planes, ships, tanks, and other technology such as napalm, which
was used against the rebels. This would eventually come to an end due to a later arms embargo in 1958.[78]

According to Tad Szulc, the United States began funding the 26th of July Movement around October or
November 1957 and ending around middle 1958. "No less than $50,000" would be delivered to key
leaders of the 26th of July Movement,[79] the purpose being to instill sympathies to the United States
amongst the rebels in case the movement succeeded.[80]

While Batista increased troop deployments to the Sierra Maestra

region to crush the 26 July guerrillas, the Second National Front of
the Escambray kept battalions of the Constitutional Army tied up in
the Escambray Mountains region. The Second National Front was
led by former Revolutionary Directorate member Eloy Gutiérrez
Menoyo and the "Comandante Yanqui" William Alexander
Morgan. Gutiérrez Menoyo formed and headed the guerrilla band
after news had broken out about Castro's landing in the Sierra
Maestra, and José Antonio Echeverría had stormed the Havana
Radio station. Though Morgan was dishonorably discharged from
the U.S. Army, his recreating features from Army basic training
made a critical difference in the Second National Front troops' battle
readiness.[81]

Thereafter, the United States imposed an economic embargo on the

Comandante William Alexander
Cuban government and recalled its ambassador, weakening the
Morgan of the Second National Front
of the Escambray
government's mandate further.[82] Batista's support among Cubans
began to fade, with former supporters either joining the
revolutionaries or distancing themselves from Batista. Once Batista
started making drastic decisions concerning Cuba's economy, he began to nationalize U.S. oil refineries and
other U.S. properties.[83]

Batista's government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cuba's cities under control. However, in the
Sierra Maestra mountains, Castro, aided by Frank País, Ramos Latour, Huber Matos, and many others,
staged successful attacks on small garrisons of Batista's troops. Castro was joined by CIA connected Frank
Sturgis who offered to train Castro's troops in guerrilla warfare. Castro accepted the offer, but he also had
an immediate need for guns and ammunition, so Sturgis became a gunrunner. Sturgis purchased boatloads
of weapons and ammunition from CIA weapons expert Samuel Cummings' International Armament
Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia. Sturgis opened a training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where
he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare.

In addition, poorly armed irregulars known as escopeteros harassed Batista's forces in the forests and
mountains of Oriente Province. The escopeteros also provided direct military support to Castro's main
forces by protecting supply lines and by sharing intelligence.[84] Ultimately, the mountains came under
Castro's control.[85]
In addition to armed resistance, the rebels sought to use propaganda to their advantage. A pirate radio station
called Radio Rebelde ("Rebel Radio") was set up in February 1958, allowing Castro and his forces to
broadcast their message nationwide within enemy territory.[86] Castro's affiliation with the New York Times
journalist Herbert Matthews created a front page-worthy report on anti-communist propaganda.[87] The
radio broadcasts were made possible by Carlos Franqui, a previous acquaintance of Castro who
subsequently became a Cuban exile in Puerto Rico.[88]

During this time, Castro's forces remained quite small in numbers, sometimes fewer than 200 men, while
the Cuban army and police force had a manpower of around 37,000.[89] Even so, nearly every time the
Cuban military fought against the revolutionaries, the army was forced to retreat. An arms embargo –
imposed on the Cuban government by the United States on 14 March 1958 – contributed significantly to
the weakness of Batista's forces. The Cuban air force rapidly deteriorated: it could not repair its airplanes
without importing parts from the United States.[90]

Final offensives: 1958–1959

Operation Verano
Batista finally responded to Castro's efforts with an attack on the mountains called Operation Verano
(Summer), known to the rebels as la Ofensiva. The army sent some 12,000 soldiers, half of them untrained
recruits, into the mountains. In a series of small skirmishes, Castro's determined guerrillas defeated the
Cuban army.[90] In the Battle of La Plata, which lasted from 11 to 21 July 1958, Castro's forces defeated a
500-man battalion, capturing 240 men while losing just three of their own.[91]

However, the tide nearly turned on 29 July 1958, when Batista's troops almost destroyed Castro's small
army of some 300 men at the Battle of Las Mercedes. With his forces pinned down by superior numbers,
Castro asked for, and received, a temporary cease-fire on 1 August. Over the next seven days, while
fruitless negotiations took place, Castro's forces gradually escaped from the trap. By 8 August, Castro's
entire army had escaped back into the mountains, and Operation Verano had effectively ended in failure for
the Batista government.[90]

Battle of Las Mercedes

The Battle of Las Mercedes (29 July–8 August 1958) was the last battle of Operation Verano. The battle
was a trap, designed by Cuban General Eulogio Cantillo to lure Fidel Castro's guerrillas into a place where
they could be surrounded and destroyed. The battle ended with a cease-fire which Castro proposed and
which Cantillo accepted. During the cease-fire, Castro's forces escaped back into the mountains. The battle,
though technically a victory for the Cuban army, left the army dispirited and demoralized. Castro viewed
the result as a victory and soon launched his own offensive.

Battalion 17 began its pull back on 29 July 1958. Castro sent a column of men under René Ramos Latour
to ambush the retreating soldiers. They attacked the advance guard and killed some 30 soldiers but then
came under attack from previously undetected Cuban forces. Latour called for help and Castro came to the
battle scene with his own column of men. Castro's column also came under fire from another group of
Cuban soldiers that had secretly advanced up the road from the Estrada Palma Sugar Mill.

Map showing key locations of the Cuban Revolution
As the battle heated up, General Cantillo called up
more forces from nearby towns and some 1,500
troops started heading towards the fighting. However,
this force was halted by a column under Che
Guevara's command. While some critics accuse Che
for not coming to the aid of Latour, Major Bockman
argues that Che's move here was the correct thing to
do. Indeed, he called Che's tactical appreciation of
the battle "brilliant".

By the end of July, Castro's troops were fully engaged and in danger of being wiped out by the vastly
superior numbers of the Cuban army. He had lost 70 men, including René Latour, and both he and the
remains of Latour's column were surrounded. The next day, Castro requested a cease-fire with General
Cantillo, even offering to negotiate an end to the war. This offer was accepted by General Cantillo for
reasons that remain unclear.

Batista sent a personal representative to negotiate with Castro on 2 August. The negotiations yielded no
result but during the next six nights, Castro's troops managed to slip away unnoticed. On 8 August when
the Cuban army resumed its attack, they found no one to fight.

Castro's remaining forces had escaped back into the mountains, and Operation Verano had effectively
ended in failure for the Batista government.[90]

Battle of Yaguajay
In December 1958, Fidel Castro ordered his
revolutionary army to go on the offensive against
Batista's army. While Castro led one force against
Guisa, Masó and other towns, another major
offensive was directed at the capture of the city of
Santa Clara, the capital of what was then Las Villas
Central part of the battle's monument and plaza with Province.
the statue of Camilo Cienfuegos
Three columns were sent against Santa Clara under
the command of Che Guevara, Jaime Vega, and
Camilo Cienfuegos. Vega's column was caught in an ambush and completely destroyed. Guevara's column
took up positions around Santa Clara (near Fomento). Cienfuegos's column directly attacked a local army
garrison at Yaguajay. Initially numbering just 60 men out of Castro's hardened core of 230, Cienfuegos's
group had gained many recruits as it crossed the countryside towards Santa Clara, eventually reaching an
estimated strength of 450 to 500 fighters.

The garrison consisted of some 250 men under the command of a Cuban captain of Chinese ancestry,
Alfredo Abon Lee.[92][93] The attack seems to have started around 19 December.

Convinced that reinforcements would be sent from Santa Clara, Lee put up a determined defense of his
post. The guerrillas repeatedly attempted to overpower Lee and his men, but failed each time. By 26
December Camilo Cienfuegos had become quite frustrated; it seemed that Lee could not be overpowered,
nor could he be convinced to surrender. In desperation, Cienfuegos tried using a homemade tank against
Lee's position. The "tank" was actually a large tractor encased in iron plates with attached makeshift
flamethrowers on top. It, too, proved unsuccessful.

Finally, on 30 December Lee ran out of ammunition and was forced to surrender his force to the guerrillas.
The surrender of the garrison was a major blow to the defenders of the provincial capital of Santa Clara.
The next day, the combined forces of Cienfuegos, Guevara, and local revolutionaries under William
Alexander Morgan captured the city in a fight of vast confusion.

Battle of Guisa
On the morning of 20 November 1958, a convoy of the Batista soldiers began its usual journey from Guisa.
Shortly after leaving that town, located in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, the rebels attacked the
caravan.[94]

Guisa was 12 kilometers from the Command Post of the Zone of Operations, located on the outskirts of the
city of Bayamo. Nine days earlier, Fidel Castro had left the La Plata Command, beginning an unstoppable
march east with his escort and a small group of combatants.[a]

On 19 November, the rebels arrived in Santa Barbara. By that time, there were approximately 230
combatants. Fidel gathered his officers to organize the siege of Guisa, and ordered the placement of a mine
on the Monjarás bridge, over the Cupeinicú river. That night the combatants made a camp in Hoyo de Pipa.
In the early morning, they took the path that runs between the Heliografo hill and the Mateo Roblejo hill,
where they occupied strategic positions. In the meeting on the 20th, the army lost a truck, a bus, and a jeep.
Six were killed and 17 prisoners were taken, three of them wounded. At around 10:30 am, the military
Command Post located in the Zone of Operations in Bayamo sent a reinforcement made up of Co. 32, plus
a platoon from Co. L and another platoon from Co. 22. This force was unable to advance for the resistance
of the rebels. Fidel ordered the mining of another bridge over a tributary of the Cupeinicú River. Hours later
the army sent a platoon from Co. 82 and another platoon from Co. 93, supported by a T-17 tank.[95][b][96]

1958 Cuban general election

General elections were held in Cuba on 3 November 1958.[97] The
three major presidential candidates were Carlos Márquez Sterling of
the Partido del Pueblo Libre, Ramón Grau of the Partido Auténtico and
Andrés Rivero Agüero of the Coalición Progresista Nacional. There
was also a minor party candidate on the ballot, Alberto Salas Amaro for
the Union Cubana party. Voter turnout was estimated at 50% of eligible
voters.[98] Although Andrés Rivero Agüero won the presidential
election with 70% of the vote, he was unable to take office due to the
Cuban Revolution.[99]

Rivero Agüero was due to be sworn in on 24 February 1959. In a

Andrés Rivero Agüero, 1958
conversation between him and the American ambassador Earl E. T.
president elect
Smith on 15 November 1958, he called Castro a "sick man" and stated
it would be impossible to reach a settlement with him. Rivero Agüero
also said that he planned to restore constitutional government and would convene a Constitutional
Assembly after taking office.[100]
This was the last competitive election in Cuba, the 1940 Constitution of Cuba, the Congress and the Senate
of the Cuban Republic, were quickly dismantled shortly thereafter. The rebels had publicly called for an
election boycott, issuing its Total War Manifesto on 12 March 1958, threatening to kill anyone that voted.

Battle of Santa Clara and Batista's flight

On 31 December 1958, the Battle of Santa Clara took place in a scene
of great confusion. The city of Santa Clara fell to the combined forces
of Che Guevara, Cienfuegos, and Revolutionary Directorate (RD)
rebels led by Comandantes Rolando Cubela, Juan ("El Mejicano")
Abrahantes, and William Alexander Morgan. News of these defeats
caused Batista to panic. He fled Cuba by air for the Dominican
Republic just hours later on 1 January 1959. Comandante William
Alexander Morgan, leading RD rebel forces, continued fighting as
Batista departed, and had captured the city of Cienfuegos by 2
January.[101]

Cuban General Eulogio Cantillo entered Havana's Presidential Palace,

proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra as the new
president, and began appointing new members to Batista's old
government.[102] Fidel Castro and Camilo
Cienfuegos entering Havana after
the rebel victory, 8 January 1959
Castro learned of Batista's flight in the morning and immediately
started negotiations to take over Santiago de Cuba. On 2 January, 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 8
January after a long victory march. His initial choice of president, Manuel Urrutia Lleó, took office on 3
January.[103]

Aftermath

Presidency of Manuel Urrutia Lleó

Manuel Urrutia Lleó (8 December 1901 – 5 July 1981) was a liberal Cuban lawyer and politician. He
campaigned against the Gerardo Machado government and the second presidency of Fulgencio Batista
during the 1950s, before serving as president in the first revolutionary government of 1959. Urrutia resigned
his position after seven months, owing to a series of disputes with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and
emigrated to the United States shortly afterward.

The Cuban Revolution gained victory on 1 January 1959, and Urrutia returned from exile in Venezuela to
take up residence in the presidential palace. His new revolutionary government consisted largely of Cuban
political veterans and pro-business liberals including José Miró, who was appointed as prime minister.[104]

Once in power, Urrutia swiftly began a program of closing all brothels, gambling outlets and the national
lottery, arguing that these had long been a corrupting influence on the state. The measures drew immediate
resistance from the large associated workforce. The disapproving Castro, then commander of Cuba's new
 armed forces, intervened to
request a stay of execution
until alternative
employment could be
found. [105]

Disagreements also arose in

the new government
concerning pay cuts, which Che Guevara with Manuel Urrutia in
were imposed on all public 1959, who was president at the
beginning of the revolution, after
officials on Castro's
being appointed by the rebels
demand. The disputed cuts
included a reduction of the
$100,000 a year presidential salary Urrutia had inherited from
Batista.[106] By February, following the surprise resignation of
Miró, Castro had assumed the role of prime minister; this
Manuel Urrutia Lleó, in the strengthened his power and rendered Urrutia increasingly a
presidential palace, president of figurehead president.[104] As Urrutia's participation in the legislative
Cuba, 1959
process declined, other unresolved disputes between the two leaders
continued to fester. His belief in the restoration of elections was
rejected by Castro, who felt that they would usher in a return to the old discredited system of corrupt parties
and fraudulent balloting that had marked the Batista era.[107]

Urrutia was then accused by the Avance newspaper of buying a luxury villa, which was portrayed as a
frivolous betrayal of the revolution and led to an outcry from the general public. He denied the allegation
issuing a writ against the newspaper in response. The story further increased tensions between the various
factions in the government, though Urrutia asserted publicly that he had "absolutely no disagreements" with
Fidel Castro. Urrutia attempted to distance the Cuban government (including Castro) from the growing
influence of the communists within the administration, making a series of critical public comments against
the latter group. Whilst Castro had not openly declared any affiliation with the Cuban communists, Urrutia
had been a declared anti-communist since they had refused to support the insurrection against Batista,[108]
stating in an interview, "If the Cuban people had heeded those words, we would still have Batista with us ...
and all those other war criminals who are now running away".[107]

Relations with the United States

Victorious rebels in the Havana
Hilton, January 1959
The Cuban Revolution was a crucial turning point in U.S.-Cuban
relations. Although the United States government was initially
willing to recognize Castro's new government,[109] it soon came to
fear that Communist insurgencies would spread through the nations
of Latin America, as they had in Southeast Asia.[110] Meanwhile,
Castro's government resented the Americans for providing aid to
Batista's government during the revolution.[109] After the
revolutionary government nationalized all U.S. property in Cuba in
August 1960, the American Eisenhower administration froze all
Cuban assets on American soil, severed diplomatic ties and
tightened its embargo of Cuba.[9][14][111] The Key West–Havana
ferry shut down. In 1961, the U.S. government launched the Bay of Pigs
Invasion, in which Brigade 2506 (a CIA-trained force of 1,500 soldiers,
mostly Cuban exiles) landed on a mission to oust Castro; the attempt to
overthrow Castro failed, with the invasion being repulsed by the Cuban
military.[110][112] The U.S. embargo against Cuba is still in force as of 2020,
although it underwent a partial loosening during the Obama administration,
only to be strengthened in 2017 under Trump.[9] The U.S. began efforts to
normalize relations with Cuba in the mid-2010s,[11][113] and formally
reopened its embassy in Havana after over half a century in August 2015.[12]
The Trump administration reversed much of the Cuban Thaw by severely
restricting travel by US citizens to Cuba and tightening the US government's
Fidel Castro and Che
embargo against the country.[114][115]
Guevara in 1962

I believe that there is no country in the world, including the African

regions, including any and all the countries under colonial
domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and
exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my
country's policies during the Batista regime. I believe that we
created, built and manufactured the Castro movement out of whole
cloth and without realizing it. I believe that the accumulation of
these mistakes has jeopardized all of Latin America. The great aim
of the Alliance for Progress is to reverse this unfortunate policy.
This is one of the most, if not the most, important problems in
America foreign policy. I can assure you that I have understood the
Cubans. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in
the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and
especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will go even further:
to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a
number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have
to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in
agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries.

— U.S. President John F. Kennedy, interview with Jean

Daniel, 24 October 1963[116]

Relations with the Soviet Union

Following the American embargo, the Soviet Union became Cuba's main ally.[14] The Soviet Union did not
initially want anything to do with Cuba or Latin America until the United States had taken an interest in
dismantling Castro's communist government.[38] At first, many people in the Soviet Union did not know
anything about Cuba, and those that did saw Castro as a "troublemaker" and the Cuba Revolution as "one
big heresy".[38] There were three big reasons why the Soviet Union changed their attitudes and finally took
interest in the island country. First was the success of the Cuban Revolution, to which Moscow responded
with great interest as they understood that if a communist revolution was successful for Cuba, it could be
successful elsewhere in Latin America. So from then on the Soviets began looking into foreign affairs in
Latin America. Second, after learning about the United States' aggressive plan to deploy another Guatemala
scenario in Cuba, the Soviet opinion quickly changed feet.[38] Third, Soviet leaders saw the Cuban
Revolution as first and foremost an anti–North American revolution which of course whet their appetite as
this was during the height of the cold war and the Soviet, US battle for global dominance was at its
apex.[117]

The Soviets' attitude of optimism changed to one of concern for the

safety of Cuba after it was excluded from the inter-American
system at the conference held at Punta del Este in January 1962 by
the Organization of American States.[117] This coupled with the
threat of a United States invasion of the island was really the
turning point for Soviet Concern, the idea was that should Cuba be
Map created by American
defeated by the United States it would mean defeat for the Soviet
intelligence showing Surface-to-Air
Union and for Marxism–Leninism. If Cuba were to fall, "other Missile Activity in Cuba, 5
Latin American countries would reject us, claiming that for all our September 1962, a month before the
might the Soviet Union had not been able to do anything for Cuba beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis
except to make empty protests to the United Nations" wrote
Khrushchev.[117] The Soviet attitude towards Cuba changed to
concern for the safety of the island nation because of increased US tensions and threats of invasion making
the Soviet–Cuban relationship superficial insofar as it only cared about denying the US power in the region
and maintaining Soviet supremacy.[117] All of these events led to the two countries quickly developing
close military and intelligence ties, which culminated in the stationing of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba in
1962, an act which triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

The aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis saw embarrassment for the Soviet Union, and many countries
including Soviet countries were quick to criticize Moscow's handling of the situation. In a letter that
Khrushchev writes to Castro in January of the following year (1963), after the end of conflict, he talks
about wanting to discuss the issues in the two countries' relations. He writes attacking voices from other
countries, including socialist ones, blaming the USSR of being opportunistic and self-serving. He explained
the decision to withdraw missiles from Cuba, stressing the possibility of advancing Communism through
peaceful means. Khrushchev underlined the importance of guaranteeing against an American attack on
Cuba and urged Havana to focus on economic, cultural, and technological development to become a
shining beacon of socialism in Latin America. In closing he invites Fidel Castro to visit Moscow and
discuss the preparations for such a trip.[118]

The following two decades in the 1970s and 1980s were somewhat of an enigma in the sense that the
1970s and 1980s were filled with the most prosperity in Cuba's history, yet the revolutionary government
hit full stride in achieving its most organized form, and it adopted and enacted several brutal features of
socialist regimes from the Eastern Bloc. Despite this it seems to be a time of prosperity. In 1972 Cuba joined
COMECON, officially joining their trade with the Soviet Union's socialist trade bloc. That along with
increased Soviet subsidies, better trade terms, and better, more practical domestic policy led to several years
of prosperous growth. This period also sees Cuba strengthening its foreign policy with other communistic
anti-US imperial countries like Nicaragua. This period is marked as the Sovietization of the 1970s and
1980s.[119]

Cuba maintained close links to the Soviets until the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. The end of Soviet
economic aid and the loss of its trade partners in the Eastern Bloc led to an economic crisis and period of
shortages known as the Special Period in Cuba.[120]
Current day relations with Russia, formerly the Soviet Union, ended in 2002 after the Russian Federation
closed an intelligence base in Cuba over budgetary concerns. However, in the last decade, relations have
increased in recent years after Russia faced international backlash from the West over the situation in
Ukraine in 2014. In retaliation for NATO expansion towards the east, Russia has sought to create these
same agreements in Latin America. Russia has specifically sought greater ties with Cuba, Nicaragua,
Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico. Currently, these countries maintain close economic ties with the United
States. In 2012, Putin decided that Russia focus its military power in Cuba like it had in the past. Putin is
quoted saying "Our goal is to expand Russia's presence on the global arms and military equipment market.
This means expanding the number of countries we sell to and expanding the range of goods and services
we offer."[121]

Global influence
Castro's victory and post-revolutionary foreign policy had global
The greatest threat presented
repercussions as influenced by the expansion of the Soviet Union into
by Castro's Cuba is as an
Eastern Europe after the 1917 October Revolution. In line with his call
for revolution in Latin America and beyond against imperial powers, example to other Latin
American states which are
laid out in his Declarations of Havana, Castro immediately sought to
"export" his revolution to other countries in the Caribbean and beyond, beset by poverty, corruption,
feudalism, and plutocratic
sending weapons to Algerian rebels as early as 1960.[18] In the
exploitation ... his influence
following decades, Cuba became heavily involved in supporting
Communist insurgencies and independence movements in many in Latin America might be
overwhelming and
developing countries, sending military aid to insurgents in Ghana,
irresistible if, with Soviet
Nicaragua, Yemen, and Angola, among others.[18] Castro's intervention
help, he could establish in
in the Angolan Civil War in the 1970s and 1980s was particularly
Cuba a Communist utopia.
significant, involving as many as 60,000 Cuban soldiers.[18][123]

— Walter Lippmann,
Characteristics Newsweek, 27 April
1964[122]
Ideology
At the time of the revolution various sectors of society supported
the revolutionary movement from communists to business leaders
and the Catholic Church.[124]

The beliefs of Fidel Castro during the revolution have been the
subject of much historical debate. Fidel Castro was openly
ambiguous about his beliefs at the time. Some orthodox historians
argue Castro was a communist from the beginning with a long-term
plan; however, others have argued he had no strong ideological
Propaganda poster in Havana, 2012
loyalties. Leslie Dewart has stated that there is no evidence to
suggest Castro was ever a communist agent. Levine and
Papasotiriou believe Castro believed in little outside of a distaste for American imperialism. As evidence for
his lack of communist leanings they note his friendly relations with the United States shortly after the
revolution and him not joining the Cuban Communist Party during the beginning of his land reforms.[124]
At the time of the revolution the 26th of July Movement involved people of various political persuasions,
but most were in agreement and desired the reinstatement of the 1940 Constitution of Cuba and supported
the ideals of Jose Marti. Che Guevara commented to Jorge Masetti in an interview during the revolution that
"Fidel isn't a communist" also stating "politically you can define Fidel and his movement as 'revolutionary
nationalist'. Of course he is anti-American, in the sense that Americans are anti-revolutionaries".[125]

Women's roles
The importance of women's contributions to the Cuban Revolution
is reflected in the very accomplishments that allowed the revolution
to be successful, from the participation in the Moncada Barracks, to
the Mariana Grajales all-women's platoon that served as Fidel
Castro's personal security detail. Tete Puebla, second in command
of the Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon, has said:

Women in Cuba have always been on the front line of the Raúl Castro, Vilma Espín, Jorge
struggle. At Moncada we had Yeye (Haydée Santamaría) Risquet and José Nivaldo Causse in
1958
and Melba (Hernández). With the Granma (yacht) and
November 30, we had Celia, Vilma, and many other
compañeras. There were many women comrades who
were tortured and murdered. From the beginning there
were women in the Revolutionary Armed Forces. First
they were simple soldiers, later sergeants. Those of us in
the Mariana Grajales Platoon were the first officers. The
ones who ended the war with officers' ranks stayed in the
armed forces.[126]

Before the Mariana Grajales Platoon was established, the revolutionary women of the Sierra Maestra were
not organized for combat and primarily helped with cooking, mending clothes, and tending to the sick,
frequently acting as couriers, as well as teaching guerrillas to read and write.[126] Haydée Santamaría and
Melba Hernández were the only women who participated in the attack on the Moncada Barracks, afterward
acting alongside Natalia Revuelta, and Lidia Castro (Fidel Castro's sister) to form alliances with anti-Batista
organizations, as well as the assembly and distribution of "History Will Absolve Me".[127] Celia Sánchez
and Vilma Espin were leading strategists and highly skilled combatants who held essential roles throughout
the revolution. Tete Puebla, founding member and second in command of the Mariana Grajales Platoon,
said of Celia Sánchez, "When you speak of Celia, you've got to speak of Fidel, and vice versa. Celia's ideas
touched almost everything in the Sierra."[126]

Related archival collections

There were many foreign presences in Cuba during this time. Esther Brinch was a Danish translator for the
Danish government in 1960's Cuba. Brinch's work covered the Cuban Revolution and Cuban Missile
Crisis.[128] A collection of Brinch's archival materials is housed at the George Mason University Special
Collections Research Center. (https://scrc.gmu.edu)

See also
Bolivarian Revolution
Communist revolution
Communism
Cuban thaw
History of Cuba
Latin American wars of independence
Corruption in Cuba
Consolidation of the Cuban Revolution
Foreign relations of Cuba

Cuba portal
Communism
portal
Socialism portal

Notes
a. Sierra Maestra, Dic. 1, 58 2 y 45 p.m. Coronel García Casares: I am writing these lines to
inquire about a man of ours [Lieutenant Orlando Pupo] who was almost certainly taken
prisoner by your forces. The event happened like this: after the Army units withdrew, I sent a
vanguard to explore in the direction of the Furnace. Further back I set off on the same road
where our vanguard was going. By chance said vanguard had taken another road and came
to the road behind us. As I expected, I sent a man to catch up with her to tell her to stop
before reaching the Furnace. The messenger left with the belief that it was going ahead and
therefore would be completely unnoticed of the danger; He was also traveling on horseback,
with the consequent noise of his footsteps. Once the error was discovered, everything
possible was done to warn him of the situation, but he had already reached the danger zone.
They waited several hours for him and he did not return. Today it has not appeared. A
gunshot was also heard at night. I am sure that he was taken prisoner; I confess that even
the fear that he would have been later killed. I'm worried about the shot that was heard. And I
know that when it is a post that fires it is never limited to a single shot in these cases. I have
been explicit in the narration of the incident so that you can have sufficient evidence. I hope I
can count on your chivalry, to prevent that young man from being assassinated uselessly, if
he was not killed last night. We all feel special affection for that partner and we are
concerned about his fate. I propose that you return him to our lines, as I have done with
hundreds of military personnel, including numerous officers. Military honor will win with that
elemental gesture of reciprocity. "Politeness does not remove the brave." Many painful
events have occurred in this war because of some unscrupulous or honorable military
personnel, and believe me that the Army needs men and gestures to compensate for those
blemishes. It is because I have a high opinion of you that I decide to talk to you about this
case, in the assurance that you will do what is within your power. If some formal
 inconvenience arises, it can be done in the form of an exchange, for one or more of the
soldiers we took prisoner during the action of Guisa. Sincerely, Fidel Castro R.
b. The following is an excerpt from a speech given on 1 December 1958 by Fidel Castro,
broadcast on the Rebel Army's radio station, which reported on the victory of the
revolutionary forces in the battle of Guisa in the Sierra Maestra mountains, one of the turning
points in the revolutionary war that spelled the doom of the Batista dictatorship. A month later
the dictatorship collapsed and Rebel Army forces entered Havana:

Yesterday at 9 p.m., after ten days of intense combat, our forces entered Guisa; the
battle took place within sight of Bayamo, where the dictatorship has its command
center and the bulk of its forces:

The action at Guisa began at exactly 8:30 a.m. on November 20 when our forces
intercepted an enemy patrol that made the trip from Guisa to Bayamo on a daily
basis. The patrol was turned back, and that same day the first enemy
reinforcements arrived. At 4:00 p.m. a T-17 thirty-ton tank was destroyed by a
powerful land mine: the impact of the explosion was such that the tank was thrown
several meters through the air, falling forward with its wheels up and its cab
smashed in on the pavement of the road. Hours before that, a truck full of soldiers
had been blown up by another mine. At 6:00 p.m. the reinforcements withdrew.

On the following day, the enemy advanced, supported by Sherman tanks, and was
able to reach Guisa, leaving a reinforcement in the local garrison.

On the 22nd, our troops, exhausted from two days of fighting, took up positions on
the road from Bayamo to Guisa.

On the 23rd, an enemy troop tried to advance along the road from Corojo and was
repulsed. On the 25th, an infantry battalion, led by two T-17 tanks, advanced along
the Bayamo-Guisa road, guarding a convoy of fourteen trucks.

At two kilometers from this point, the rebel troops fired on the convoy, cutting off its
retreat, while a mine paralyzed the lead tank.

Then began one of the most violent combats that has taken place in the Sierra
Maestra. Inside the Guisa garrison, the complete battalion that came in
reinforcement, along with two T-17 tanks, was now within the rebel lines. At 6:00
p.m., the enemy had to abandon all its trucks, using them as a barricade tightly
encircling the two tanks. At 10:00 p.m., while a battery of mortars attacked them,
rebel recruits, armed with picks and shovels, opened a ditch in the road next to the
tank that had been destroyed on the 20th, so that between the tank and the ditch,
the other two T-17 tanks within the lines were prevented from escaping.

They remained isolated, without food or water, until the morning of the 27th when, in
another attempt to break the line, two battalions of reinforcements brought from
Bayamo advanced with Sherman tanks to the site of the action. Throughout the day
of the 27th the reinforcements were fought. At 6:00 p.m., the enemy artillery began a
retreat under cover of the Sherman tanks, which succeeded in freeing one of the T-
17 tanks that were inside the lines; on the field, full of dead soldiers, an enormous
quantity of arms was left behind, including 35,000 bullets, 14 trucks, 200
knapsacks, and a T-17 tank in perfect condition, along with abundant 37-millimeter
cannon shot. The action wasn't over – a rebel column intercepted the enemy in
retreat along the Central Highway and caused it new casualties, obtaining more
ammunition and arms.

On the 28th, two rebel squads, led by the captured tank, advanced toward Guisa. At
2:30 a.m. on the 29th, the rebels took up positions, and the tank managed to place
itself facing the Guisa army quarters. The enemy, entrenched in numerous
buildings, gave intense fire. The tank's cannon had already fired fifty shots when
two bazooka shots from the enemy killed its engine, but the tank's cannon
continued firing until its ammunition was exhausted and the men inside lowered the
cannon tube. Then occurred an act of unparalleled heroism: rebel Lieutenant
Leopoldo Cintras Frías, who was operating the tank's machine gun, removed it from
the tank, and despite being wounded, crawled under intense crossfire and
managed to carry away the heavy weapon.

Meanwhile, that same day, four enemy battalions advanced from separate points:
along the road from Bayamo to Guisa, along the road from Bayamo to Corojo, and
along the one from Santa Rita to Guisa.

All of the enemy forces from Bayamo, Manzanillo, Yara, Estrada Palma, and Baire
were mobilized to smash us. The column that advanced along the road from Corojo
was repulsed after two hours of combat. The advance of the battalions that came
along the road from Bayamo to Guisa was halted, and they encamped two
kilometers from Guisa; those that advanced along the road from Corralillo were also
turned back.

The battalions that encamped two kilometers from Guisa tried to advance during the
entire day of the 30th; at 4:00 p.m., while our forces were fighting them, the Guisa
garrison abandoned the town in hasty flight, leaving behind abundant arms and
armaments. At 9:00 p.m., our vanguard entered the town of Guisa. Enemy supplies
seized included a T-17 tank—captured, lost, and recaptured; 94 weapons (guns
and machine guns, Springfield and Garand); 12 60-millimeter mortars; one 91-
millimeter mortar; a bazooka; seven 30-caliber tripod machine guns; 50,000 bullets;
130 Garand grenades; 70 howitzers of 60- and 81-millimeter mortar; 20 bazooka
rockets; 200 knapsacks, 160 uniforms, 14 transport trucks; food; and medicine.

The army took two hundred losses counting casualties and wounded. We took
eight compañeros who died heroically in action, and seven wounded.

A squadron of women, the "Mariana Grajales", fought valiantly during the ten days
of action, resisting the aerial bombardment and the attack by the enemy artillery.

Guisa, twelve kilometers from the military port of Bayamo, is now free Cuban
territory.
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Bibliography
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Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A New Era of Modern Warfare: A New Era of Modern
Warfare. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-280-9.
Castro, Fidel (2007). Ignacio Ramonet (ed.). Fidel Castro: My Life. Translated by Andrew
Hurley. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-102626-8.
Clark, Juan (1992). Cuba: Mito y Realidad: Testimonios de un Pueblo. Miami: Saeta
Ediciones. ISBN 978-0-917049-16-3.
Coltman, Leycester (2003). The Real Fidel Castro (https://archive.org/details/realfidelcastro0
0colt_0). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10760-9.
English, T. J. (2008). Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the
Revolution (https://archive.org/details/havananocturneho00engl). William Morrow. ISBN 978-
0-06-114771-5.
Font, Fabián Escalante (1995). The Secret War: CIA Covert Operations Against Cuba,
1959–62. Ocean Front. ISBN 1875284869.
Faria, Miguel A. Jr (2002). Cuba in Revolution: Escape from a Lost Paradise. Milledgeville,
GA: Hacienda Pub Inc. ISBN 0-9641077-3-2.
Lazo, Mario (1968). Dagger in the heart: American policy failures in Cuba. New York: Twin
Circle.
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Thomas, Hugh (1998). Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-
306-80827-7.
Pirjevec, Jože (2018). Tito. Die Biografie [Tito. The biography]. Translated by Klaus Detlef
Olof. Munich: Kunstmann. ISBN 978-3956142420.

Further reading
Thomas M. Leonard (1999). Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-
313-29979-X.
Julio García Luis (2008). Cuban Revolution Reader: A Documentary History of Key Moments
in Fidel Castro's Revolution. Ocean Press. ISBN 1-920888-89-6.
Samuel Farber (2012). Cuba Since the Revolution of 1959: A Critical Assessment.
Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1608461394.
Joseph Hansen (1994). Dynamics of the Cuban Revolution: A Marxist Appreciation.
Pathfinder Press. ISBN 0-87348-559-9.
Julia E. Sweig (2004). Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban
Underground. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01612-2.
 Thomas C. Wright (2000). Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution. Praeger
Paperback. ISBN 0-275-96706-9.
Marifeli Perez-Stable (1998). The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy. Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-512749-8.
Geraldine Lievesley (2004). The Cuban Revolution: Past, Present and Future Perspectives.
Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-96853-0.
Teo A. Babun (2005). The Cuban Revolution: Years of Promise. University Press of Florida.
ISBN 0-8130-2860-4.
Antonio Rafael de la Cova (2007). The Moncada Attack: Birth of the Cuban Revolution.
University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-672-1.
Samuel Farber (2006). The Origins of the Cuban Revolution Reconsidered. The University
of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-5673-8.
Jules R. Benjamin (1992). The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution.
Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02536-3.
Comite central del Partido comunista de Cuba: Comisión de orientación revolucionaria
(1972). Rencontre symbolique entre deux processus historiques [i.e., de Cuba et de Chile].
La Habana, Cuba: Éditions politiques.
David M. Watry (2014). Diplomacy at the Brink: Eisenhower, Churchill, and Eden in the Cold
War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0807157183.
Dolgoff, Sam The Cuban Revolution, a Critical Perspective The Cuban Revolution Table of
Contents (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_Archives/bright/dolgoff/cubanrevolution/toc.h
tml)

External links
Fidel Castro. "What Cuba's Rebels Want" (https://archive.today/20090417033036/http://ww
w.thenation.com/doc/19571130/castro) at archive.today (archived 17 April 2009). The Nation
via Internet Archive. 30 November 1957.
"The Cuban Revolution (1952–1958)" (http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuban-revolutio
n.htm). Latin American Studies Organization.
Michael Voss. "Reliving Cuba's Revolution" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7786082.st
m). BBC. 29 December 2008.
"The History of Socialist Revolution in Cuba (1953–1959)" (http://www.hartford-hwp.com/arc
hives/43b/index-ab.html). World History Archives.
Arthur Brice. "Memories of Boyhood in the Heat of the Cuban Revolution" (http://edition.cnn.c
om/2009/WORLD/americas/01/01/cuba.remembrances/index.html#cnnSTCText). CNN.
2009.
"1959–2009: Celebrating 50 years of the Cuban Revolution" (http://www.cuba-solidarity.org/
50th/index.asp). Cuba Solidarity Campaign.
A film clip "Castro Triumphs. Havana Crowds Hail Success Of Revolt, 1959/01/05 (1959)" (ht
tps://archive.org/details/1959-01-05_Castro_Triumphs) is available for viewing at the Internet
Archive.
Rodríguez, Silvio (2019). "Silvio Rodríguez Sings of the Special Period" (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/j.ctv11smxrz.113). The Cuba Reader. Duke University Press. pp. 521–524.
doi:10.2307/j.ctv11smxrz.113 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2Fj.ctv11smxrz.113).
ISBN 9781478003649. JSTOR j.ctv11smxrz.113 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11smxrz.1
13).
Rionda, Salvador (2019). "Sugar Mills and Soviets" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11smxr
z.59). The Cuba Reader. Duke University Press. pp. 259–260. doi:10.2307/j.ctv11smxrz.59
(https://doi.org/10.2307%2Fj.ctv11smxrz.59). ISBN 9781478003649. JSTOR j.ctv11smxrz.59
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11smxrz.59).
 Shutterbulky. "Cuban Revolution – Completely Analytical Digest (https://shutterbulky.com/cu
ban-revolution-completely-analytical-digest/)" shutterbulky web article: 22 July 2021.

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