cuba - anniversary of attack
WORKERS, JULY 2003 ISSUE
On 26 July 1953 Cuban revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, launched an armed attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second city in Eastern Cuba. A military coup the previous year had brought the fascist dictator Batista to power, leaving little option but armed struggle for Cuban revolutionaries.
The plan was to attack simultaneously the barracks in Moncada, Santiago and in Bayamo 100 kilometres away. If successful, the island could be cut in half, as there was only one road out of mountainous eastern Cuba. The rural population would be armed with weapons from the barracks to continue the struggle.
They were spotted by a military patrol which reduced the element of surprise. During a bloody battle, many rebels were killed, executed or captured.
Fidel and others were taken alive only because the black lieutenant commanding the detachment that found them insisted that they be taken to the city jail rather than the Moncada barracks, where he knew they would be executed in cold blood.
Imprisoned and then freed on amnesty, Fidel and the other revolutionaries went on to organise and lead the revolution that triumphed on 1 January 1959. But the Moncada attack inspired the Cuban people: 26 July became Cuba's national day, and Santiago de Cuba was awarded the title 'Hero City'.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the attack, and it will be celebrated throughout Cuba. A group of leading trade unionists from Santiago de Cuba will be visiting Britain to celebrate that event with British communists and trade unionists.