July 26, 1953
70th Anniversary of Assault on the Moncada and
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks

Stand with the Cuban People and Their Revolution!

July 26 marks one of the most important dates celebrated in Cuba, Moncada Day or the National Day of Rebellion. Seventy years ago on that day, revolutionary youth led by Fidel Castro launched an attack on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks in Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo respectively, two of the main garrisons of the reactionary dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Moncada in particular was the regime’s military stronghold in the south of Cuba, the second largest barracks in the country and a symbol of its power. The goal was to seize the weapons and distribute them to the people and spark a national uprising that would not only overthrow the Batista dictatorship but also establish Cuba’s independence and sovereignty. The attacks were carried out by an organization that was created in 1952, under the leadership of Fidel Castro.

Of the 120 or so youth who were part of the attacks, approximately 70 were killed and many others were later tortured and executed. The survivors, including Fidel Castro, were subsequently put on trial and sentenced to long prison terms. At his trial, with great prescience, Fidel Castro delivered his famous speech “History Will Absolve Me” which laid out the national and social goals of the revolutionary movement that eventually triumphed over the dictatorship on January 1, 1959.

The Moncada martyrs; Fidel imprisoned after the Moncada attack.

Most of the Moncada fighters, including Fidel Castro, were released after they won amnesty in May 1955 due to the broad mobilization of support from the Cuban people for the aims of the action. They would later regroup in Mexico, joined by Che Guevara and others, returning to continue the armed struggle a year and a half later.

Above, Raúl Castro (far left), Fidel Castro (centre) and other Moncada combatants are released from prison, May 1955.

This audacious action became the rallying cry for the fight of the youth of Cuba for a bright future for themselves and the nation. It played a decisive role in galvanizing the struggle of the Cuban people to affirm their sovereignty, ultimately leading to the victory of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. The action also stirred the revolutionary spirit of the peoples of the world.

To this day, this bold action on July 26, 1953 symbolizes the revolutionary spirit and audacity of the Cuban people. It symbolizes their recognition of their right to decide their own fate free from foreign interference or domination. It is this same spirit of defiance that has enabled Cuba to not only withstand the genocidal blockade by the U.S. imperialists, but to consolidate the Revolution and provide for the well-being of its people and broaden its internationalist assistance to the peoples of the world despite all the difficulties.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) sends its revolutionary greetings to the Cuban leadership and people and expresses its profound appreciation for the spirit with which Cuba stands on its own two feet and holds its head high. This spirit is indomitable because it upholds a just cause which, moreover, it shares in common with the peoples of the entire world.

CPC(M-L) salutes the achievements of the Cuban Revolution and the ongoing work of the Cuban people and their Communist Party to renovate socialism so that it stays true to its aims under the present circumstances. CPC(M-L) calls on the working class and people to step up support for revolutionary Cuba. This is all the more crucial amidst intensified U.S. sanctions, disinformation and interference aimed at counterrevolution under the guise of high ideals. As the Cuban people affirm their human rights and selflessly provide so much assistance to the peoples of the world to do the same, the barbarity of the U.S. imperialists and their allies is such that they are using the conditions of the global pandemic to attack all those countries and peoples who are standing up for their right to be. Such base inhumanity must be utterly rejected.

To affirm Cuba’s right to pursue an independent path is to contribute to affirming our own right and that of the entire world to do the same.

Viva Cuba!
Long Live the Cuban Revolution!
End the Blockade Now!

“History Will Absolve Me,” poster commissioned by the Communist Party of Cuba in 1973 on the 20th anniversary of the Moncada attack.

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