Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro (far left) and Che Guevara (center), in Havana in 1960.

On this day in 1959, U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country following the victory of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement (M-26-7) at the Battle of Santa Clara, marking the successful conclusion of the Cuban Revolution.

The 26th of July Movement takes its name from the date of with a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953, however, the movement bearing this name was not formally organized until the attackers were released from prison in 1955. Public resistance continued sporadically until November 1956, when 80 members of the M-26-7 returned from exile.

Soon after landing on the island, a separate revolutionary group, the “Directorio Revoluncionari Estudiantil” (DRE), unsuccessfully attempted an attack on the Presidential Palace in Havana.

Throughout 1957, armed resistance from groups such as the DRE and M-26-7 would escalate. After a failed offensive by the government against rebels in the summer of 1958, the rebels launched a major counter-offensive.

On December 28th, 1958, after a fraudulent election in favor of Batista, revolutionary forces reached the city of Santa Clara. Seizing equipment from an armored train intended to transport government reinforcements, the rebels quickly captured the city, prompting Batista to panic and flee to the Dominican Republic with a personal fortune of more than $300 million.

In the following days, revolutionary forces entered Havana with no resistance, and Castro established a provisional government. The 26th of July Movement later reformed along Marxist–Leninist lines, becoming the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.

Batista later settled in fascist Spain, dying there in 1973 at the age of 72.

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  • spectre [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    10·
    4 months ago

    Remember that when you are in front of the media, presenting a take that your audience will be receptive to is often more important than a purely correct by-the-book take. This is also only true if either one reaches the same ends. I also may be offering too much credit here.

    if this is the face of “leftism” where I live then fuck’s sake I need to start getting involved more.

    Always true, they are missing your voice comrade!

    • decaptcha [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      4·
      4 months ago

      Thanks… I thought about that and figured maybe the better play would’ve been not to mention the shock troops’ well-being at all, but maybe I’m not being charitable enough.

      Wish there were more hours in the day or that I didn’t need sleep! I can’t control that but I’m getting better at how I spend what I’ve got.