The Cuban people and many revolutionary forces around the world have just celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Moncada Fortress Attack (July 26, 1953 / July 26, 2023). Seven decades have passed, but this event still retains its value and influence.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the revolutionary movements of Latin American peoples, including Cuba, entered a new era. However, a series of movements of social classes in this country either went bankrupt or were bloodily suppressed by the dictatorial Batista regime. In that context, in early 1953, a young intellectual named Fidel Castro led the Movement to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the hero José Martí, gathering more than 1,000 members, mainly young people from the working classes, to secretly prepare for the struggle to overthrow the dictatorial Batista regime.

At around 5:00 a.m. on July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro led more than 130 patriotic Cuban youths to organize an attack on Moncada Fortress. This was the second largest military camp of the Batista dictatorship, with over 2,000 soldiers stationed, located in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, more than 1,000 km from the capital Havana. If Moncada was captured, the revolutionary forces would attack a number of other military bases and then mobilize the people to participate in the revolutionary struggle, or move up to the eastern mountainous region to carry out guerrilla warfare if the situation required such action.

Moncada Fortress is now a school. Photo: Fernanda LeMarie

However, due to a number of subjective and objective factors, the attack lost its surprise and became an unequal firefight between the unarmed guerrillas and thousands of Batista regime soldiers at the headquarters. Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro decided to retreat. Meanwhile, because the government troops had promptly blocked the roads, very few soldiers were able to escape and return to the revolutionary masses, most of the rest were captured by the enemy and brutally tortured right at Moncada Fortress. A total of 61 people were sacrificed and killed. Revolutionary soldier Fidel Castro, his brother Raul Castro and many other soldiers were imprisoned.

At the trial, the staunch revolutionary Fidel Castro defended himself, creating a document considered the first Platform of the Cuban Revolution, later published as a book titled "History Will Vow to Vow to Me", which defined the goals of fighting imperialism, fighting dictatorship, gaining national independence, national sovereignty, democracy, social justice and building a social regime for the working people.

The attack on the Moncada Fortress did not have a decisive meaning for the Cuban revolution at that time, but the echoes of the “dawn” of July 26, 70 years ago, opened a new stage of development for the just struggle of the Cuban people. The struggle affirmed that a new generation of revolutionary soldiers, young, enthusiastic and resilient, would certainly bring victory in the struggle against the dictatorship of the Cuban people. Without Moncada, there would be no landing of the Granma ship, no struggle in the Sierra Maestra and no glorious victory on January 1, 1959, marking a brilliant milestone in the history of the country.

If 70 years ago Moncada was a fortress with thousands of soldiers of the Batista dictatorship, then after the successful revolution, Moncada today has become a school filled with children's laughter, a living symbol of Cuba - a powerhouse of education, social security and human development.

On the other hand, the Moncada “opening shot” also awakened the entire Latin American region after centuries of poverty and backwardness under the yoke of the old colonialists and decades of continued backwardness under the conditions of neo-colonialism. Originating from the Moncada event, the Latin American people awakened and rose up to fight for national liberation for the second time, establishing true national sovereignty, deciding for themselves the path of development of the country, protecting justice, social equality, steadfastly opposing imperialism... It is not difficult to find the “Moncada inspiration” in the platform, guidelines, and strategies of the Latin American people in the challenging struggle against imperialism, neo-liberalism... today.

The attack on Moncada Fortress was an important milestone of the Cuban revolution, an important premise for the Cuban revolution to reach its final victory. 70 years after that important milestone, Cuba continues its renovation to achieve greater achievements in all economic and social aspects. The revolutionary path of leader Fidel Castro and all classes of Cuban people is the only correct path for the cause of national liberation and social progress of Cuba and Latin America.

MINH ANH (synthesis)

* Please visit the International section to see related news and articles.