July 26th Marks Anniversary Of Castro's Failure, Cuban Revolution

Today of course, is July 26. While this date landmarks many great things such as the independence of Liberia (1847) and the Maldives (1965), the end of the Kargil War in India (1999), as well as the establishment of what would later become the United States Post Office Department (1775) and the signing of the National Securities Act which created the the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council. (1947). However, one of the most persistent legacies involves Cuba. Our communist neighbor to the southwest celebrates July 26th as a remembrance for Fidel Castro’s failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953 which lead to the Cuban Revolution.

The Moncada Barracks is a military style barracks named after War of Independence hero Gen. Guillermon Moncada. Fidel Castro and his brother Raul led approximately 160 rebels in an attack on what was the largest military base in Cuba. Castro’s band of outlaws waited until July 26, as they believed that the enemy would be hungover after having stayed out late the night before drinking and partying during a nearby festival.

The rebels stole some uniforms, organized an automobile caravan and headed forth to take the barracks, so that they could topple the Batista Government by broadcasting propaganda over a radio transmitter located inside the barracks. However, the attack seemed ill-fated from the start. Not only did the vehicle carrying the rebels’ heavy artillery become lost, a large part of the caravan became separated by the time they reached the barracks. Many of the rebels were left behind for lack of weaponry. The ultimate mistake occurred when Fidel Castro lost control of a vehicle, crashed, and had a rebel open fire to cover him. With the plan in complete disarray and the element of surprise nonexistent, Castro’s motley crew found themselves outnumber by 10 to 1.

Sixty-one rebels were killed and a third were captured. Half of those captured were tortured to death. Fidel and a small group of rebels managed to escape to safety, but became apprehended shortly after. The Moncada Barracks received slight damage, and the inflicted bulletholes are still existent today.

Since Castro was a lawyer, he chose to defend himself at trial. He made a defense speech entitled ‘History Will Absolve Me’ which became the foundation for the 26th of July Movement. However, the speech was ineffective to his case and Castro was sentenced to execution. Luckily for Castro, Batista abolished the death penalty and commuted Castro’s sentence to fifteen years. In less than two years, an Amnesty Bill for political prisoners was signed into Cuba Congress, which freed Castro and what was left of his gang.

In 1959, Che Guevara organized a revolution to be led by Castro, the 26th of July Movement. After a bloody onslaught, Castro managed to remove Batista from power. In 1965, after Castro gained control of Cuba, the 26th of July Movement. Joined with various other revolting parties to form the Communist Body of Cuba. Each year the movement is honored, and a flag commemorating the 26th of July is worn on the shoulder of every Cuban military uniform. Even today, a July 26th coalition is in place with a mission to ‘normalize’ relations between Cuba and the U.S.