Seventy-two years ago today, on July 26, 1953, a band of 160 young Cuban revolutionaries launched at what would become one of history's most consequential acts of defiance. Their assault on the Moncada Garrison in Santiago de Cuba and the Carlos Céspedes Barracks in Bayamo marked not merely a military operation, but the birth cry of a revolution that would reshape the Caribbean and inspire liberation movements worldwide.
The Spark That Lit a Revolution
Led by a young lawyer named Fidel Castro, these revolutionaries struck against the corrupt, blood-soaked dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista—a regime that had reduced Cuba to little more than an American playground while its people suffered in grinding poverty. Though the attack failed militarily, the barbaric response of Batista's forces, who tortured and murdered dozens of captured revolutionaries, inadvertently fueled the very rebellion they sought to crush.
The survivors, including Fidel Castro, faced show trials for treason. Yet from the dock, Castro delivered his legendary defense, "History Will Absolve Me," laying out a revolutionary blueprint for a Cuba where healthcare, education, and human dignity would be rights, not privileges. After serving less than two years of a fifteen-year sentence, Castro and his comrades were freed in a general amnesty, only to regroup in Mexico and return aboard the Granma to complete what Moncada had begun.
A Revolution That Delivered
On January 1, 1959, that vision became reality. The Cuban Revolution didn't just topple a dictator—it fundamentally transformed a society. Land reform broke the stranglehold of foreign corporations and Cuban oligarchs. Universal healthcare and education replaced the luxury of the few with the birthright of all. A nation once condemned to serve as "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for foreign masters became a beacon of what small nations could achieve when they controlled their own destiny.
Today, Cuba boasts health outcomes that rival the world's wealthiest nations, an education system that has virtually eliminated illiteracy, and a commitment to international solidarity that has seen Cuban doctors healing the sick from Haiti to Sierra Leone, from Venezuela to Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Empire's Unrelenting Assault
Yet for over six decades, Cuba has faced the relentless hostility of the world's most powerful empire, located just 90 miles from its shores. The United States has unleashed every weapon in its arsenal short of nuclear war: a criminal economic blockade that has cost Cuba over $150 billion; the Bay of Pigs invasion; more than 600 documented assassination attempts against Fidel Castro; biological warfare that destroyed crops and livestock; and the cynical placement of Cuba on a fabricated "state sponsors of terrorism" list designed to strangle its international relationships.
Most recently, the empire has targeted Cuba's crown jewel of international solidarity—its medical missions that have saved millions of lives and restored sight to countless thousands, including right here in Jamaica. This diabolic campaign seeks to punish Cuba for the "crime" of proving that another world is possible.
A Light in Dark Times
As we commemorate this 72nd anniversary of Rebellion Day, Cuba's example burns brighter than ever. In a world increasingly torn by inequality, environmental destruction, and the resurgence of fascism, Cuba demonstrates that small nations can chart independent courses, that healthcare and education can be human rights rather than commodities, and that true security comes not from military might but from social solidarity.
For Jamaica and the broader Caribbean, Cuba's resistance offers crucial lessons. We face our own struggles against neocolonial domination, our own battles for genuine sovereignty, our own need to prioritize people over profit. Cuba's path—marked by mistakes and limitations, yes, but also by unprecedented achievements in human development—shows what becomes possible when a people refuse to accept that there is no alternative to the empire's dictates.
Solidarity as Duty
The Jamaica Solidarity Movement with Cuba stands with our Cuban sisters and brothers not out of blind allegiance, but from recognition that their struggle is our struggle. Their resistance to imperial domination strengthens our own capacity for independence. Their achievements in healthcare, education, and international solidarity provide roadmaps for our own development.
As we honor the memory of those who fell at Moncada, we pledge our continued solidarity with the Cuba of Martí and Maceo’s mother Mariana Grajales, of Fidel and Raúl, of Díaz-Canel and the millions of ordinary Cubans who choose dignity over submission.
Long live the homeland of Martí!
Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live the solidarity between the Cuban and Jamaican peoples!
¡Venceremos! We shall overcome!
July 26, 2025