Remembering the heroic combatants of the Moncada!
Jul 26, 2025 Letters
Dear Editor,
Kaieteur News – On July 26th, 1953, an event of great significance to the people of Cuba, the Caribbean and the world occurred in Santiago de Cuba. One hundred and fifty young patriots of Cuba stormed the Military Barracks known as the Moncada. They were led by a young barrister, 27-year-old Fidel Castro.This was the first big attempt to overthrow the military dictator Fulgencio Batista, the dictator who had seized power in Cuba the year before, 1952.That up-rising was put down brutally. Most of the participants were killed during the fighting and some after they were captured. Fidel Castro and a few others survived.At his trial, Fidel made what has become known as one of the most heroic defences of himself and his comrades. It is known universally as “History will Absolve me! Those were the words uttered by Castro in concluding his defence.It was a defeat for the young movement. The reactionaries rejoiced. What was not known at the time was that this was not a loss of the war, but more the defeat in a battle for freedom.Castro, his brother, Raul (another giant in his own right) and his comrades were exiled from Cuba. The Batista regime could not dare to kill them because of the huge popularity they won amongst the masses. The regime did not want to keep them incarcerated fearing that once on the island they would inspire revolt and revolution, thus deportation was resorted to.Led by Fidel, three years later the revolutionaries returned. They suffered some serious setbacks but resumed the struggle for freedom. That victory occurred on January 1st, 1959. Thus, began the work of building a new, free and humane society.Almost from the very beginning the Cuban Revolution faced great hostility from its northern neighbour, the United States. The hostility developed because the new government in Cuba remained loyal to its promise to make a better life for the poor working people. One of its early acts was to implement Agrarian reform. At that time 90% of Cuba’s agricultural lands was in the hands of a few rich Cubans and foreign capital, mainly US corporations.The Cuban Revolution redistributed the lands to the landless farmers. That was the “original sin” of the Cuban revolutionaries. Successive US governments have never forgiven them for that.From then the Castro government became a target for regime change. The attacks were military, sabotage, and economic sanctions. Since 1962, sixty-three (63) years ago, the US imposed an economic blockade against Cuba. This is the longest sanctioned country in the world.Just imagine all Cubans, sixty-three years and younger have never lived in normal economic conditions.From a military standpoint the government had to fight off an invasion in 1962. Many terrorists attack. There was the case when dozens of young Cubans involved in a campaign to wipe out illiteracy were murdered by terrorists that penetrated the country. Some six hundred attempts were made on Fidel Castro’s life.The blockade and sabotage have cost the Cuban government billions of dollars. It has created enormous social and economic hardships for the people as a whole.Despite the terrible oppression imposed by the United States, Cuba has made many very important strides.Today, Cuba is the only country in the world in which every family has its own doctor. It is one of the very few developing countries that has made independent discoveries in medicine. During the 2019-2022 Covid-19 Pandemic, Cuba was able to develop vaccines to fight the deadly disease. They shared this with many poor countries.Its education system is second to none in the world. The minimum level of education in Cuba is secondary. According to the figures available as of 2023 some forty eight percent of Cubans have a tertiary education.The education that Cubans received is not just aimed at creating good technicians but to produce patriots and internationalists, technical personnel grounded with the masses.That is why Cubans are always on the front lines in helping humanity. Recall during the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola disease in the Congo in 2014, Cuban doctors, nurses and other medical personnel were the first on the scene fighting heroically to eliminate the dreaded illness and to keep it away from the rest of the world.Cuban medical personnel are always among the first at times of national disasters in almost every country in our world.Cubans’ soldiers laid down their lives fighting the South African apartheid army that invaded Angola. They fought alongside Angolans and militants from the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe.The Cuban Revolution has given tremendous support to the former colonies throughout the world. In our own region, Latin America, and the Caribbean it is Cuban medical teams that help to provide high quality service to our countries.Moreover, Cuba has generously helped internationally in educating our people in many highly spheres. They have provided training for our doctors, engineers, IT personnel, etc. Cuba has done the most in developing the region’s human capitalThe Cuban government is amongst the most generous and heroic in the world.Today, we are observing the anniversary of the first major battle of the revolution at a time when imperialism continues its efforts to destroy this glorious revolution.Only recently, we saw the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, making a swing through the Caribbean and demanding of our governments to break off their contracts with Revolutionary Cuba. The US has no regard for the sanctity of contracts.It is rather ironic that many of the sanctions that have been imposed on Cuba by the US were done on the pretext of defending human rights. In reality, they are some of the worst violations of the human rights of the Cuban people. The blockade has created tremendous hardships on the masses.Why, one may ask, is there such a hatred by the United States for Cuba, a country whose service to humanity is plain for all to see. At the same time the US supports the most barbaric regime in modern history, the genocidal Israeli regime?It seems clear that the fear is because of the great potential of the Cuban system. Indeed, if Cuba has done so much under such great oppression one may ask what more it could have achieved if it had normal conditions. It’s example and achievements would have become very attractive to oppressed peoples everywhere.As we observe the sixty second anniversary of the Moncada let us redouble our call to the US to end its criminal blockade against the children and people of Cuba. Let us call on the government of the region to stand up and say to the blockaders enough is enough! Allow Cuba to breathe and if you so desire compete with her on a level playing field!
Former President – Donald Ramotar