HUGO CHAVEZ INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR PEACE, FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY
HCIF-PFS
Email: hugochavezfoundation@gmail.com
Public Statement for Immediate Release 1st January, 2026
Today is 1st January, 2026 and exactly 67 years ago in 1959 that the Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro Ruz (May Peace Be Unto Him) triumphed over the reactionary forces in the Western hemisphere. On this historic occasion of the 67th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS) express fraternal greetings to the heroic people of Cuba, and wish all of them also a peaceful, happy and blessed New Year.
Today the global community celebrates this historic day and the achievements of the actions that followed the dawn of the revolution. The demise of the Batista dictatorship and the beginning of the construction of socialism in Cuba represents a shining milestone in modern world history and an enduring inspiration to the struggling masses of the world.
This year would mark the tenth anniversary of the Revolution without the physical presence of Fidel Castro and the thirteenth that Hugo Chavez is no longer with us. Fidel Castro died on 25th November, 2016 at the age of 90, while Hugo Chavez died earlier, on 5th March, 2013 and the cause of his death has remained a mystery to date. Both genius men, Fidel and Chavez were officially honoured in Cuba and Venezuela with visits from dignitaries and world leaders who have remembered them for their many achievements for humankind. Around the world, including in Africa, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, millions have celebrated their lives, and many still mourn them and fight to preserve their legacy, including the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity.
The Cuban revolution of 1959 had it origin from the July 26 Movement, when the revolutionary forces attacked the dictator Baptista’s military Camp at the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba on 26th July, 1953. It was during this attack that Fidel Castro was captured, prosecuted and condemned to 15 years imprisonment, but was released on 13th May, 1955 under a general amnesty, after serving two years in prison. During his trial, Fidel defended his action with his famous phrase: ‘History will absolve me’.
A year later in 1956, Fidel and some of his revolutionary lieutenants fled to Mexico. While in exile, Fidel Castro reorganized his revolutionary fighters, this time alongside with Argentina born Ernesto Che Guevara and returned to Cuba in 1956 with 82 men and women. Out of the 12 fighters who survive the battle for the liberation of Cuba, only Raul Castro is alive today to tell the complete story about the Cuban revolution of 1959, which actually started with the July 26 Movement in 1953. Until 1959, Cuba was a third world country that served as provider of sugar, cigar and cattle for the benefit of a few large companies and land owners.
On 1st January, 1959 the new government led by Fidel Castro set it agenda to transform the Cuban society. Despite the unilateral blockade and interference by the U.S, Cuba has managed to achieve major advancements since the inception of the country’s revolution in 1959. The Cuban Revolution is a great achievement for humanity; this achievement is manifested in the progress of the Cuban people in education, health, culture, science and political participation.
But the Cuban Revolution is also a struggle, and has inspired millions of people around the world. Cuba was the first country in the western hemisphere to embark on the difficult road of building a new society free from exploitation, where the working class and peasants would control all economic and political power, to construct a state that is an instrument of their class power. In sixty years for instance, the Cuban revolution has transformed a country that was once dominated and controlled by imperialism. It had little if any national sovereignty or national democracy but was in effect a colony of the United States.
The revolution has reached its 67th anniversary by not yielding the unilateral inhumane economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States since 1962, the brutal hardening of this heinous blockade policy with the pandemic, the terrorist attacks that have so far claimed the lives of thousands of Cubans, and the campaigns of lies and smears that accompany all these vicious attacks.
For many years under Fidel Castro, Cuba was a beneficiary of the selfless solidarity of the former Soviet Union, as a result of which it has continued to exist long after the victory of the counter-revolution in Moscow. The Cuban people have also been selfless in their international solidarity, sending tens of thousands of doctors and other medical personnel to all corners of the globe, to bring medical services to millions of poor people long denied access to medical care. At scenes of natural disasters around the world Cuban medical personnel are some of the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Cuba has also been a principled force in the struggle against imperialism. It played an outstanding role in the defeat of the South African apartheid army, leading to the eventual defeat of that regime. Despite the decades-long blockade by the United States it has refused to bend the knee to its aggressive northern neighbour. The Cuban people have overcome many hardships, and they continue to face new and difficult challenges, but face them they will, with revolutionary optimism and steadfastness.
We salute the strong unity of the Cuban people, under the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party, in confronting the criminal blockade and hostile imperialism throughout the past 67 years of the Revolution. In particular, we salute Cuba’s selfless display of solidarity with many peoples in need, its past assistance for the anti-colonial struggles in northern and central Africa, its internationalist contribution towards ending the abominable system of apartheid in southern Africa, and its continued assistance even today in affording health and educational services to the poorest of the poor.
On this occasion, we reaffirm our commitment to constantly promote awareness of the truth about Cuba, and to continue working for the widening and strengthening of the solidarity movement with Cuba in Africa and the African diasporas. We will continue to stand in solidarity with the Cuban revolution in the struggle to free the Cuban people from the bondage of imperialism.
We wish all Cuban people a peaceful, happy and blessed National Day!
Signed:
Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh
(Acting) President of the National Governing Council of the HCIF-PFS