Cubans celebrate 70 years since historic assault that sparked the revolution
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel gave the keynote speech on Wednesday as the Caribbean island celebrated the 70th anniversary of the historic assault on the Moncada and Carlos Cespedes barracks on July 23 1953.
A group of revolutionaries led by legendary Cuban communist Fidel Castro and his brother Raul carried out the historic action against the brutal United States-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
Although the revolutionaries failed to seize the barracks and were captured, their mission sparked the beginning of a guerilla war that would triumph years later and became known as the July 26 Movement.
Speaking at the Heredia Theatre in Santiago de Cuba, President Diaz-Canel said the actions “were the beginning of the end of the last dictatorship installed in Cuba, with the recognition and (im)moral and material support of the US.
“That is why they do not forgive the revolution. For this reason and because they believed that with the physical disappearance of the historical generation, they could break national independence, international solidarity, and the defence of the socialist alternative to savage capitalism.”
Mr Diaz-Canel also used his speech to slam the illegal US blockade of Cuba and the inclusion of his country on the US’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.
He said the “unjustified” inclusion of Cuba on the “arbitrary list” of the nations that allegedly sponsor terrorism “does not respond to any genuine concern about the scourge of terrorism. It is an opportunistic act aimed at profoundly damaging the Cuban economy.”
President Diaz-Canel added: “As long as the United States maintains its brutal and genocidal blockade against Cuba and tries to trample on national dignity, we will have a Moncada to assault!
“As long as we do not reach a decent degree of prosperity for all Cubans, we will have a Moncada to assault!
“Every day, every hour, every minute, we have a Moncada to assault!”
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