The Moncada Barracks were military

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

named after General Guillermo Moncada, a hero of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. That day a simultaneous attack was carried out on the Carlos M. de Cespedes Barracks in Bayamo directed by Raúl Martínez Ararás by order of Castro. The attack failed and the surviving revolutionaries were imprisoned. This armed attack is widely accepted as the beginning of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. The date on which the attack took place, 26 July, was adopted by Castro as the name for his revolutionary movement, Movimiento 26 Julio (abbreviated as M-26-7), which eventually toppled the dictatorship of

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

on 1 January 1959.

Preparation

Almost all of Fidel Castro's followers were Partido Ortodoxo Youth rank and file of the lower middle class and working class. Of the 137 insurgents whose ages are known, the average age was 26, the same as that of Castro. Nine rebels were in their teens, 96 were in their twenties, 27 in their thirties, and five over 40. The

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

composition of the group was limited to two Africans and 12 Cubans of partial African ancestry, partly because most biracial Cubans identified with Batista, who was of mixed blood. Only two of the group were women, Haydée Santamaría and

Melba Hernández Melba Hernández Rodríguez del Rey (28 July 1921 – 9 March 2014) was a Cuban politician and diplomat. She served as the Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam and to Cambodia. Life Born in Cruces, Las Villas, Hernández was the only child of mulatto c ...

, both of whom went on to become politicians. After Batista's military coup on 10 March 1952, Fidel Castro and his group began to train young men to engage in the struggle, along with other anti-Batista groups, against an illegitimate government. Castro claimed that they trained 1,200 men within a few months, training at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

and at firing ranges in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Mosberg and Remington .22 rifles, 60 handguns of various models, a malfunctioning .45 caliber submachine gun, 24 rifles of different caliber, including eight Model 1898 Krag–Jørgensen rifles, a .30-06 Model 1903 Springfield rifle, three sawed-off 1892 .44-caliber Winchester rifles, and a .30 caliber M1 Garand rifle with a folding metal stock. Fidel Castro decided that army uniforms were needed for the Moncada attack. He discussed this with Calabazar cell leader Pedro Trigo Lopez ( es), who suggested approaching his relative Florentino Fernandez Leon, a 26-year-old military hospital orderly in Jaimanitas. Fernandez agreed and received $200 to purchase surplus uniforms, weapons, and ammunition. He then pilfered from the military hospital laundry most of the blue uniforms needed to attire the rebels. The night before the attack, the men gathered at a farm in Siboney, where they learned what the objective was. Granjita Siboney CF9A4084

The plan was to secure the barracks and gain possession of the weapons stored within, and to use the building's army communications equipment to spread false messages for several hours to confuse the military. In the meantime, the weapons would be removed and hidden throughout the city to use in the continuing struggle, and Santiago's radio station would be taken to broadcast the speeches of Eduardo Chibás, in order to mobilize the public with the ultimate aim of bringing down the

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

government. The men left the farm at 4:45 am on 26 July 1953, planning to attack at dawn. The date of the attack was specifically chosen because the ''fiestas'' in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

are held on 25 July..

The attack

On 26 July 1953, at 5:15 am,

led a group of 136 rebels (with an additional 24 intending to take the barracks at Bayamo), including his brother Raúl, in an attack on the second largest military garrison; commanded by Colonel Alberto del Rio Chaviano. The group formed a 16-automobile caravan in order to give the appearance of being a delegation headed by a high-ranking officer sent from western Cuba. Their plan was that a first group of 25 men led by Abel Santamaría would take the civilian hospital at the rear of the barracks, a second group of 6 men led by Lester Rodriguez, including

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...

(Fidel's brother), would take the Audiencia Building (Palacio de Justicia), and a third group of 90 men, led by Castro, would take the barracks, including the radio transmitter within it. The attack began poorly. The caravan of automobiles became separated by the time it arrived at the barracks, and the car carrying the guerillas' heavy weapons got lost. Furthermore, many of the rebels who would have taken part in the attack were left behind for a lack of weapons. In Castro's autobiography, he claims that he drove his car into a group of soldiers at the gate who had realized an attack was in progress. The men in the cars behind him jumped out of their cars, believing they were inside the barracks, and the alarm was sounded before the barracks had been infiltrated. According to Castro, this was the fatal mistake in the operation. Fifteen soldiers and three policemen were killed and 23 soldiers and five policemen wounded during the attack to the Moncada Barracks. Nine rebels were killed in combat, 11 wounded, four of them by friendly fire, and 42 executed later. In the attack on Carlos M. de Cespedes Barracks, one soldier died and two were wounded. Later the Cuban Army executed ten fugitive attackers. (According to Fidel Castro five were killed in the attack on the Moncada Barracks, and 56 were executed later by the Batista regime in the attack on the Moncada Barracks and the Bayamo Barracks) Eighteen rebels captured in the Civil Hospital were immediately executed in the Moncada small-arms target range within two hours after the attack. Their corpses were strewn throughout the garrison to simulate death in combat. Thirty-four fleeing rebels captured during the next three days were murdered after admitting their participation. A handful of rebels, including Fidel Castro, escaped into the nearby countryside but were apprehended shortly thereafter.

Trial

Fidel Castro under arrest after the Moncada attack

The Santiago de Cuba Urgency Tribunal indicted 122 defendants in Case 37 of 1953 to stand trial for 26 July insurrection. Fifty-one of the 99 rebel survivors who were captured were remanded for trial. Six indicted rebels remained in hiding. The other 65 defendants implicated throughout the island were mostly political leaders and opposition activists not involved in the rebellion. Fifteen of them, including deposed President Carlos Prío Socarrás,

Aureliano Sánchez Arango Aureliano Sánchez Arango (7 June 1907 – 23 April 1976) was a Cuban lawyer, politician and university professor. Sanchez served in the government of President Carlos Prio Socarras first as Minister of Education (1948–1951) and then as Foreig ...

, José Pardo Llada, and Communist leader Blas Roca, were underground or in exile and never went to court. The trial in the Santiago de Cuba Palace of Justice began on 21 September 1953 and ended on 6 October 1953, after 11 sessions. The Cuban Civil Code of Justice, based on the Napoleonic Code practiced in Europe and Latin America, has the verdict determined by a panel of three judges rather than by a jury of peers as under "common law" in the U.S. and Great Britain. In accordance, after the accused heard the charges against them, they were called to testify on their own behalf. The defendants were represented by 24 attorneys. Fidel Castro assumed his own defense and lied under oath to avoid implicating rebels on trial. During the questioning of rebel witnesses, Castro raised accusations of the murder of prisoners by the military. In consequence, Moncada chief Col. Alberto del Rio Chaviano, impeded Castro from returning to court by claiming that he could not attend due to illness. The tribunal then separated Castro from the proceedings and granted him a separate trial. Nineteen rebels were found not guilty based on lack of evidence and their false testimony. Confessed leaders

, Oscar Alcalde, Pedro Miret, and Ernesto Tizol received 13-year prison sentences. Twenty other rebels received 10-year sentences. Rebels Manuel Lorenzo, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Orlando Cortez Gallardo, who refused to participate in the attack at the last moment, got three-year sentences. Dr. Melba Hernandez Rodriguez del Rey and Haydée Santamaría were given seven-month sentences since it was never proven that they handled weapons. Castro, a qualified lawyer, used his time in prison to write a speech entitled "

History Will Absolve Me ''History Will Absolve Me'' (Spanish: ''La historia me absolverá'') is the title of a two-hour speech made by Fidel Castro on 16 October 1953. Castro made the speech in his own defense in court against the charges brought against him after he le ...

", which included part of his defense statement delivered during his sentencing; he received a 15-year sentence. A copy of the speech was smuggled page by page out of prison (Presidio Modelo). A friend from the 26 July attack, Haydée Santamaría later published it.

Aftermath

Two years later, in 1955, the mothers of some prisoners launched a campaign to free Castro and the other rebels imprisoned with him. As popular support for the rebels and opposition to Batista's rule mounted, a group of political leaders, editors, and intellectuals signed a public appeal demanding liberty for the prisoners. That year, the Cuban Congress passed a bill granting general amnesty to political prisoners. After the bill was signed by Batista, the 30 imprisoned rebels were freed. They served 22 months in prison.. The battle damage to the Moncada barracks was quickly repaired by the military. After the revolution, it was converted into a school on January 28, 1960. Three weeks earlier, Fidel Castro personally drove the bulldozer that demolished the crenelated outer walls. In 1978, Castro ordered the massive perimeter walls rebuilt and converted half of the main building into the July 26 Historical Museum.

References

Bibliography

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External links

"History Will Absolve Me"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moncada Barracks 1953 Military operations of the Cuban Revolution Military installations of Cuba Buildings and structures in Santiago de Cuba History of Santiago de Cuba Tourist attractions in Santiago de Cuba Province Attacks on barracks Attacks on military installations in the 1950s