The real starting …show more content…
Many Cuban citizens were not happy by Batista’s sudden gain of power, preferring Cuba’s democracy, as defective as it was. According to Christopher Minster and his article “A Brief History of the Cuban Revolution”, on the morning of July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro and another one hundred thirty-eight men tried to attack the Moncada Barracks in order to obtain weapons, the attack failed and Fidel Castro and Raul Castro, among other rebels, were captured. The Castros and many other surviving rebels were put on public trial; since Fidel was a trained lawyer, he attempted to focus the judge’s attention on Batista’s dictatorship by making the trial about Fulgencio Batista’s sudden gain of power. Castro’s argument was that it was his civic duty to take a stand against a dictatorship since he was a loyal Cuban (Christopher Minster). Castro’s most famous quote from the trial was “History will absolve me” (Christopher Minster). Although Castro was …show more content…
Among the participants of the group were Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Castro and the 26th of July Movement returned to Cuba in 1956 on the yacht Granma (Christopher Minister). The Granma landing was not very successful. Batista’s forces attacked the ship and killed most of the revolutionaries. Fidel and his brother, Raul Castro, along with Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, escaped into the Sierra Maestra mountain range of eastern Cuba.While in the Sierra Maestra mountains, the rebels gained popularity and they regroupe, collected weapons, and planned offensive military attacks on Batista’s army. The leaders of the revolution also permitted foreign journalists to visit and interviews with them were published around the world. Until March of 1958, the United States stood behind its ally Batista, supplying his government with weapons and ammunition. Just as the rebels were unifying and gaining strength and popularity, Batista’s government lost its most important source of support when the United States cut off military aid. What Batista hoped would be the final offensive move against the rebels in the summer of 1958 failed. Batista’s army, though large and well equipped, was poorly trained and poorly motivated. After seeing that the 26th of July movement was unstoppable, Batista decided to flee Cuba