Cuba celebrates anniversary of departure of the Caravan of Freedom

Havana, Jan 2 (RHC) The 66th anniversary of the start of the Caravan of Freedom, led by the Rebel Army, with Fidel Castro Ruz at the helm, is celebrated this Thursday throughout Cuba as one of the most significant historical events in the nation's history.

The journey of over a thousand kilometers from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to Havana, the capital, concluded on January 8, marking the first direct encounter between the Cubans and the guerrilla leader, who would later shape the nation's destiny and, together with the revolutionary forces, build a socialist project that would become a global reference.

The insurgent forces entered Santiago on the first day of January 1959, and from the balconies of the Céspedes Park City Hall, Fidel proclaimed victory over the regular army troops of the Fulgencio Batista regime (1952-1958).

After more than two years of fighting against the Batista dictatorship, the rebel forces received the warm welcome of the inhabitants of towns and cities along the route, which demonstrated the overwhelming popular support for the proposal of political change that was taking shape on the Caribbean island.

The advance of the caravan from east to west demonstrated the possibility of realizing long-held dreams of social justice, while also highlighting the numerous challenges that the Revolution had to overcome in the face of the hostility of its internal and external enemies.