Havana, November 26 (RHC)--Army General Raul Castro sent a  congratulatory message to the Revolutionary Armed Forces  (FAR) on its 65th anniversary.

The tribute evoked the departure on November 25, 1956, of the Granma yacht from the port of Tuxpan, in Mexico, with 82 expedition members on board, who under the guidance of Fidel Castro began the struggle for the definitive independence of Cuba.

On December 2 of that year, the ship arrived in eastern Cuba. After the triumph of the Revolution, that date was established as the foundational date for the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The historical coincidence made that another November 25, but in 2016, the leader of the revolutionary deed, Fidel Castro, physically disappeared.

At the political-cultural evening - held in the FAR's universal hall - Brigadier General Victor Rojo, head of the political directorate of that ministry, read out Raul Castro's message, who recalled that the institution has accompanied Cuba in the most glorious moments.

"Its members have been continuity in the history that we preserve, in the struggle to preserve sovereignty, independence, and the struggle for the Revolution," summarized the congratulations, as reported by local television.

The heads of the FAR and the Ministry of Interior, Army Corps General Alvaro Lopez and Major General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez, participated in the gala.

Also, reserve generals linked to the national liberation struggle, the military-diplomatic corps accredited in Cuba, and part of the personnel who participated in the organization of the caravan, which moved the ashes of historic leader Fidel Castro from Havana to eastern Santiago de Cuba.