April 1961 was engraved in the memory of Latin America. As the month in which a small country, under invading fire, rose not only in arms, but in dignity.
It all began in the early morning of the 15th. When mercenary planes bombed the military airports of Ciudad Libertad, San Antonio de los Baños and the Antonio Maceo airfield in Santiago de Cuba.
At the funeral honors for the victims, Fidel Castro. Standing tall in front of the crowd, warned in a voice of steel: “What the imperialists cannot forgive us is that we are here, that we have made a Revolution under their noses… And that we defend this land with these rifles!”
Two days later, on April 17, his prophecy materialized. The Bay of Pigs invasion, a military operation on Cuba’s southwest coast. Marked the northern giant’s first major defeat in the region.
It was the roar of a people who, armed with courage. Defended their sovereignty in less than seventy-two hours. Demonstrating that when a nation unites in the same ideal. Not even the most powerful empire can bend it.
Under the command of historic leader Fidel Castro. Cubans wrote an indelible page with blood and conviction. The battle was brief, but its legacy transcended time.
The victory of Girón, on April 19, 1961, became an emblem for the oppressed peoples of Latin America and the world. A shield against aggression and irrefutable proof that the future. With its lights and shadows. It is forged with the same indomitable spirit that flooded the Bay of Pigs those days of April.
By: Yenisel Elcea Olbine
Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernández
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