The enduring relevance of the lessons of Playa Girón in the face of current imperialist threats marked the first day of the academic workshop: “Girón, 65 Years After the Great Victory Against Imperialism,” held at the Fidel Castro Ruz Center in Havana.
The event, led by Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of the Ideological Department, featured an opening lecture by René González Barrios, director of the center, who addressed the details of the mercenary invasion organized by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the United States government.
One of the workshop’s central moments was the presentation of a book compiling Fidel Castro’s pivotal speeches about the Bay of Pigs invasion, written by Elier Ramírez Cañedo. He explained that the work systematizes original documents from the Commander-in-Chief during the days of the battle.
“We strongly emphasize that Girón was not just a military battle; it was a political, communicational, and cultural battle, led by Fidel and supported by the people,” Ramírez Cañedo stressed.
The researcher underscored the importance of making these primary sources accessible to new generations, who may not have had the opportunity to access these documents.
He also pointed out the enduring relevance of the lessons from Girón in the current context: “Given the ongoing threats from the United States against Cuba, and the complex context we live in today, when one reads Fidel’s words in that context and his reflections on Girón at other moments in the history of the Revolution, it seems as if he were speaking to us today,” he added.
Ramírez Cañedo recalled that declaring the socialist character of the Revolution on April 16, 1961, was a momentous cultural event, as Cubans went to Girón not only to defend their independence, but also to defend the banners of socialism.
He also insisted that without understanding Girón, Operation Mongoose, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and everything that followed in relations with the United States cannot be understood.
The workshop also included the firsthand testimony of a protagonist from those days: Ramón González Sucos, a member of Battalion 339 in Cienfuegos.
He recounted how the battalion was formed at the Cienfuegos airport and how they were sent to the Central Australia sugar mill, from where he and four other comrades were assigned to an observation post at Playa Larga.
The combatant explained that the invaders screamed and jumped into the water, but then the machine gun they had learned to use just days before, at only 22 years old, jammed, allowing the enemy to retreat.
The workshop participants agreed that, given the current geopolitical context of the hegemonic powers’ rearmament and the persistent threat of imperialism against Cuba, the example of Girón continues to illuminate the nation’s path.
The event concluded with a call to defend the freedom won day by day, convinced that since Girón, all the peoples of the Americas have become a little freer.
IMAGE CREDIT: Sarahí Núñez Pérez / ACN
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
