“That extraordinary triumph constitutes a permanent declaration of national dignity,” emphasized Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, during the ceremony at Playa Girón commemorating the 65th anniversary of the victory against the mercenary invasion.
In the presence of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CCPCC) and President of the Republic, and a large representation of the people, Morales Ojeda emphasized that unity and steadfastness are pillars of the Cuban people that cannot be broken.
He stated that 65 years have passed since, on these same sands, mercenaries in the service of the most powerful nation in history believed they could crush the nascent Revolution in a matter of hours.
In less than 72 hours, the invaders were defeated. The victory at Playa Girón was the perfect synthesis of two inseparable forces: a people transformed into militias and a leader with the vision of a great strategist who knew how to embody the will to fight, Morales Ojeda emphasized.
The collective sentiment of rejection of the threats and defense of our sovereignty has been clearly demonstrated in the appeal made by Cuban revolutionary civil society organizations, which, together with the Cuban Association of the United Nations, have raised their voices so that solidarity, the sense of justice, and Cuba’s reasons for standing up for independence may spread throughout the world, he explained.
“With the legacy of the Girón combatants, we call upon you, starting today and continuing in the coming days, to add your signatures in support of this petition, which will constitute a resounding demonstration of backing against the genocide that the blockade represents and the profound desire of our people to build a prosperous future and live in peace.”
“My signature for the Homeland, as this democratic, revolutionary, and legitimate act has been called, is also a commitment to the Cubans who fell in defense of independence, sovereignty, and socialism on these very beaches,” the party leader asserted.
The ceremony took place at the Playa Girón Memorial Museum, an institution founded 50 years ago, where floral offerings from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the general public were placed before the monument bearing the names of the martyrs.
Those participating in the ceremony included Salvador Valdés Mesa, Cuban Vice President; Mario Sabines Lorenzo, First Secretary of the PCC in the province of Matanzas; Marieta Poey Zamora, Governor of the territory; and other political and governmental authorities, from the Ministry of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
As is traditional in the tributes held on this date in the Zapata Swamp, representing the people was Nemesia Rodríguez, a woman of strong roots who, as a child, survived the mercenary invasion financed by the United States, along with combatants and militiamen from the provinces of Cienfuegos and Matanzas who participated in the epic struggle.
The young Major of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Yadian Daniel Medina, emphasized that the invaders did not count on the people’s determination to defend their Revolution, that the people have faced a cruel and intensified economic blockade, but they resist and know who is truly responsible for their hardships and what they would lose if they were to renounce their socialist project.
The blood of hundreds of worthy sons and daughters of the Fatherland, who brought to new generations the benefits of the immense work that is the Revolution, which has grown under constant siege by the same enemy that destroyed the little white shoes of the girl Nemesia during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was expressed by Elianis Martínez Pérez, a young teacher, on behalf of the residents of Ciénaga.
Less than 72 hours after the invasion began on April 17, on April 19, 1961, forces of the Rebel Army, the National Revolutionary Police, and the people’s militias defeated the mercenaries who perpetrated the invasion orchestrated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The victory at Girón transcends as an epic where the values of the Cuban people were made evident, and every year the people honor the fallen, reaffirm their commitment to unity as the key to success in the missions, and in 2026 on this soil of victory the first signatures are collected in response to the My Signature for the Homeland movement.
IMAGE CREDIT: ACN – Cuba / Yenli Lemus Domínguez
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
