Fidel observes from a Sherman tank the mercenary ship Houston in Playa Larga, on April 17, 1961. Photo: Prensa Latina/Sitio Fidel Soldado de las Ideas.

More than a year before April 16, 1961,

after rigorous analysis and exchanges, President Dwight Eisenhower decided to destroy the Cuban Revolution.

The fundamental instrument of the sinister plan was the economic blockade of Cuba, which the political literature of the empire qualifies with the anodyne and almost pious term “embargo”.

In a secret memo from then-Assistant Assistant Secretary of State Lester Mallory, the specific objectives of the sinister plan were listed:

"The majority of Cubans support Castro -says the document- [...] There is no effective political opposition [...] The only possible way to make him lose internal support [to the government] is to provoke disappointment and discouragement through economic dissatisfaction and hardship [...] All possible means must be quickly put into practice to weaken economic life [...] by denying Cuba money and supplies in order to reduce nominal and real wages, with the aim of causing hunger, despair and the overthrow of the government”.

Thus begins the first part of the Reflections of the Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro Ruz entitled

The Battle of Girón,

published in Cubadebate.

On another anniversary of the revolutionary victory in the sands of Girón, we share with our readers these reflections in two parts that tell important elements of this crucial moment in the history of Cuba.

The Battle of Girón (First part)

The Battle of Girón (Part Two)

Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuba, Ernesto Che Guevara, United States, Fidel Castro Ruz, History, John F. Kennedy, José Ramón Fernández, Juan Almeida Bosque, Matanzas, Playa Girón, Raúl Castro Ruz, Cuban Revolution

Fidel visits an Anti-Aircraft Defense brigade during the invasion of Playa Girón by mercenary troops led by the US government, on April 17, 1961. Photo: Fidel Soldado de las Ideas website.

Fidel observes from a Sherman tank the mercenary ship Houston in Playa Larga, on April 17, 1961. Photo: Prensa Latina/Sitio Fidel Soldado de las Ideas.

On video, The historical significance of Girón