This Day In Cuban History

March 10, 1952  Convinced that he could not win the elections scheduled for June 1952, Fulgencio Batista overthrew President Carlos Prío’s regime in a bloodless and masterfully executed coup d’état on March 10.  The coup was almost entirely dependent on army backing and caught the Cuban population, as well as Prío and his followers, by surprise.  Batista …

This Day in Cuban History – March 10, 1952. Fulgencio Batista overthrew President Carlos Prío’s regime in a bloodless and masterfully executed coup d’état. Read More »

On March 8, 1896, General Valeriano Weyler, Cuba’s Spanish Governor, issued a military report announcing that the island’s Western provinces were now under the Spanish army control and that the rebels were in full retreat.  It read: “Our troops have chased the rebels, caught up and defeated them on the field.  The remnants of their army are …

This Day in Cuban History – March 8, 1896. General Valeriano Weyler, Cuba’s Spanish Governor, issued a military report announcing… Read More »

By February 26, 1898, the biggest circulation duel between the New York powerful newspaper publishers, Joseph Pulitzer (The World) and William Randolph Hearst (The Journal) was in full swing.  The Americans and their press closely watched events in Cuba.  No foreign event had aroused and sustained the American public’s interest like the Cuban War for …

This Day in Cuban History – February 26, 1898. The biggest circulation duel between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst was in full swing. Read More »

Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue), organized by Jose Basulto in 1991, with financial support from individual donors and several exile groups to fly over the Florida Strait to spot balseros so that the United States Coast Guard could find and rescue them.  By May 1995, they had five planes, 35 volunteer pilots and …

This Day in Cuban History – February 24, 1996. Hermanos al Rescate. Cuban air force Migs blew two of them out of the sky, killing the four occupants. Read More »

On February 24, 1895, Cubans restarted, with the Grito de Baire, the war for independence against Spain that began in 1868-1878.  Marti’s pilgrimage throughout the Americas in the 1880’s and 1890’s helped to unite and organize the Cubans.  With Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez, Marti worked tiressly toward the realization of Cuban independence.  So well …

This Day in Cuban History – February 24, 1895. Cubans restarted, with the Grito de Baire. Read More »

At dawn on February 17, 1957, Herbert Matthews, The New York Timesjournalist, met with Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra.  The meeting took place ten weeks after the “Granma” landing disaster (December 2, 1956). There were lingering doubts as to whether Castro was dead or alive.  This meeting turned out to be one of Castro’s biggest …

This Day in Cuban History – February 17, 1957. Herbert Matthews, The New York Times journalist, met with Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra. Read More »

On February 15, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine blew up and sank in Havana’s harbor killing 268 officers and sailors.  The armored cruiser had come to protect American citizens after Spanish officers’ riots three weeks earlier. In 1976, Admiral Hyman Rickover conducted an inquiry into the cause of the Maine’s demise.  The result of his investigation, …

This Day in Cuban History – February 15, 1898. The U.S.S. Maine blew up and sank in Havana’s harbor killing 268 officers and sailors. Read More »

Paz (or Pacto) de Zanjón.  Armistice signed February 11, 1878, to end the Ten Year’s War (1868-1878).  It won neither Cuban independence nor the abolition of slavery, but it freed all slaves who had fought in the rebellion against Spain, and guaranteed an amnesty to rebel émigrés, and gave Cuba the same political rights as …

This Day in Cuban History – February 11, 1878. Paz (or Pacto) de Zanjón. Read More »

On February 10, 1896, Captain General Valeriano Weyler arrived in Havana and was welcomed by an enthusiastic pro-Spanish population.  The new military governor was quick to realize the severity of the insurrection on the island.  In an address to the crowd in front of the Governor’s Palace, Weyler said, “I shall not hesitate to punish …

This Day in Cuban History – February 10, 1896. Captain General Valeriano Weyler arrived in Havana. Read More »