Historical Organization
Moncada movement
Moncada movement
Details
Organization Timeline
Rebels assemble for the Moncada operation
đź“… 26 July 1953Young opponents of Fulgencio Batista gathered before dawn for coordinated attacks in Oriente. The action challenged a dictatorship created by the 1952 military coup.
Attack on the Moncada Barracks begins
đź“… 26 July 1953A force led by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The failed assault later gave its date and symbolism to the July 26 Movement.
Rebels occupy the civilian hospital
đź“… 26 July 1953A group led by Abel SantamarĂa took the Saturnino Lora Civil Hospital as part of the Moncada plan. Many participants were captured after the assault failed.
Raúl Castro’s group occupies the Palace of Justice
đź“… 26 July 1953RaĂşl Castro commanded a detachment assigned to the Palace of Justice overlooking the Moncada complex.
Simultaneous attack at Bayamo
đź“… 26 July 1953Revolutionaries attacked the Carlos Manuel de CĂ©spedes Barracks in Bayamo to hinder reinforcements from reaching Santiago.
The Moncada assault is defeated
📅 26 July 1953The attackers lost the element of surprise and withdrew. Batista’s forces then pursued, tortured and killed many captured rebels.
Abel SantamarĂa is captured
đź“… 26 July 1953Abel SantamarĂa, a principal organizer of the operation, was captured and later killed in custody during the repression following Moncada.
Women revolutionaries preserve testimony of the attack
đź“… 26 July 1953HaydĂ©e SantamarĂa and Melba Hernández survived imprisonment and later helped circulate Fidel Castro’s defence speech.
Fidel Castro addresses the Moncada participants
đź“… 26 July 1953Before the attack, Castro framed the action as a struggle to restore popular sovereignty and the democratic Constitution of 1940.
Women support the Moncada operation
đź“… 26 July 1953HaydĂ©e SantamarĂa and Melba Hernández participated directly, preserved testimony and later helped reproduce the political programme of the movement.
Artemisa revolutionaries suffer heavy losses
📅 26 July 1953A significant group of young workers and activists from Artemisa joined the attacks; many were killed after capture by Batista’s forces.
Castro presents a five-point reform programme
đź“… 16 October 1953The Moncada defence demanded land for tenants, profit sharing for workers, support for small farmers, honest government and restored constitutional rights.
Moncada defence links MartĂ to social revolution
📅 16 October 1953Castro invoked José Martà while arguing that formal independence had not ended inequality, foreign economic domination or political corruption.
Released rebels return to political organizing
đź“… 15 May 1955The freed Moncada participants were welcomed by supporters and began rebuilding an opposition movement against Batista.