Granma departs from Mexico

Castro arrived in Mexico, where Cuban exiles recruited supporters, raised funds and prepared for guerrilla warfare.

Soon after Castro’s arrival, the Argentine doctor Ernesto Che Guevara joined the planned expedition and its anti-imperialist project.

In a speech to expatriates, Castro defended insurrection against Batista and appealed for money and political support for a return to Cuba.

Mexican authorities arrested Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other expedition members, temporarily disrupting their preparations.

Fidel Castro and José Antonio Echeverría agreed to coordinate opposition to Batista while maintaining their organizations’ autonomy.

Inside Cuba, Sánchez and the Oriente underground organized guides, supplies and contacts for the expedition expected from Mexico.

Frank País led an armed urban uprising intended to divert Batista’s forces and support the Granma expedition.

Urban fighters openly confronted the dictatorship, demonstrating that resistance extended beyond the future rural guerrilla front.

Espín worked with Frank País’s underground network during the armed action that challenged Batista in Cuba’s second city.

The expedition landed late at Las Coloradas in difficult mangrove terrain, far from its planned meeting with the urban underground.