United States recognizes the new government

2 January 1959

Guevara’s column entered the capital and took control of La Cabaña fortress.

2 January 1959

Cienfuegos took control of the country’s largest military installation, completing the collapse of Batista’s command in Havana.

2 January 1959

Workers kept transport, communications and major workplaces halted until the military succession collapsed and the Rebel Army controlled the capital.

3 January 1959

A Santiago speech presented military victory as the start of social reconstruction and insisted on vigilance against elite restoration.

5 January 1959

The revolutionary coalition installed Judge Manuel Urrutia as provisional president.

7 January 1959

The Eisenhower administration extended diplomatic recognition to Cuba’s revolutionary government.

8 January 1959

Castro’s Caravan of Freedom reached the capital after a journey from Santiago marked by mass rallies.

8 January 1959

In a nationally broadcast speech, Castro warned that victory did not mean that every problem had been solved.

21 January 1959

A huge Havana rally defended revolutionary trials of officials accused of torture and murder under Batista, amid international criticism.

21 January 1959

The mass gathering asserted popular support for the new government while debating revolutionary justice and the crimes of the dictatorship.

23 January 1959

On his first foreign visit after victory, Castro thanked Venezuelans for solidarity with the Cuban struggle.

People in this event