Celia Sánchez prepares support for the Granma landing

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.

Eighty-two revolutionaries sailed from Tuxpan aboard the overcrowded yacht Granma to begin an armed struggle in Cuba.

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.

Local residents and organizers helped scattered expeditionaries evade government patrols and reach the Sierra Maestra.