Luanda - The Minister of National Defence and Homeland Veterans, João Ernesto dos Santos, on Sunday congratulated his Cuban counterpart, Álvaro López Miera, on the 68th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada barracks.
In the congratulatory message, that reached the Angolan news agency Angop, João Ernesto dos Santos said that, at the moment of celebration of the 1959 Cuban revolution's victory over Fulgencio Baptista's regime, it is an appropriate occasion to exalt the epic of the handful of fearless and brave fighters that, with bravery and determination, did not give in to all kinds of adversities so that freedom, peace and social progress would triumph.
According to the Angolan government official, the Cuban revolution and its security and defence bodies, in particular, have been an example of constant overcoming, in the face of the unpredictability and vulnerability prevailing in the international political scenario, where states are increasingly focused on defending their national interests, which are almost always not in line with those of their competitors.
"Even so, Cuba has been proactive to the constraints of the new times, which include the Covid-19 pandemic, for which they have already created their own vaccine (Soberana 2), with which they are successfully preventing and combating the consequences of pandemic silent and rapid rate of infection," states the message.
On 26 July 1953, the young lawyer Fidel de Castro, together with 165 other men, carried out an assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, in an attempt to seize the bases of the barracks, arm the population and overthrow the government of Fulgencio Baptista.
Thus began the Cuban Revolution, which on 1 January 1959 triumphed against the Baptista regime and led to a new government, headed by Fidel Castro.
