Reflections by Comrade Fidel
An Honest Clarification
Some days ago, on May 28, the violent battle waged at
El Uvero was commemorated with well deserved references. An elemental duty
forces me to clarify the facts.
During those weeks, Manuel Piñeiro, “Red Beard”, as the
leopard, who never changes its spots, as the saying goes, managed to send to
That learning period had been extremely tough. Step
by step we started to gain our first victories, through which we were able to
increase our strength in weapons and men without suffering any casualty. We
were also forced to cope with the dangerous treason perpetrated by Eutimio
Guerra, who had been a rebel peasant until the moment when he yielded to the
bountiful offers made by the enemy. Despite all obstacles and with the support
of the men and means sent by Frank we began to create the first guerrilla detachment
with a vanguard that was headed by Camilo; a rearguard that was commanded by
Efigenio Ameijeiras; the centre forces made up by small platoons and the
General Command.
We already had a group of seasoned fighters who had conveniently adapted
to the conditions of the theatre of operations when we received a significant
cache of weapons that were rescued by “Red Beard” and had been conveyed to us
hidden inside some barrels filled with thick grease.
Was it correct, from the military and revolutionary
points of view, to attack the entrenched and well armed garrison close to the seashore,
in the same place used to ship the timber extracted from that area? Why did we
do so?
It so happened that at that time, on the month of
May, the “Corynthia” expedition had already landed, headed by Calixto Sánchez
White. A strong feeling of solidarity
made us launch the attack against the military garrison at El Uvero.
In full honesty I should say that the decision
adopted, leaving out the merit of the solidarity it entailed wasn’t in the
least correct. Our role, which prevailed
over any other goal, just as had been the case throughout our entire
revolutionary life, was not in accordance with that decision.
I remember the first gunshot I made with the
telescopic sight rifle that I had, aiming to the radio communication equipment
of the garrison. After that shot, tens
of bullets were fired against the enemy command post. That was why the adversary did not know that
its garrison was under attack. Thus, at least for three hours neither bombs nor
shells were shot against us, something that usually happened, without
exception, hardly 20 minutes after the beginning of every battle. Without the
presence of these factors, it was quite likely that this decision, which was
only inspired by solidarity, would have reduced our troops of almost one
hundred veterans, in which case we would have had to go through the same
hazardous journey all over again, something that would have been for us the
best case scenario.
It was under such circumstances that Almeida was shot
in the chest; he was spared from a far more serious wound thanks to something made
of metal that he was carrying in his pocket, as he remembered. Guillermo García, wearing a helmet he found
for himself in the first combat, waged a hard-fought battle with the defender
of a fort made of thick logs. Che, who was shooting with a machine gun that usually got jammed,
left his position in order to engage those who were fighting Almeida. And Raúl moved on with his small platoon to
fight the soldiers who entrenched themselves among the piles of logs that were
ready for shipment. All this happened
before the fighter bombers came into the scene.
Julio Díaz, a courageous fighter who was shooting with a tripod, could
not advance any further. He was lying by
my side with a deadly gunshot in his forehead.
Is there a better understanding now about what
happened on
Fidel Castro Ruz