标签： Cuba

HAVANA – On a Saturday marked by remembrance of Cuba’s centuries-long fight for sovereignty, Cuban officials officially announced the full schedule of commemorative events for the 68th anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution, scheduled to take place on January 1, 2027. The announcement comes against a backdrop of growing economic and political pressure from the longstanding United States blockade against the Caribbean nation, which Cuban authorities say has intensified in recent years.

The announcement was made during a national ceremony honoring the 158th anniversary of the start of Cuba’s wars of independence from Spanish colonial rule. José Ramón Monteagudo, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and head of the Party’s Agri-food Department, delivered the keynote address at the event, which was also attended by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, other members of the PCC Political Bureau, and senior state and government officials.

In his remarks, Monteagudo framed the 1959 revolutionary triumph as the fulfillment of the independence vision first laid out by Cuba’s founding father Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who launched the anti-colonial struggle on October 10, 1868, by freeing the people he had been enslaved and calling on Cubans to rise up against Spanish rule. Monteagudo noted that Céspedes issued an early warning about the expansionist ambitions of U.S. political leaders toward the island – a warning that Monteagudo emphasized remains deeply relevant today, as Cuba navigates renewed external pressure from Washington.

“The Revolution stands as a living, enduring force,” Monteagudo stated, crediting its persistence to the unwavering solidarity of the Cuban people and the foundational legacy of revolutionary leaders Fidel Castro, the former Commander-in-Chief, and Army General Raúl Castro.

The multi-week commemorative period leading up to the January 1 anniversary has been designed to center the continuity of Cuba’s revolutionary process, honor the decades of popular resistance the country has maintained amid external interference, and uplift the political, historical, cultural and social values that have shaped the modern Cuban state. Monteagudo stressed that national unity around the Communist Party of Cuba remains the country’s most valuable strategic asset in facing external challenges.

Key planned activities for the anniversary include national tributes to Cuba’s independence and revolutionary heroes and martyrs, programs to reinforce the country’s national defense preparedness, accelerated work on key socioeconomic development priorities, and continued rollout of the nation’s ongoing structural transformation agenda.

Monteagudo called on all Cuban political organizations, mass grassroots movements, and state institutions to ramp up preparations for the anniversary, prioritizing broad public participation to deliver meaningful progress for the Cuban people tied to the historic milestone.

Against the severe economic strain caused by the intensifying U.S. blockade, Monteagudo reaffirmed the Cuban leadership’s unshakable conviction that national unity, steadfast commitment to sovereignty, and collective faith in a sovereign future are an invincible force. To address current economic challenges and deepen Cuba’s socialist development project, the country has already approved 176 targeted socioeconomic reforms across 23 distinct thematic areas, Monteagudo confirmed. These reforms are focused on advancing social justice, expanding national wealth generation, and ensuring that new prosperity is distributed equitably across all Cuban communities. Successful implementation of these changes, he added, depends on the shared understanding and active, intentional participation of every sector of Cuban society.

The 1959 revolutionary victory that Céspedes’ independence ideals made possible, Monteagudo concluded, imposes a daily responsibility on all Cubans to continue building a nation that is more just, fully sovereign, and unwaveringly committed to international solidarity.

On the morning of Thursday, October 8, a solemn, emotionally charged gathering unfolded in Portocarrero Hall at Cuba’s Palace of the Revolution, bringing together senior Cuban government and party leaders alongside a cross-section of young activists to mark the anniversary of Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s death in combat decades ago.

Opening the intergenerational discussion, Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, First Secretary of the National Committee of the Young Communist League (UJC), framed the event as a commitment to keeping Guevara’s political ideology relevant and alive, in direct opposition to efforts by his opponents to erase his legacy. The gathering was also attended by other senior Cuban officials, including Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Party’s Central Committee, and Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman Waugh.

Carlos Tablada, a Doctor of Economic Sciences and president of Ruth Casa Editorial, shared insights from decades of rigorous research into Guevara’s economic thought, work first published in the 1980s that reshaped public discourse in Cuba and continues to challenge contemporary society. Addressing the young audience, Tablada urged attendees to embrace a rebellious spirit, reject complacency, and uphold Guevara’s unwavering commitment to ethics, noting that “the day we lose our ethics, we lose everything.” He also highlighted Guevara’s sharp analytical foresight, recalling that the revolutionary had predicted the collapse of the Soviet bloc 25 years before it unfolded.

Doctor of Historical Sciences Daily Sánchez Lemus followed, describing October 8 as a landmark date for national reflection, pointing to widespread tributes held across Cuban schools for each new generation. She emphasized that Cubans carry a historic responsibility to preserve Guevara’s legacy beyond symbolic statues and monuments, particularly as his anti-imperialist values and commitment to constant improvement grow more resonant amid growing geopolitical hostility toward the island. Sánchez also urged young Cubans to continually ask a critical question: In the current hostile global context, what would Che Guevara do?

The meeting’s “Guevarist Voices” segment showcased grassroots work led by young Cubans across the island, proving that Guevara’s legacy of solidarity and resistance remains active in daily life. Attendees heard from Leanet Proenza del Hoyo, lead coordinator of Farma Joven (Young Pharmacy), a UJC-led solidarity initiative that now connects more than 1,000 volunteers via digital platforms to deliver free medication to low-income communities, elderly residents, nursing homes, children’s shelters and maternity facilities, with donations sourced from youth organizations across the globe. Dr. Alejandra de la Cruz Moreno, a recent graduate and Farma Joven coordinator for East Havana, added that the network has expanded beyond regional borders, with 30 young medical volunteers recently supporting work at Centro Habana Pediatric Teaching Hospital, establishing an on-call contingency ready to respond whenever needed.

Other young representatives from the Community Youth Network shared accounts of their ongoing projects, including free meal delivery for children, mobile community cinema screenings, and professional training for social workers. They emphasized that as heirs to Guevara’s legacy, young Cubans maintain a spirit of resistance even amid sustained external pressure, without losing their core compassion for vulnerable communities.

A particularly moving testimony came from a Palestinian orthopedics resident and graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), who hails from the Gaza Strip. He recalled Guevara’s historic visit to Palestine, where the revolutionary recognized the unyielding, un-surrendering spirit of the Palestinian people. He expressed profound gratitude for Cuba’s open-arms welcome to him and hundreds of other Palestinian students, and shared that the Palestinian people have reciprocated that solidarity by donating medication to Cuban hospitals. He closed his remarks by embracing President Díaz-Canel, explaining that the gesture represented an embrace of the entire Cuban people.

Closing the gathering, Cuban President and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez noted that the tribute takes on special meaning in the centenary year of Fidel Castro Ruz, highlighting the deep principled friendship and mutual admiration between Guevara and Castro. He echoed the core sentiment of the day: “Che Guevara has not died; Che Guevara has multiplied,” noting that the young leaders in attendance are living proof that new generations carry forward Guevarist humanism, which remains the backbone of Cuba’s resilience amid difficult global and domestic challenges.

Díaz-Canel highlighted that Guevara’s legacy of resistance to external dominance is the core of Cuba’s ability to withstand ongoing pressure, noting that the revolutionary’s altruism, austerity, honesty and commitment to giving everything without expectation of reward continue to shape the country’s values. He revisited Guevara’s iconic concept of the “New Man” — a vision championed by Fidel Castro — stating that nurturing this ideal remains critical to building a better world, and that Cuba must continue to embed Guevara’s values into daily national life. “Being like Che is very difficult,” he acknowledged, “but even the aspiration to emulate him brings us much closer to his virtues.”

Reflecting on his own personal connection to Guevara’s legacy in his native Santa Clara, Díaz-Canel recalled the emotional national moment when Guevara’s remains were returned to the province for interment, remembering how even international revolutionary figures like Spanish dancer and communist militant Antonio Gades were overcome with emotion at the mausoleum. Closing his remarks with a distinctly Guevarist message, Díaz-Canel emphasized that Guevara remains present every day in the work of young Cubans across the island, declaring: “the present is a time of struggle; the future is ours.”

On October 8, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, used the second installment of the nationally broadcast radio program *Criterio Compartido* (Shared Views) to lay out a people-centered approach to addressing public grievances and advancing policy solutions from the grassroots level.

Speaking from the studios of Radio Rebelde, the head of state opened the discussion by updating listeners on progress made in addressing concerns raised during the program’s debut broadcast. He emphasized that the agenda of *Criterio Compartido* is not crafted in government offices, but shaped directly by the input of Cuban citizens: their opinions, proposals, anxieties, and complaints directly drive what topics the program covers. “This is an agenda we are building together; it is an agenda we are building with the people,” he told the audience.

Díaz-Canel shared detailed data from the first broadcast, noting that 23 callers placed 24 separate contacts to the program. Of these submissions, eight were categorized as formal complaints, with five found to be fully justified and three partially justified. Another nine contacts covered broad concerns of general public interest. To date, the most frequently raised issues center on access to basic public services, with water supply, electricity reliability, and sanitation topping the list of citizen concerns.

All citizen submissions to the program are transcribed verbatim and forwarded immediately to the relevant Party and government bodies for review and action, the President explained. He clarified that immediate resolutions are not always possible for complex, long-standing issues, but mandated that any response must include a clear explanation for citizens and consistent follow-up until the matter is resolved.

Beyond basic services, a wide range of economic and social topics were raised by callers, including economic and social equity, expanded support for retirees and other vulnerable populations, boosting domestic food production, deepening citizen participation in governance, and strengthening popular oversight of public institutions. When addressing growing public concern over commodity prices, Díaz-Canel announced that a future full broadcast will be dedicated exclusively to the issue, and outlined the government’s core strategy: “We will resolve this by producing more and offering a greater supply of goods and services to our population.”

A central theme of the President’s remarks was a push to reorient governance around local community action. He stressed the urgent need to maximize existing local capacities, and better coordinate those resources with both state and non-state economic actors to solve problems closer to where citizens live. “The community is the most strategic space we have; it is where life happens, and where the full potential of our people’s talent and capacity for participation lies,” he said.

On the topic of domestic food production, Díaz-Canel highlighted three key priorities: putting all available unused land into active production, speeding up bureaucratic processes for land allocation to producers, and strengthening local production networks and public-private partnerships to boost output.

Turning to ongoing instability in Cuba’s national electric grid, the President reported that new mitigation efforts are already underway, including a plan to install photovoltaic solar systems at every bank branch across the country. The measure, he explained, was developed in direct response to public dissatisfaction and service disruptions tied to the ongoing national banking integration process. Despite the challenges, Díaz-Canel reaffirmed the government’s commitment to continuing the rollout of banking integration, saying that work is ongoing to solidify the reform’s core foundational goals.

He closed the broadcast by confirming that all issues raised by citizens during the program will receive formal follow-up from responsible institutions, and called for expanding this model of direct, open dialogue to all levels of governance, from institutional work to community and municipal administration. “We are listening to the people, learning from the people, and—as a people—we are seeking solutions,” he said.

October 8 marks a date forever tied to the legacy of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a guerrilla commander whose influence extends far beyond the ritualized, surface-level tributes that often accompany calendar-based commemorations. Long after his death, Che remains an unavoidable, unignorable figure in global conversations about justice, resistance, and collective struggle – a truth the Cuban journalist Mario Ernesto Almeida Bacallao underscores in this reflection on the revolutionary’s enduring relevance.

Popular culture has cemented Che’s image as a global icon: his bearded portrait printed on posters, etched into tattoos, and worn as a symbol of rebellion by generations of activists. Songs of the mid-20th century leftist movement and the books he wrote and read have become tied to his public persona, creating a familiar, often sanitized brand of his legacy that is easy to pull out for annual memorials. But Almeida Bacallao argues that Che’s importance cannot be contained to these comfortable, curated reminders.

His presence does not only emerge in casual anecdotes or soft nostalgic reminiscence of a bygone revolutionary era. Instead, Che forces his way into the most fraught, contentious, and painful public debates – cutting through the noise of disillusionment, political polarization, and simmering public anger to make his mark felt even when powerful forces work to erase him.

Throughout modern history, critics and opponents of revolutionary change have deployed every rhetorical and intellectual trick to push Che out of legitimate political discourse. In eras that frame incremental compromise as “rational” politics, he is dismissed as a reckless madman. When elites tout a false, oppressive calm that maintains unequal status quo, he is labeled an inherently violent extremist. Moderate political actors, feigning compassion for marginalized groups while advancing policies that harm them, accuse him of being cold and uncompromising. In moments where political power prioritizes short-term, incremental gains over systemic change, he is written off as an outdated figure ill-suited to modern problems. Even in self-styled liberal democracies that frame themselves as beacons of freedom, Che is routinely tarred as an authoritarian to discredit any call for radical redistribution of power.

Yet despite these sustained efforts to sideline him, Che continues to step into global political conversations unbidden, sustained by millions of working men and women across the world who embrace his vision. Those who invoke his legacy today face the same labels used to discredit him: madman, violent, extremist, outdated, authoritarian. Still, they carry his memory forward – some openly reciting his speeches, carrying the fire of his conviction, pushing against long-accepted political boundaries that entrench injustice; others invoke his ideals quietly, without fanfare or even conscious recognition of their debt to his thinking.

Che does not schedule his appearances in organized, sanctioned memorial events when debates over the future of global justice heat up. Instead, he becomes an uncomfortable, accusatory presence in collective consciousness during moments when reactionary forces cloak their oppressive agendas in the language of progress, sanity, and democracy. When abusive power uses violence to suppress change, when inequality hardens into heartless policy, when authoritarianism hides behind the rhetoric of democratic performance, Che’s legacy disrupts the false narratives that sustain the status quo.

Almeida Bacallao emphasizes that it is ordinary, living people who protect and sustain Che’s legacy, beyond the token tributes of annual commemorations. These are people who carry his image and his ideas not as a fashion statement, but as a living guide to struggle – cutting through the sanitized popular culture depictions to embrace the radical core of his commitment to anti-imperialism and economic justice.

It is the collective conscience of the people that keeps Che’s legacy alive. The reflection closes with a timeless question and a conviction that has sustained revolutionary struggle for generations: For how long will the people carry this legacy forward? At the risk of sounding idealistic or even absurd to critics, the answer remains the same it always has: until victory.

On October 8, 2026, Cuban revolutionary leader Army General Raúl Castro Ruz extended official congratulations in a written letter to the entire community of the University of Medical Sciences of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (UCIMED-FAR), marking the institution’s 45 years of operation and contribution to Cuban national defense and public health.

The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces publicly released the full text of Castro’s letter through its official Facebook page. Per institutional arrangements, Division General Ramón E. Rodríguez Morfa, Chief of the FAR Logistics Directorate, delivered the message in person during a commemorative ceremony hosted at Havana’s Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital.

Opening his message, General Castro extended warm recognition of the institution’s cumulative achievements across its 45-year history. Founded in 1981, UCIMED-FAR was established with the core mandate of training skilled medical professionals to serve both the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and the broader civilian population. Over four decades, the general emphasized, the university has upheld rigorous academic standards to graduate thousands of clinicians and medical specialists, who now deliver critical healthcare services to active military units, run military medical facilities across the country, and extend care to all Cuban citizens.

A key highlight of Castro’s message centered on the institution’s commitment to integrating political and ideological formation with cutting-edge technical and scientific medical training. He noted that this dual focus stands as a lasting tribute to the mambí and rebel doctors who served during Cuba’s wars of independence, where medical professionals risked their own safety to treat wounded troops – and even provided care to enemy combatants, embodying the core values of Cuban medical ethics.

Closing the letter, General Castro reaffirmed that safeguarding Cuba’s national unity and sovereign independence remains the nation’s highest priority in the current global context. He expressed clear pride in UCIMED-FAR’s consistent record of fulfilling all mandates assigned by Cuba’s national leadership and military command, noting the institution’s work remains central to the country’s ongoing national development.

The anniversary ceremony was presided over by top Cuban military leadership, including Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, who serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. He was joined by Army Corps General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, First Deputy Minister of the FAR and Chief of the General Staff.

Beyond the reading of Castro’s congratulations, the event included a series of institutional milestones: commemorative anniversary seals were presented to participating departments, two key medical specializations – Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Toxicology – received official “Excellence” accreditation for their academic and clinical programs, and honorary Doctor Honoris Causa titles were conferred on Doctors of Science José Hernán Salas and Eloy Andrés Frías in recognition of their decades-long contributions to Cuban medical science and education.

On October 6, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez led a solemn commemorative gathering at the José Martí Memorial in Havana’s Revolution Square, marking 50 years since the CIA-backed terrorist bombing of a Cubana de Aviación airliner off the coast of Barbados that killed 73 innocent people. Opening the event, Díaz-Canel, who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, framed the tribute as both an act of collective remembrance and a bold reaffirmation of the Cuban people’s long-running resistance against foreign-backed terrorism and aggression.

“This gathering centers on preserving historical memory, denouncing the ongoing impunity that protects the perpetrators of these crimes, and reaffirming our revolutionary convictions amid the complex challenges our nation faces today,” Díaz-Canel told attendees. The event brought together a cross-section of Cuban society: family members of the Barbados bombing victims and those killed in other terrorist attacks targeting Cuba, young fencers from the national team, veteran combatants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), leading academic scholars, and prominent public figures from across multiple sectors. Senior Cuban government and party leaders also participated, including Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, Party Central Committee Organization Secretary Roberto Morales Ojeda, and Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, Hero of the Republic of Cuba and national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), who moderated the open exchange.

During the event, family members of terror victims shared their decades-long experiences of grief and resilience. Cristina Valenzuela Corcho, whose mother Adriana Corcho was killed in the 1976 terrorist attack on the Cuban embassy in Portugal, spoke of the consistent support her family has received from the Cuban people over the past 50 years. “This history cannot just be locked away in textbooks for future generations to read about,” she said. “It is a part of our daily lives, a part of who we are as a people.” Ileana Alfonso, daughter of Demetrio Alfonso, one of the 73 victims killed in the Barbados bombing, recalled fulfilling her father’s dream of earning a degree in Physical Culture and building a career in sports, but noted that no achievement can erase the permanent grief of losing a parent at a young age. A veteran employee of Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), Alfonso urged young Cuban fencers to draw inspiration from the 24 members of the 1976 national fencing team who were on the doomed flight, fresh off winning every gold medal in their sport at the Central American and Caribbean Games. She emphasized that dedication and discipline are the core values that allow Cuban athletes to honor their homeland and its heroic legacy in every competition.

Seily Mendoza, a current national fencer and Central American champion, echoed that sentiment, noting that the unfulfilled dreams of the young athletes killed in the bombing continue to motivate new generations to commit themselves to national service and deliver glory for the Cuban people. Antonio Guerrero, one of the internationally recognized Cuban Five anti-terrorism fighters, recalled that he and his comrades were just young people when the Barbados atrocity occurred, and that the attack steeled their resolve to defend the Cuban Revolution at any cost. Echoing historic remarks made by Fidel Castro in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, Guerrero noted, “We Cubans are a resilient, determined people who stand firm against injustice. Challenges will always come, but our entire nation stands ready to defend our revolution.”

Addressing the crowd, Díaz-Canel spoke as a member of the generation born in the early years of the Cuban Revolution, a generation whose lives have been shaped by the decades-long U.S. economic blockade and the trauma of the 1976 Barbados bombing. He recalled the somber national mood that followed the mid-flight sabotage of the civilian airliner on October 6, 1976, and the historic funeral oration delivered by then-Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, emphasizing the enduring pain that the victims’ families have carried for half a century. The president stressed that the exchange at the José Martí Memorial was intended to center the voices of victims for the entire nation, and particularly for young Cubans, to ensure that the truth of the attack is preserved for current and future generations.

Díaz-Canel highlighted the central role of the 1976 young fencing team in the tragedy, noting that the flight was a journey of hope for athletes returning home fresh off a historic win. “These young people had done nothing to harm the United States. This was a senseless, unjustifiable act of revenge rooted in resentment and arrogance, targeting completely innocent people,” he said. He recalled Fidel Castro’s words that the fencers, with their hard-won medals, earned a permanent place among Cuba’s national martyrs.

The president went on to frame the relationship between Cuba and the United States as a fundamentally asymmetric one, where Washington has consistently acted as the aggressor and Cuba as the victim of foreign-backed terrorism. “What cannot be ignored is that despite decades of aggression, the Cuban people have never surrendered, and we never will,” he said. “That is why preserving historical memory and passing these truths on to our children, grandchildren, and all future generations is so critical.”

Díaz-Canel reiterated Cuba’s strong condemnation of the double standards and impunity exercised by global hegemonic powers, calling out the United States for its hypocrisy in listing Cuba as a supposed state sponsor of terrorism, even as Washington has backed more terrorist attacks against Cuba than any other nation in the world. He reminded attendees that the two masterminds of the Barbados bombing, Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, never faced any legal punishment for their crimes, and that this impunity was no accident: it was a deliberate political decision by the U.S. government. “We do not combat hatred by generating more hatred in return,” Díaz-Canel said, outlining Cuba’s ethical stance. “We overcome hatred by standing firm, resisting, building, and remaining true to our history and our legacy.”

Fifty years after the attack, the Cuban leader emphasized, the nation has a clear, inalienable right to demand the full declassification of all Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files related to the bombing, and to demand that the United States end its policy of shielding terrorists who operate from U.S. territory against Cuba. He added that the threat of terrorism has not disappeared: violent attacks against Cuba continue to be planned and supported from abroad, and the U.S. continues to fuel global terrorism today, while maintaining and intensifying its long-running economic blockade and punishing energy embargo against the island nation.

Closing the gathering, Díaz-Canel reaffirmed the core purpose of the event as both remembrance and resistance, telling families of terror victims: “Your pain is the pain of all the Cuban people. We know no solace can fully erase such profound loss, but our entire nation stands with you. We speak the names of your loved ones every October 6, and we will never stop demanding justice and the full truth. This anniversary is not just a day of sorrow: it is a day to reaffirm our unwavering condemnation of terrorism in all its forms. Your pain is our pain, you are not alone, your loved ones’ memory is our national memory, and your cause is the cause of all Cuba.” Echoing the unbroken resolve of the Cuban people that has defined the 50 years since the attack, Díaz-Canel closed: “Just as we stood firm 50 years ago, Cuba does not surrender, Cuba is not for sale, and Cuba does not forget.”