La Coubre: memories of a tragedy.

The fury accumulated during more than a year of Revolution was unleashed that afternoon that was immortalized as an eternal reminder of the challenge that the largest of the Antilles represents to imperialism and ratified the indomitable, unbreakable and perennial strength of its people.

Every March 4th, the shadows of the violent attack perpetrated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency resurface and the pain still felt by the Cuban people for this vile attempt to destabilize their Revolution emerges once again.

That afternoon in 1960, the initial calm was interrupted by the hustle and bustle of port workers unloading 31 tons of grenades and 44 tons of ammunition from the French ship La Coubre, destined to strengthen the defense of the Island. However, the sound of an explosion transformed the atmosphere, plunging the area into a blanket of desolation.

The power poles shook, the ship’s crewmen were thrown into the air and the roof of the warehouses vanished at that instant. And in an act of unusual savagery, while a massive group of soldiers of the Rebel Army, the National Revolutionary Police, firemen and citizens came to the rescue of the victims, a second explosion took more innocent lives. The toll was devastating: about a hundred dead, nearly 400 wounded and more than 30 missing.

Mourning and indignation were reflected in the faces of Cubans during the burial that took place the following day. Led by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz at the Colón Cemetery, this act not only commemorated the victims, but also condemned the brutal policy of U.S. imperialism against Cuba and exalted the determination and fortitude of the people in the face of adversity.

This attack went down in history as one of the most heinous terrorist acts orchestrated by the CIA, part of a larger plan that included bombings of sugar mills and attacks on cities and designed to instill fear and weaken the Cuban economy. The fury accumulated during more than a year of Revolution was unleashed that afternoon which was immortalized as an eternal reminder of the challenge that the largest of the Antilles represents to imperialism and ratified the indomitable, unbreakable and perennial strength of its people.

Written by Yadiel Barbón Salgado.