26 July 2025
On the tabernacle of the universe, where the sun and the moon are the mother of all, is the fascinating geological and geographical beauty of the post colonial Antilles, on the peak of the mountain ranges of the Andes, from Colombia into Chile, Blue mountains of Jamaica, Baoruco of Haiti, Cochabamba of Bolivia and Sierra Maestra of Cuba, in the swarming rainforest of the Amazon and Choco, the desert formations of Atacama in Chile and Petagonian in Argentina.
Enthralling picturesque of Cachacrou, where powerful waves of the Atlantic ocean and turquoise waters of the Caribbean sea converge, the historical architectural sites of the ancient civilisations of the Incas and the Maya, chronicle historiography of resistance, resilience and heroism, colosseum of revolutionary struggles for freedom of humanity.
At the bosom of the Caribbean sea, wondrous world of some of the most beautiful creatures of our universe, bequeath illuminating revolutionary spirit, of a legendary figure, charismatic, handsome rebel soldier of the July 26 Movement, Commander Camilo Cienfuegos, whom today, on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of the movement of the people, I declare in his memory, the sea trenches, submarine Canyons, Arches and Coral reefs, where his mortal remains disappeared, the beautiful garden of the blossoming flower of the world revolutionary movement.
Born during the year 1932 from a humble background of a working class family, he abandoned his studies at an early age, due to lack of resources. Being a son of a tailor, having grown in a home with a pair of sewing machines, found work at a fashion store in Havana. Where he worked hard, ensuring that he compliments his father, taking care of the needs of his family.
His moral consciousness was baptised in the revolutionary struggles at the age of twenty-three, when he participated in a demonstration organised by Fidel Castro, the leader of the July 26 Movement, commemorating the living memories of Antonio Maceo, the hero of the Cuban wars of independence. It was during the historic day, that the repressive police of the dictator Batista, hit him with a bullet on his leg, incurring serious wounds.
The fateful moment was in his own words, the turning point of his involvement in the struggles for the freedom of his people. He says: “They carried me to the student clinic, where I experienced one of the greatest emotions of my life, when more than hundred people gathered there at the entrance, broke into cheers and applause, when they carried me up, and I felt such an emotion.
“I felt I was about to cry, and I yelled out: ‘Viva Cuba’ I was sure then, that whatever it cost, Cuba had to be free, in my way of thinking, there was only one dignified road towards ending the present situation, to follow the cause of Fidel.”
The mounting repression from the regime, forced him into exile in the United States of America, where he became active within the underground cells of the Cuban political exile groups, exposing human rights abuses and atrocities, committed by the vicious Batista regime, against the peace-loving people of Cuba. He wrote many articles and journals, about the deteriorating political situation in Cuba, the work which exposed him to the US security services, forcing him into exile in Mexico.
On arrival he joined contingent of young Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, preparing themselves to wage arms struggle, to overthrow the oppressive government, of the dictator Fulgencio Batista. He became part of the nucleus of 82 men and women, who undertook the grandma expedition, landing at the Sierra Maestra mountains, launching a guerrilla warfare, to liberate their country.
In one of the letters wrote to Fidel during the war against the regime at Sierra Maestra, he writes: ”We went to the pantheon where the Apostle fell and placed a flag and bouquet of roses, the flag of the 26 July movement. We did a minute of silence, in memory of the fallen heroes and heroines and two shocks of a rifles. It is unnecessary to tell you that the aviation later machine-gunned the surroundings.”
His extraordinary feats of discipline, distinguished him as the most trusted soldier of the revolution, rising to the ranks of one of the commanders of the rebel army, leading heroic men and women, into hundreds and hundreds of battles, against the most superior and sophisticated army of the repressive regime. He led the courageous column of Antonio Maceo, into decisive battle of Yaguajay, forcing dictator Batista to flee the country.
After the triumph of the revolution on the 1st of January 1959, he was appointed the Chief of the Army of the revolutionary government of Cuba, playing a central role in the reorganisation of the army of the people, cultivating ethos of a new society, based on fundamental principles of human solidarity and internationalism. He became instrumental in consolidating the gains of the revolution, against all odds from counter revolutionary insurgents.
On the 28th of October 1959, whilst on an official assignment from Camaquey to Havana, his plane disappeared in a mist of a devastating hurricane storms, signalling the destiny of the heroic life of the leader of the people. The remains of the plane and bodies of the crew could not be found till today.
The disappearance of the Chief of the Army, was a great loss to the revolutionary government, as Camilo was the embodiment of the struggles for the freedom of the people of Cuba, the people of Latin America and the world. In memory of the enigmatic leader of the revolutionary government of Cuba, thousands of people every year, on the occasion of the anniversary of the fateful day of his disappearance, throw beautiful flowers of roses into the sea.
During his last speech at the Presidential palace of Havana, two days before his fateful disappearance, he said the following: “Because to stop this very Cuban revolution an entire people have to die, and if that were to happen the verses of Bonifacio Byrne would be a reality. If it breaks into small pieces, it becomes my flag one day, our dead, raising their arms, they will still know how to defend it. Brothers, the revolution is done, your blood did not fall for nothing.”
Conveying the sad news of his disappearance to the Cuban nation and the world, the Commander-in-Chief of the revolution, Fidel Castro, has to say the following emotional words of kindheartedness: “Camilo disappeared in the middle of a storm, in our country, there are many Camilos, and Camilo will continue to live in other men like him, he will continue to live in men who are inspired by him.
“The only thing we can ask our people is that, whenever the country finds itself in a difficult situation, in a moment of danger, remember Camilo and every time our compatriots see that the road is long and difficult, they remember Camilo, what he did, how he never lost faith in most difficult moments and how he knew how to do great feats.
“Men like Camilo Cienfuegos emerged from the people and lived for the people. Our only compensation for the loss of a companion so close to us, is to know that the people of Cuba produce men like him. Camilo lives and will live in the people.”
In an emotional tribute to the living memories of his close friend, Comrade-in-arms and compatriot, Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, had to express the following words of condolences: ”Camilo was the subject of a thousand anecdotes; he created them naturally wherever he went.
“To his ease of manner, always appreciated by the people, he added a personality that naturally and almost unconsciously put the stamp of Camilo on everything connected with him. Few men have succeeded in leaving on every action such a distinctive personal mark.
“As Fidel has said, he did not have culture from books; he had the natural intelligence of the people, who had chosen him out of thousands for a privileged position on account of the audacity of his blows, his tenacity, his intelligence, and unequalled devotion. Camilo practiced loyalty like a religion.”
Commander Che Guavara referred to Camilo, a companion of hundred battles, as Fidel trusted man in difficult times of war and a selfless fighter who always made sacrifice an instrument to temper his character and forge that of a troop. He declared that Camilo was Camilo, the Lord of the Vanguard, the commander of the people, a complete guerrilla man, who prevailed for that war with colour that he knew how to do.
One of the remarkable woman guerrilla fighters of the Grandma expedition, Vilma Espin says the following about the life and times of Camilo: ”Camilo is a legendary figure, it is the idea that I have of Camilo, even of his same name nothing common, full of strength and poetry at the same time. If we invented a name for a legendary character, we call him Camilo Cienfuegos .
“The same death of Camilo, lost in the sea, the way to commemorate it, throwing a flower to the water and all those his exploits, are actions of a legend.”
Camilo Cienfuegos was unwavering in his commitment to the struggles for the freedom of the people, as he eloquently, during his last speech at the Presidential Palace in Havana said: ”It does not matter what cunning and cowardly betrayals they may commit to these people and this revolution, it does not matter that mercenary planes come manned by war criminals and protected by powerful interests of the North American government, because here there are people that do not allow themselves to be confused by traitors.”
Over the past decades, since the triumph of the revolution, the Cuban nation suffered the most inhumane and longest recorded economic blockade in the history of the struggles of human society, the unjust and unilateral blockade imposed by the Yankee empire of the United States of America. The economic blockade has inflicted unimaginable destruction of socio-economic life of the Cuban society, which is tantamount to crimes against humanity.
History has declared the Cuban revolution, the only one to have defeated the most powerful US military empire in the American hemisphere. The defeat of the US military at the battle of Playa Giron and the declaration of the socialist character of the revolution, the declaration of operation Carlota on the soil of the African continent, prompted the ideological warfare at the backyard of the empire.
The Cubans have the right to choose the path for their own destiny, they have the right to decide on their own democracy, based on the will of the majority of the people, defending the territorial integrity and independence of their motherland. In the world of humanity, the Cuban revolution has become a standard bearer of the value systems of solidarity and internationalism.
The generation of Camilo Cienfuegos contributed immensely for the realisation of the paramount ideals, of the struggles for the freedom of humanity, the struggles for the better future, of human dignity, the future of hope, peace and tranquility. The contribution of his generation is more than history itself, they have given the world unparalleled future, what shall be of greater humanity,
On the occasion of the anniversary celebration of the birth of the 26th July Movement, we call upon the people of the world to demand the immediate end of the illegal economic blockade against the peace-loving people of Cuba. We make a call to the President of the United States of America, His Excellency Donald Trump, to lead the world society into a new rostrum of the age of peace and stability.
We call for the greater world of human solidarity and internationalism, the world of equality and mutual respect amongst nation states, the world of diplomacy and prosperity, in doing so, we shall achieve more than the ancient world of human archipelago, leading society from the age of barbarism into the age of modernity, this is the noble prize future generations shall bestow unto us, our gracious hearts to all humanity.
We the people of the African continent, shall forever be indebted to the courage and heroism, to the humane character of the Cuban revolution. We shall forever cherish the immeasurable contribution to the cause of the independence of the African continent against imperialism and colonial domination.
Camilo Cienfuegos is the image of the ideal future, the hallmarks of his tenacity, heroism, selflessness and devotion to the cause of our struggles for freedom, his undying spirit, deep in the beautiful garden at the bosom of the Caribbean sea, is the hope of the future of the universe, his fervent revolutionary soul, charisma, his enigmatic smile, is what the future represents. His undying spirit is the embodiment of the ideal future world, the triumph of humanity against adversity, in Camilo there is the future.
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Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso is a member of the African National Congress, writing this article in his personal capacity.