El General Huyó al Amanecer (The General Ran Away at Dawn)

Cuba celebrates tomorrow the 54^th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, which was led by Fidel Castro Rúz and a group of very courageous people. You probably already know the names: Raúl, Ché, Camilo, Almeida and many more.

On January 31^st, 1958, Cuban dictator General Fulgencio Batista knew that he could not stay any longer at the presidential palace in Havana, or at the Columbia Military Barracks, outside of the capital. He realized promptly that he was doomed, and what was surely next for him. If he stayed in the island, he would have to stand, with his back against a wall, facing a firing squad of the soon-to-be-victorious Revolutionary Army of the 26^th of July Movement. He abandoned the island early at dawn on the following day, the start of the new year, 1959.  

Cuba's horrible nightmare was finally over!

At the end, the U.S. government abandoned their favorite puppet and dictator, a poorly educated mestizo who rose to power by murdering his political opponents. The American government had supported him very strongly since his coup d'etat on March 10, 1952. Millions of U.S. taxpayers dollars had been wasted propping-up a doomed Fascist who faced the wrath of the people. Dictators like Batista and Somoza were the favorite “democrats” that the American government loved to support in the mid 20^th century.