Díaz-Canel recalled the beginning of the struggles for independence

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recalled the beginning of the struggles for Cuba's independence from the Spanish metropolis in 1868.

From his Twitter profile, the president wrote: It is #10DeOctubre, the first date of the Homeland and the fight for its sacred independence. The #CubanRevolution, what we are today, began on that day in 1868. Viva #CubaLibre!

On October 10 of that year, the lawyer Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, considered the Father of the Homeland, proclaimed the beginning of the emancipation war from his sugar mill La Demajagua, while freeing his slaves.

The struggle for independence initiated in eastern Cuba ignited the flame of the armed insurrection that in that first stage lasted 10 years; it was followed by the so-called Chiquita War (1879-1880) and the War of Independence (1895-1898), organized by José Martí and whose total victory was frustrated by the U.S. intervention in the conflict.

After more than half a century of neocolonial Republic, imposed by the powerful northern neighbor, on January 1, 1959 the island achieved its definitive independence with the revolutionary triumph of the Rebel Army, led by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.