July 26, 1962 - Premier Fidel Castro said at a rally in Santiago today that the U.S. is preparing direct armed aggression against Cuba. He charged the U.S. Navy was holding the Guantanamo naval base “against Cuba’s will” and that it had become “a lodging for drunken inhabitants and counterrevolutionaries.” The Premier spoke at a ceremony commemorating the 9th anniversary of the 26th of July Movement. The name of the movement refers to the date in 1953 when a group of rebels, including Castro, attacked the Moncada Barracks. Cubans, the Premier said today, must work harder but “not neglect our defense — on the contrary, strengthen it.” As a flight of Cuban Air Force jet fighters swept overhead, Premier Castro said: “That is nothing more than the prelude.”
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