The 26th of July Movement attacked the Moncada Barracks on the 26th of July 1953. This operation was led by Fidel Castro and aimed to seize weapons from the army facility in Santiago de Cuba.
Fidel Castro founded the 26th of July Movement after his release from prison in 1955. Eighty-two men sailed aboard the boat named Granma from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico on the 2nd of December 1956 but only twenty-two eventually regrouped in the Sierra Maestra mountain range.
Frank País served as chief of action for the Oriente province within the 26th of July Movement. He centralized operations under a core leadership known as the National Directorate before his assassination by Santiago police in July 1957 triggered mass demonstrations across the island.
Radio Rebelde began broadcasting on the 24th of February 1958 from the Sierra Maestra mountains to allow revolutionaries to speak directly to the Cuban people about their goals and policies. This station invited foreign journalists like Herbert Matthews to witness their actions firsthand and generate sympathy among ordinary citizens.
The 26th of July Movement integrated into the Integrated Revolutionary Organization in July 1961 alongside other groups like the Popular Socialist Party. A new entity called the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution formed on the 26th of March 1962 which dissolved the original movement structure to adopt a communist ideology.