Courtroom speech turns Fidel Castro into Cuban hero

When he was brought to trial by the Batista dictatorship in 1953, Fidel Castro gave a four-hour speech called "History Will Exonerate Me."

Fidel Castro is interrogated after the attack on the Moncada barracks. Photo: BBC.

The late Cuban president Fidel Castro's eloquence and great speaking ability were first known in 1953. After being brought to court for the Moncada barracks attack, he defended himself with a speech lasting more than 4 hours called "History will exonerate me", according to Marxist.org.

Castro made his first court appearance on September 21, 1953, in Santiago, Cuba, along with 100 other defendants, including 65 civilians who had not directly participated in the attack. Fidel Castro, a former lawyer, decided to defend himself in court. He claimed that his actions were against the unconstitutionality of the Batista dictatorship.

He attended the second hearing on September 22, but was absent from the third hearing (September 25). Castro sent a handwritten letter to the judge requesting special protection, after receiving threats against him in prison. The court granted Castro's request, but allowed him to defend himself in a separate case later.

The defenses of Castro and his comrades were so successful that only 31 people were convicted, most of them receiving light sentences. Nineteen guerrillas were exonerated, along with 65 civilians. Four of the leaders of the attack, including Fidel Castro's brother Raul, were sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Fidel Castro himself appeared in a separate trial on October 16, 1953, where he spoke for four hours in his defense and outlined his plans for Cuba. During the trial, Cubans became angry at the treatment of prisoners by the Batista government.

The content of the speech was not recorded, but later President Fidel Castro turned it into the manifesto of the 26th of July Movement he led. The ending paragraph became the name of the speech:

"I know that prison will be harder for me than for anyone else, filled with cowardly threats and hideous brutality. But I do not fear prison, nor do I fear the wrath of the brutal dictator who took the lives of 70 of my comrades. Convict me. It does not matter. History will exonerate me."

A local judge called Batista’s office to complain, while the bishop of Santiago called for Castro’s pardon and sought support from Cuba’s elite. Despite his 15-year prison sentence, the trial turned Castro into a hero in Cuba.

According to VNE