SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� On a farm in southeast in October 1868, an event known as 鈥淭he Cry of Yara鈥� sparked the island鈥檚 quest for independence.
But it wouldn鈥檛 arrive until May 20, 1902.
First came the 鈥淕reat War,鈥� which lasted nearly 10 years, then the 鈥淟ittle War,鈥� which prevailed for more than a year. Then there was the Cuban War of Independence, followed by the Spanish-American War.
Cuba eventually became independent, but the socialist government doesn鈥檛 celebrate the date, and neither do its supporters on the island.
Why Cuba doesn’t celebrate Independence Day
Cuba鈥檚 independence in 1902 was tied to the Platt Agreement, introduced by a U.S. senator from Connecticut. It gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs 鈥渇or the preservation of Cuban independence鈥� (among other things) and allowed the U.S. government to lease or buy lands to establish .
While the agreement was repealed under former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Cubans.
鈥淭here is only one thing to be grateful for on that day,鈥� Cuban President wrote Wednesday on X. 鈥淚t instilled in Cubans of that time an anti-imperialist sentiment that each subsequent generation has felt deepen with new and constant threats to the independence and sovereignty of the nation.鈥�
He added that May 20 represents 鈥渋ntervention, interference, dispossession, frustration.鈥�
Some Cubans do celebrate May 20
Cubans and those of Cuban ancestry in the U.S. and elsewhere who oppose the revolution and socialist government celebrate May 20.
鈥淚t is their 4th of July,鈥� said Jason Reding Qui帽ones, Miami鈥檚 top U.S. federal prosecutor and son of a Cuba political refugee.
On Wednesday, he joined officials to announce , who is accused in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles over Cuban waters.
Reding said May 20 鈥渞eminds us that the pursuit of freedom, dignity and accountability spans generations and still lives alive and well in the heart of the Cuban community.鈥�
May 20 is a politically charged date
The on Wednesday issued a lengthy presidential statement commemorating May 20. It saluted and remembered those 鈥渨ho have sacrificed for a free Cuba,鈥� and cheered new sanctions and the severing of financial lifelines to the island.
鈥淭he regime in today is the direct betrayal of the nation their founding patriots bled and died for,” the statement read. 鈥淔or nearly seven decades, the island鈥檚 communist government has violently dismantled political freedom, denied its people fair elections, viciously silenced dissent, and strangled the Cuban economy into a state of collapse.鈥�
Response from the Cuban government was swift.
Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister called the statement 鈥渟uperficial and ill-informed鈥� in a post on X, adding that it was an 鈥渋nsult鈥� to the people of Cuba.
Cuban officials also decried that chose to release a video message in Spanish on May 20, hours before Castro’s indictment was announced. Rubio accused the Cuban government of plundering billions of dollars and leaving people on the island without electricity, fuel or . He denied that a was to blame.
The Cuban government celebrates Jan. 1, 1959 as its true Independence Day, marking the moment revolutionaries triumphed and forced dictator Fulgencio Batista to flee.
Rodr铆guez asserted that 鈥渢he Revolution put an end to almost six decades of economic and political control by the United States, with three military interventions and the political and military support of two bloody dictatorships.鈥�
Cuba also celebrates July 26, known as National Rebellion Day. It commemorates a failed 1953 attack that led up to the revolution.
The foreign affairs minister said the island 鈥渉as every right鈥� to continue being a free and independent country in charge of its political and economic affairs: 鈥淐uba will defend that right at any cost.鈥�
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