Camp Columbia (Havana)
| Camp Columbia | |
|---|---|
 | |
.svg)  Camp Columbia | |
| Coordinates | 23°05′31″N 82°26′18″W / 23.09194°N 82.43833°W |
| Type | Military base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
|
| Condition | Re-designated Camp Freedom (Ciudad Libertad) and Ciudad Libertad Airport |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1889 |
| Demolished | 1960 |
Camp Columbia (Spanish: Campo Columbia) was a military post in Havana constructed by the United States Army during the Spanish–American War and the Cuban War of Independence.[1]
History
[edit]Army troops of the VII Corps 3rd Infantry were stationed here immediately following the war until April 1899.[2]
Columbia later became a training camp for the Republic of Cuba (1902–1959).[3]
This camp would later be the military headquarters for the Cuban military, and the site of several revolutionary events in the early half of the twentieth century. Fulgencio Batista and Manuel Benitez Valdés were both stationed here, and this was the location of the first events of the Cuban Revolution of 1933.[3]
On New Year's Eve of 1958, the highest-ranking officials in the Batista government arranged to exfiltrate the country from Camp Columbia Airfield. At 3am on New Year's Day of 1959, three large aircraft lifted off from this airfield, marking the official end of the Cuban Revolution, and the transition of the country to communism under the Castro regime.[4]
On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro held a rally at Camp Columbia Airfield.[5][6]
The Camp was redesignated "Camp Freedom" (Ciudad Libertad) by the communist government, until its closure in 1961.[7] The Camp Columbia Airfield became Ciudad Libertad Airport.
References
[edit]- ^ "Spanish American War Camps". usgennet.org. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ "TRACKS: LA HABANA, CAMP FREEDOM". www.gdecarli.it. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ a b Barallobre, Abel Rojas (2017-02-21). "Trabajo terminado". Cubaperiodistas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-22.
- ^ "Faget: 'Spy' talk was only business". www.latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ Watts, Jonathan (2014-12-19). "Cubans look to future with optimism in wake of historic breakthrough". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ "PHOTOS: Fidel Castro has died at age 90". The Denver Post. 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ TVE-UCPEJV-CUBA (2019-10-14). DE NUESTRO ARCHIVO: COLUMBIA, DE CAMPAMENTO MILITAR A CEL. Retrieved 2024-10-17 – via YouTube.