Contramaestre, Dec. 27. On December 27, 1958, the troops of the tyrant Fulgencio Batista, who were defending the city of Palma Soriano, 32 kilometers from Contramaestre, surrendered before the thrust of the Rebel Army. In the south of the former Oriente province, only the 102nd Company of the tyranny, entrenched in the thick concrete warehouses of the Bank of Agricultural and Industrial Development of Cuba (BANFAIC), remained stubbornly fighting in Maffo.
Radio Rebelde radio station broadcast the war report from the Rebel Army Command in the Sierra Maestra announcing the liberation of Palma Soriano:
“…! Last hour! Last hour! Palma Soriano taken by the Rebel Troops. 286 prisoners. 354 weapons occupied. Repetimos We have received from the General Command the following report:
Rebel Troops of Columns 1 and 3 of the Rebel Army (…) occupied today the city of Palma Soriano. The city was taken by assault, after 5 days of violent combats, while Columns 9 and 10 cut off all reinforcements from Santiago de Cuba.
The Central Highway was cleared from the vicinity of Bayamo to Santiago de Cuba. Another enemy Battalion under the command of Commander Leopoldo Hernandez Rios, has been besieged in Maffo by forces of Columns 1 and 3 for 17 days.
The troops of the dictatorship have taken refuge in a solid building owned by BANFAIC (Banco de Fomento Agrícola e Industrial de Cuba) which is located in the center of the town of Maffo. Since early this morning, a mortar 81, a 37 millimeter cannon and a T 17 tank have been pounding the position with uninterrupted fire while the enemy air force tries to help the besieged battalion.
Proposed image “The BANFAIC under siege 50 years ago”.
“…Ten thousand enemy troops are overrun in Oriente province. The enemy troops of Camagüey are also isolated between the forces of Oriente and our invading columns that under the command of Commanders Ernesto Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos have seized most of the province of Las Villas. The collapse of the tyranny is imminent.
Signed Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz”.
That December 27, the Commander in Chief of the Rebel Army, met with Lieutenant Antonio Regueira Luaces, representative of the encircled forces and in the BANFAIC of Maffo and argued to him about the uselessness of the resistance since the besieged troops had almost no food and the command of the dictatorship could not send reinforcements from other points of the island of Cuba.
The aviation of the tyranny continued its bombing of Maffo on December 27, destroying the few houses that remained standing but without any progress in its attempts to help with food packages to the forces confined in the BANFAIC.
Proposed images: Houses destroyed in Maffo by the tyranny’s bombs”.
Aware of the seriousness of the situation, the military command of the Bayamo military region, sends a report to the General Staff of Batista’s Army, explaining the need to maintain the aerial bombardments to dislodge the rebel forces from the town of Maffo.
Meanwhile, Commander Fidel orders the reinforcement of his detachments with a T-17 armored vehicle, an 81 millimeter mortar and a 37 millimeter cannon. The population of Maffo continued to stand firm with the Rebel Army combatants in the siege of BANFAIC on December 27, 1958.
Aware of the seriousness of the situation, the military command of the Bayamo military region sent a report to the General Staff of Batista’s Army, explaining the need to maintain the aerial bombardments to dislodge the rebel forces from the town of Maffo.
With astuteness, Colonel José Aguiar García, Chief of Operations of Bayamo proposes to publish a leaflet so that the people of Maffo abandon their houses and cease their support to the rebel forces stationed there.
Commander Fidel orders the reinforcement of his detachments with a T – 17 tank, an 81 mm mortar and a 37 mm cannon.
There was no time to publish the leaflet. The population of Maffo continued firm together with their brothers of the Rebel Army in the encirclement of BANFAIC.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)