1957: La Plata River Post Attack

Cuba History Timeline Events
January 17, 1957
In what he presents as his first military victory, Castro leads a surprise attack on a small Guardia Rural (State Police) outpost at the mouth of the La Plata river in the Sierra Maestra defended by a handful of rural guards. The captured defending troopers are executed on the spot by M-26-7 firing squads. Shortly after this skirmish Castro executed two of his scouts suspected of connections to Batista. He personally kills one of them tied to a tree. These are his first firing squad victims of the thousands more to come. Castro does not mind that the brutal executions are publicly reported since his objective was to terrorize his opponents and the nation at large.

based on Manuel Márquez-Sterling's Cuba 1952-1959 and
Cuba 1952-1959 Interactive Timeline