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edge of a sugarcane field near the tiny village of Alegría del Pío, unaware that a local peasant had informed the authorities of their presence in the area. Cuban troops surprised and routed the revolutionaries in a brief firefight. The survivors fled in all directions, hiding out wherever they could, individually or in small groups. Most were captured—and many of them were executed—in the days that followed. The Cuban government initially reported that Fidel Castro had been killed. But that wasn’t the case. A sympathetic peas- ant concealed Castro, along with several other revolutionaries, in his home. Eventually, the group trekked into a rugged, jungle-covered mountain range, the Sierra Maestra. There, the remnants of the revolutionary expedition reunited. Of the 82 who had started out from Tuxpan, just a dozen remained. In addition to Fidel Castro, they included Raúl Castro, the leader’s younger brother;

Revolutionaries camped in the Sierra Maestra, 1957.

Revolution 9