Before the birth of the Republic in 1902, the inhabitants of Cuban port cities were the victim of the outrages of the U.S. Marines who called at port in the largest of the Caribbean islands. Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Gibara and Caibarién were among the localities “besieged” by the Marines on “goodwill” visits or to adjust the screws during their maneuvers and training trips. Until the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Uncle Sam’s envoys were linked to alcohol, drugs, prostitutes, gambling and other degenerate acts, and they were the ones who caused sensational fights that were difficult to forget. Parque Central events In 1949, the “cordiality” government of Carlos Prío Socarrás was abounding in gangs, shortages and the black market, the assassination of union leaders and a fierce censorship of freedom of the press. Even so, the ruler of the Authentic Party was still missing the culmination: that some Marine “pranksters” desecrate the statue of José Martí in the Parque Central. On March 10 the Palau aircraft carrier, the minesweepers Rodman, Hobson and Jeffreys and the Papago tug boat, belonging to the U.S. Navy, anchored in the port of Havana and, on the following day, at...