Cubans recall purpose of José Martí’s unfinished letter

The letter, dated May 18, 1895, during the war in eastern Cuba, defines the principles and objectives of the struggle for independence, which restarted on February 24 of that year.

In that document, considered his political testament, Martí warned about the expansionist appetites of the United States and the existence of an annexationist movement in the Cuban society that is away from the claim of liberty.

The national hero wrote in the text his willingness to die to achieve the freedom that would also sustain the sovereignty of other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“I am in daily danger of giving my life for my country and for my duty, to timely prevents the United States expansions over the Antilles and falling with this additional force over our lands in America,” he asserted.

The document is considered by those who study Marti’s work as one of the major political documents written by the founder of the Cuban Revolutionary Party.