It was used as counter-propaganda to the Batista dictatorship and to inform the Cuban people about the mission of the July 26 Movement.
"As for the dissemination of our ideas, first we started a small newspaper, El Cubano Libre, in memory of those heroes of the jungle.
Three or four issues came out under my directorship; it was later edited by Luis Orlando Rodriguez, and subsequently by Carlos Franqui, who gave it new impetus.
"El Cubano Libre was established by Guevara in November 1957 in the Sierra Maestra.
[1] Guevara took the name from a paper published by Cuban patriots during the independence wars against Spanish colonialism in the 19th century.