[6] On December 31, 1958, at a New Year's Eve party, Batista told his cabinet and top officials that he was leaving the country and resigned.

[7] At 3:00 a.m. on January 1, 1959, Batista boarded a plane at Camp Columbia with 40 of his supporters and immediate family members[8] and flew to Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.

[10][11][12] Immediately after the flight of Batista, members of the Revolutionary Directorate of 13 March Movement occupied the University of Havana, and the Presidential Palace.

[14] The rebel army columns led by Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos reached Havana by January 2.

[18] After arriving in Havana, Castro ordered the Revolutionary Directorate to stand down, causing them to abandon their occupied positions.

[18] Fidel Castro elaborated that weapons hoarding was pointless considering the shift to democracy, specifically stating:[21] When all the citizen's rights have been restored, when elections are to be called as soon as possible - arms for what?

[24] Moreover, a 22 January 1959, Universal Newsreel broadcast in the United States and narrated by Ed Herlihy featured Fidel Castro asking an estimated one million Cubans whether they approved of the executions, and being met with a roaring "¡Si!"

[25] The holdiay known as the "Triumph of the Revolution" (Spanish: Triunfo de la Revolución), also known as Liberation Day (Spanish: Día de la Liberación), is a celebration in Cuba of the anniversary of the victory of the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959 which established the present government in Cuba.

[27][28] U.S. President Donald Trump released a statement in 2017 only to be met with resistance from the Cuban government labeling it "controversial" and "ridiculous".