The province of Matanzas, also famous for the beautiful beach of Varadero, has 36% of its area covered by wetland landscapes where the Zapata Swamp, known worldwide because there is Playa Giron, where 54 years ago, a tall stands cost in human lives, the militias and the Cuban army defeated organized, financed and armed mercenary invasion by the government of the United States.
Fifteen hundred heavily armed mercenaries could not in April 1961 to create a beachhead which receive official support from Washington, and also failed to destroy the stunning beauty and riches of the Cienaga de Zapata, which appears in the List of Wetlands of International Importance Convention of Ramsar, established in 1971.
And the Cienaga de Zapata is not the only Cuban wetland, since 9 comma 3 percent of the territory of the archipelago of Cuba, ie 10 000 410 square kilometers, are occupied by wetlands considered high fragility and vulnerability.
There wetlands in the provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Camagüey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Isla de la Juventud, but the largest and best preserved of all is the Cienaga de Zapata that develops primarily on karst soil, being significant cave-system that runs parallel to the southern coast of Matanzas, with spectacular caverns.
A real treasure of Cuban biodiversity where also the people fought a decisive battle in defense of national sovereignty, the cost of 176 dead, 300 wounded and 50 disabled, which is on the agenda of the imperialist aggression against Cuba.
Translated by: Daysi Olano Fernandez
