Army troops of the
VII Corps 3rd Infantry were stationed here immediately following the war until April 1899. Columbia later became a training camp for the
Republic of Cuba (1902–1959). This camp would later be the military headquarters for the Cuban military, and the site of several revolutionary events in the early half of the twentieth century.
Fulgencio Batista and
Manuel Benitez Valdés were both stationed here, and this was the location of the first events of the
Cuban Revolution of 1933. On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro held a rally at Camp Columbia Airfield. The Camp was redesignated as "Camp Freedom" (Ciudad Libertad) by the communist government, until its closure in 1961. The Camp Columbia Airfield briefly became a part of
Ciudad Libertad Airport. == References ==