"THEY were never able to bring us to our knees, and there is no power in the world that can do it," affirmed President Fidel Castro during his closing remarks at the main event in Havana celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs victory.

During a speech of just over two hours, the Cuban president looked back at the Bay of Pigs invasion (known in Cuba as Playa Girón), financed and organized by the government of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and considered to be the first great military defeat of the United States in the Americas.

As an exceptional witness to those events, having led the defensive actions on the ground, Fidel – wearing his usual olive green military uniform –paid emotional tribute to the Cubans who fell during those days.

"Seeing the faces of these young people," he said, showing a poster with photos of the victims of aggression, "one feels like they, so young, so full of life and hope, are here with us now."

Referring to Cuba’s victories since April 1961, Fidel reiterated that "the history of the Revolution is the history of Girón many times over," and told more than 3,000 veterans of those events assembled at Karl Marx Theater that he had "solid hopes that the new generations will be like you."

During another part of his speech, referring to the military exercises being carried out by the United States in the Caribbean Sea, he affirmed that "those little boats going around out there don’t scare anybody."

In response to a Girón veteran who shouted out, "We’re old, but when it comes to defending the Revolution, we’re young," the leader humorously said, "Who says we’re old?" Even at the age of 500, "we have the sacred duty of dying young," he stated.

The Cuban president transmitted a message of optimism to his compatriots, predicting further progress in the fields of energy, services to the population, and education. Cuba is doing better than ever, and we are optimistic, he emphasized.

Citing reasons for his confidence in the future, Fidel noted that over the last month-and-a-half, the country’s electric power generating capacity has grown at a pace of 80,000 kilowatts per week.

He noted that in Cuba, power outages are becoming less and less frequent, and that progress will continue to be made on solving that problem as part of the national energy revolution underway.

Fidel affirmed that Cuba also sees a promising future ahead for public healthcare, education and other areas, but commented that he would not provide any more details because the enemy is always maneuvering to wreck the Revolution’s work.