In the predawn darkness of January 1, 1959, an airplane lifted off from an airstrip at Camp Columbia, a military base located on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. Aboard the aircraft were Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar and members of his family. Hours earlier, Batista had resigned as president of Cuba. He had decided to step down when he heard from his military commanders that Cuba’s demoralized army could no longer prevent revolutionaries from seizing Santa Clara, a key town in central Cuba. Before departing, Batista named Supreme Court Justice Carlos Modesto Piedra as Cuba’s new president. He also handed over command of the military to General Eulogio Cantillo.