Mexico City and the port of Veracruz Celebrate 200 Years of Honor and Loyalty of the Heroic Military College
With the presence of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), and the people of Veracruz commemorated 200 years of honor, loyalty, and patriotism of the Heroic Military College at its recently rehabilitated cradle and generational bastion, the Fortaleza de San Carlos.
“Veracruz is one of those few places that preserves buildings from all times and tells stories through struggles of resistance: independence, liberalism, revolution, and transformation,” said Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, convinced that the invasions that occurred over time shaped the character but never broke the spirit of Mexicans.
Proud to have the first headquarters of the institution in Perote, he thanked the Government of Mexico for the opportunity to accompany and support its rescue, acknowledging the contribution of state agencies and the municipality, allowing the venue to tell and maintain its history.
At the same time, the Secretary of National Defense, General Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, highlighted the determined commitment and support of the Veracruz governor in the restoration of the institution, a witness to many battles and the final resting place of Mexico’s first president.
“To talk about the College is to talk about the dream of many young people, turned into reality through their training with a common goal: to give everything for the honor of Mexico,” he said, noting that two centuries later, we enjoy an inheritance of values, traditions, and prestige that help us understand our great identity.
Today, the Casa de Moneda (Mint) joins the effort to preserve this legacy through a commemorative circulating coin with a value of 20 pesos. It is dodecagonal in shape, with a diameter of 30 millimeters, a silver-plated core, and a bronze-aluminum ring. The obverse side displays the national coat of arms, and the reverse side features the emblem of the armed institution with the microtext “Por el honor de México” (For the honor of Mexico).
The coin bears the inscription “Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional-Bicentenario del Heroico Colegio Militar 1823-2023” and was presented by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mexico, Omar Mejía Castelazo, who announced that it will be available for exchange in the coming days, “enhancing the numismatic tradition and strengthening Mexican identity.”
After calling the roll of the heroes of the Military College and the Naval School, the President witnessed rifle salutes by six companies and listened to the poetry “Fortaleza de San Carlos,” recited by cadets Silvia Dalila Zamudio Villa and Hendric Manuel Méndez Corrales.
For this special occasion, he presented the Bicentennial Medal of the Heroic Military College to Generals Enrique Cervantes Aguirre, who served as the director of the institution from 1980 to 1983 and as the head of SEDENA from 1994 to 2000; Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, who directed the academy from 1997 to 2000 and held a high-ranking position in SEDENA from 2012 to 2018; and Jorge Antonio Maldonado Guevara, the current director of the Military College.
The latter received commemorative plaques from the military colleges of Germany and Canada, as well as the Brazilian Army Medal and the Monja Blanca decoration, from the embassies of Brazil and Guatemala, presented by their respective Defense Attachés: Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Krull, Colonel Alain Veilleux, and Colonel Marcio de Lima Riveiro, in addition to Ambassador Marco Tulio Chicas Sosa.
The ceremony was attended by members of the federal cabinet and undersecretaries, commanders of military regions and zones, authorities from the National Lottery, Mexican Postal Service, and National Guard, legislators, and delegations from military academies in Belize, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The event concluded with the sound of the Tres de Diana march, the lighting of the torch with the Fire of Loyalty, and the singing of the anthems of the Heroic Military College and the National Mexican Anthem, accompanied by artillery salutes. This was followed by a tour of the streets, chapel, and Guadalupe Victoria’s room in the Fortaleza de San Carlos, and the signing of the distinguished visitors’ book.
TYT Newsroom
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