The protests dispersed with no recorded injuries. We are executing murderers and they deserve it. [104] Although Guevara and Ral were well known for their MarxistLeninist views, Castro hid his, hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries. The most likely candidate, former rural guardsman Felipe Miraval, never denied nor confirmed the possibility. Hugo Chvez by helping him bring to fruition the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Amricas [ALBA]; Alternativa later changed to Alianza [Alliance]), a socialist initiative to promote regional commerce, through which Cuba provided health care professionals to Venezuela in exchange for discounted oil. Manuel was Spanish, from Lncara, Lugo, Galicia. Until the 1990s, he wore combat boots, but due to orthopedic issues, abandoned them for sneakers and tennis shoes instead. Castro's militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July, seizing control and raiding the armoury before reinforcements arrived. Fidel Castro explaining the reforms of the Special Period[320], Castro believed in the need for reform if Cuban socialism was to survive in a world now dominated by capitalist free markets. It was absolutely impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever. Some Americans disagreed with President John F. Kennedy's decision to ban trade with Cuba, and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics. [179] In September 1960, they created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighbourhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns, becoming a conduit for public complaints. [25] Returning to Havana, Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards. His younger brother and successor as president Raul Castro announced the news on . Influenced by Guevara, he suggested that Cuba could evade most stages of socialism and progress straight to communism. [268] Castro's critics accused the government of wasting Cuban lives in these military endeavours; the anti-Castro Center for a Free Cuba has claimed that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in foreign Cuban military actions. Cuban soldiers died in the conflict, with Castro denouncing the invasion and comparing the US to Nazi Germany. At some points, they had to bail water caused by a leak, and at another, a man fell overboard, delaying their journey. He handed over provisional power in July 2006 because of health problems and formally relinquished the presidency in February 2008. He continued to signify his willingness to renew diplomatic relations with the United States, provided that it end its trade embargo against Cuba. Even prior to that, the staunchly anti-communist U.S. government had suspicions about Castros political leanings based on the content of his fiery orationsuspicions that would be confirmed in the first year of the new Cuba, as it aligned itself more and more with the Soviet Union. [470] Ral, who had much more stronger paternal feelings towards his family, was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castro's children, in particular Fidelito and Alina. [407] He preferred to meet foreign diplomats in these early hours, believing that they would be tired and he could gain the upper hand in negotiations. [45] The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election. [317] In August 1994, Havana witnessed the largest anti-Castro demonstration in Cuban history, as 200 to 300 young men threw stones at police, demanding that they be allowed to emigrate to Miami. Castro was sentenced on 16 October, during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title of History Will Absolve Me. Updates? [458] His security was provided by Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT (Ministry of the Interior). [295] From afar in Havana, Castro was closely involved in the decision-making about the defence of Cuito Cuanavle and came into conflict with Ochoa, whom he criticized for almost losing Cuito Cuanavle to a South African-UNITA assault on 13 January 1988 despite warning for almost two months prior that such an attack was coming. "[522] The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Castro "was a hero for many. In 1978 Cuban troops assisted Ethiopia in repelling an invasion by Somalia. [203], Militarily weaker than NATO, Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance. General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro, promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal;[114] however, Batista was warned, and fled into exile with over US$300 million on 31 December 1958. [427] There were no statues or large portraits of him but rather signs with "thoughts" of the Comandante. Photo: Office of Historical Affairs [228] From this conference, Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization (OLAS), which adopted the slogan of "The duty of a revolution is to make revolution", signifying Havana's leadership of Latin America's revolutionary movement. I would not be stopped by the hatred and ill will of a few thousand people, including some of my relatives, half the people I know, two-thirds of my fellow professionals, and four-fifths of my ex-schoolmates. [149], In the summer of 1959, Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners. Fig. After a year's imprisonment, Castro travelled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother Ral Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Whenever he would leave Havana, a fifth Mercedes would join the procession carrying his doctor, nurse, and photographer. [120] Accompanying celebrations at news of Batista's downfall on 1 January 1959, Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism. But because he has the power to leadwe have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction". In what was known as the Mariel boatlift, hundreds of boats arrived from the US, leading to a mass exodus of 120,000; Castro's government took advantage of the situation by loading criminals, the mentally ill, and homosexuals onto the boats destined for Florida. [54] Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks, a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba, Oriente. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Fidel Castro Ruz. 1910-1993. Ral has been consistently dogged by rumors that Angel Castro was not his real father. He provided them with a budget of $13million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia, who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba. [488] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a "remarkable leader" and a "larger than life leader who served his people. Castros main activity at the university was politics, and in 1947 he joined an abortive attempt by Dominican exiles and Cubans to invade the Dominican Republic and overthrow Gen. Rafael Trujillo. [528], "El Comandante" redirects here. She was a teacher who was part of the government's literacy campaign who moved to Havana on Castro's initiative and later moved in with him at. On July 26, 1953, he led about 160 men in a suicidal attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba in hopes of sparking a popular uprising. Alexis Castro Del Valle, born in 1962. [169] On 13 October 1960, the US prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba, initiating an economic embargo. There have been many dictators in human history but none like the Cuban war hero Fidel Castro. Aquarama II, which was decorated with wood donated from Angola, had two double cabins, one for Fidel's personal use, a main sitting room, two bathrooms, a bar, a secure communications suite, and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines gifted from Brezhnev allowing for top speeds of over 42 Knots. "[133] Dinner was his primary meal, consisting of grilled fish, chicken, mutton, or even pata negra ham on special occasions along with a large serving of green vegetables, but was prevented from eating beef or coffee by his dietician. [221] In October 1965, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the "Cuban Communist Party" and published the membership of its Central Committee.[222]. Four Waves. [457], Castro's closest male friends were the members of his immediate bodyguard unit, Escolta or the "Escort". Instead, he advocated hard work, family values, integrity, and self-discipline. Department 1 was for Fidel's security, Department 2 was Ral and Vilma's, and Department 3 was for the members of the Politburo and so on. [371] He did not meet with US President Barack Obama on the latter's visit to Cuba in March 2016, although sent him a letter stating that Cuba "has no need of gifts from the empire". [105] In 1957 he met with leading members of the Partido Ortodoxo, Ral Chibs and Felipe Pazos, authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto, in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform, industrialization, and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections. [356] Describing his brother as "not substitutable", Ral proposed that Fidel continue to be consulted on matters of great importance, a motion unanimously approved by the 597 National Assembly members. [438] The house itself was decorated in a classical Caribbean style, with local wicker and wood furniture, porcelain plates, watercolor paintings, and art books. [137] After meeting Castro, Nixon described him to Eisenhower as: "The one fact we can be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men. [52] From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive, gaining around 1,200 members in a year, the majority from Havana's poorer districts. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Omissions? [172] Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly, speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America. [126] Castro exercised a great deal of influence over Urrutia's regime, which was now ruling by decree. [297] The Cuban troops played a decisive role in the relief of Cuito Cuanavale, breaking the siege in March 1988, which led to the withdrawal of most of the South African troops from Angola. . Considered spoiled by his parents from a young age, he was long considered the "trouble child" of the family. In a desperate attempt to stop the war, Castro had a summit with Barre where he proposed a federation of Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Yemen as an alternative to war. Castro's security consisted of three concentric anillos or rings. [69] Castro was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison (Presidio Modelo), a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos.[70]. Peter Bourne, Castro biographer, 1986[184], In January 1961, Castro ordered Havana's US Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff, suspecting that many of them were spies. In April of that year the U.S. government secretly equipped thousands of Cuban exiles to overthrow Castros government; their landing at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, however, was crushed by Castros armed forces. Shortly thereafter Castro lifted restrictions on those wanting to leave the country, and thousands headed for the United States in the largest exodus since the 1980 Mariel freedom flotilla. In 1998 Castro allowed Pope John Paul II to visit Cuba for the first time. Metadata. Much more affable and outgoing, he was initially trained as an engineer as well but instead became a photographer and cameraman for, Alejandro Castro Del Valle, born in 1969. [344] In 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba, where he highlighted the lack of civil liberties in the country and urged the government to pay attention to the Varela Project of Oswaldo Pay. [403], Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as "fiercely hard-working, dedicated, loyal generous and magnanimous" but noted that he could be "vindictive and unforgiving". "[492], According to political scientists, Castro ruled a single-party authoritarian regime in Cuba. In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent "Old Communists" from office, labelling them "sectarian". In 1993 a daughter he had had out of wedlock while he was a young revolutionary sought asylum in the United States and publicly denounced her fathers government. [271] The Cuban intervention in Angola was envisioned as a short-term commitment, but the Angolan government used the profits from the oil industry to subsidize Cuba's economy, making Cuba as economically dependent upon Angola as Angola was militarily dependent upon Cuba. Angered, Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 Julyblaming Urrutia for complicating government with his "fevered anti-Communism". Text by: Sabina Castelfranco Follow. "Biographers and historians on both poles have treated his life like prosecutors scouring his . [76], In 1954, Batista's government held presidential elections, but no politician stood against him; the election was widely considered fraudulent. [28] In April 1948, the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogot, leading to protests, which Castro joined. Various NAM members were critical of Castro's attendance, claiming that Cuba was aligned to the Warsaw Pact and therefore should not be at the conference. The protesters held up signs that read, "Mr. Kennedy, Cuba is Not For Sale. Shortly after, Castro assumed complete authority over Cubas new government. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. In 1962 the Soviet Union secretly stationed ballistic missiles in Cuba that could deliver nuclear warheads to American cities, and in the ensuing confrontation with the United States, the world came close to a nuclear war. [30] That year, he married Mirta Daz Balart, a student from a wealthy family, through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. [448] Castro, who typically woke up in the late morning, usually had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast accompanied by milk provided from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero; they were all bred to provide milk which suited Castro's demanding taste. [84] Fidel liked him, later describing him as "a more advanced revolutionary than I was". On each trip, he was eager to visit factory and farm workers, publicly praising their governments; privately, he urged the regimes to aid revolutionary movements elsewhere, particularly those fighting the Vietnam War. He was also extremely manipulative; with his formidable intelligence, he was capable of manipulating a person or a group of people without much difficulty. After legal means failed to dislodge Batistas new dictatorship, Castro began to organize a rebel force for the task in 1953. It was long held that Cuban forces were acting as surrogates for the Soviet Union in these Cold War conflicts. This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community. [135], On 16 February 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba. [264] Castro sent troops under the command of General Arnaldo Ochoa to aid the overwhelmed Ethiopian army. Hearing about this, the atheist Castro replied: "Now I understand why I survived Bush's plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination: the good Lord protected me." [291] Gorbachev conceded to US demands to reduce support for Cuba,[292] with Soviet-Cuban relations deteriorating. There Fidel Castro organized Cuban exiles into a revolutionary group called the 26th of July Movement. [513] Balfour stated that Castro's "moral and political hegemony" within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making. [290], In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party; a reformer, he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press (glasnost) and economic decentralization (perestroika) in an attempt to strengthen socialism. Snchez disputes this, saying that his doctor had Castro reduce his cigar usage starting in 1980 and quit entirely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was found in his intestine. He was named Havanas outstanding schoolboy sportsman in 194344, and he excelled in track and field (in the high jump and middle-distance running), baseball, basketball, and table tennis. In March 2011, Castro condemned the NATO-led military intervention in Libya. [526] The biographer Volker Skierka stated that "he will go down in history as one of the few revolutionaries who remained true to his principles". [144] Within a year, Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 per cent of the nation's wealth, declaring that "the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters. His closest and most trusted friend was Ral Castro, his younger brother by five years and longtime armed forces minister. Why should some be miserably poor, so that others can be hugely rich? [117] Cantillo entered Havana's Presidential Palace, proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president, and began appointing the new government. Castro was born in southeastern Cuba. [441], In addition to "Punto Cero", Castro had five other residences in Havana: Casa Cojimar, his initial home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s; a house on 160th Street near the Playa district; Casa Carbonell, maintained by Cuban Intelligence for his covert meetings with representatives of foreign groups or intelligence assets; A beach house in Santa Maria del Mar (next to the Tropico Hotel); and two houses retrofitted with air-raid shelters and connected to the MINFAR command bunkers for use in war: Casa Punta Brava (Dalia's old house before meeting Fidel) and Casa Gallego, near the bodyguards base at Unit 160. Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cuba's leading exports, and even these are produced by a pre-industrial process. [229], Castro's increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR, now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev. [406], Castro was known for working long hours; he primarily woke up laterarely before 10 or 11amand started his working day around noon, and would work until late at night, often only going to bed at 3 or 4am. Although long thinking religious belief to be backward, Castro softened his approach to religious institutions and religious people were permitted for the first time to join the Communist Party. [342] Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying that the US-led war had imposed an international "law of the jungle". Castro responded that "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction. [467] Throughout his rule, Castro never named an official "First Lady" and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary, Celia Snchez or Ral's wife, Vilma Espn, would play such a role of la primera dama. [189] He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television, personally taking over the questioning on 25 April. [326] In 1994 a ministry dedicated to the environment was established, and new laws established in 1997 that promoted awareness of environmental issues throughout Cuba and stressed the sustainable use of natural resources. Many members of the Cuban upper and middle classes felt betrayed by these measures and chose to immigrate to the United States. My mother, even if she didn't say it every minute, loved her children. He became their candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives from a Havana district in the elections scheduled for June 1952. [439] Ral and Vilma's house La Rinconada is located close by on 222nd street. [296] On 30 January 1988, Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castro's plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans. Carlos Pro Socarrs and canceled the elections. In 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana. [5] After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant, Lina Ruz Gonzlez (19031963)of Canarian ancestryas his mistress and later second wife; together they had seven children, among them Fidel. [238] The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane, and to meet its export quota, the government drafted in the army, implemented a seven-day working week, and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest. [87] Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba, where they had gained a large support base in Oriente. [379] His brother, President Ral Castro, confirmed the news in a brief speech: "The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 [EST] this evening. [348] On 21 April, Castro met Wu Guanzheng of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee,[349] with Chvez visiting in August,[350] and Morales in September. [519] Castro defended his government's record on human rights, stating that the state was forced to limit the freedoms of individuals and imprison those involved in counter-revolutionary activities in order to protect the rights of the collective populace, such as the right to employment, education, and health care. [49] Intent on opposing Batista, Castro brought several legal cases against the government, but these came to nothing, and Castro began thinking of alternate ways to oust the regime.[50]. [373] In September 2016, Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani,[374] and later that month was visited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. [313] Castro tried improving relations with the capitalist nations. [150][151][152] He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement, over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities. "[418] During a visit of Jesse Jackson, Castro accompanied him to a Methodist church service where he even spoke from the pulpit with a Bible before him, an event that marked a beginning of increased openness towards Christianity in Cuba. [400] Castro was also described as a poor father; often absent from their lives, he had little interest in the activities of his children and was more interested in his work. [174][175] Subsequently, visited by Polish First Secretary Wadysaw Gomuka, Bulgarian First Secretary Todor Zhivkov, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru,[176] Castro also received an evening's reception from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. [520], Historian and journalist Richard Gott considered Castro to be "one of the most extraordinary political figures of the twentieth century", commenting that he had become a "world hero in the mould" of Giuseppe Garibaldi to people throughout the developing world for his anti-imperialist efforts. [125] Entering Havana, Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency, setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel. Castro remained premier until 1976, when a new constitution created a National Assembly and Castro became president of that bodys State Council. Free farmers' markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth, while US dollars were also made legal tender. [166] Cuba's government ordered the country's refineriesthen controlled by the US corporations Shell and Essoto process Soviet oil, but under US pressure they refused. Under Castro, who seized power in 1959, and his brother Raul Castro, who took . By the 1980s Castro had emerged as one of the leaders of nonaligned countries, despite his ties to the Soviet Union. This earned Castro respect throughout the Arab world, in particular from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who became a friend and ally. Morte de Fidel Castro; View more global usage of this file. [301] Gorbachev called for a negotiated end to the conflict and in 1988 organized a quadripartite talks between the USSR, US, Cuba and South Africa; they agreed that all foreign troops would pull out of Angola while South Africa agreed to grant independence to Namibia. Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which he submitted. Galician, Portuguese, Italian, and Jewish (Sephardic): . His mother, Lina Ruz Gonzlez, was a servant in his father's home who bore Fidel out of wedlock . [340] [288] In a July 1983 speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Castro condemned Reagan's administration as a "reactionary, extremist clique" who were waging an "openly warmongering and fascist foreign policy". From there he proceeded to Somalia, Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola where he was greeted by crowds as a hero for Cuba's role in opposing apartheid South Africa. In his adult years, Fidel Castro married two different women and had multiple children by them. [92], The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas, close to Los Cayuelos, on 2 December 1956. [123] Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959. [217] In September, the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26, thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics, most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds. Following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the "Special Period", embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. [112] In the summer, the MR-26-7 went on the offensive, pushing the army out of the mountains, with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago. Galician, Portuguese, Italian, and Jewish (Sephardic): topographic name from castro 'castle', 'fortress' . Thus, anyone who stood against the revolution stood also against the Cuban people and that, in Castro's eyes, was simply unacceptable. Castro supported Allende's socialist reforms, but warned him of right-wing elements in Chile's military. [416] This interest reached its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred, "Ubre Blanca", broke the Guinness World Record for producing 29 gallons of milk live on national television. Abroad, Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups, backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua, and Grenada, as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angolan Civil War. When Fidel Castro Ruz was born on 13 August 1926, in Birn, Holgun, Cuba, his father, ngel Mara Castro y Argiz, was 50 and his mother, Lina Ruz Gonzalez, was 22. . [246] Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Skou Tour, praising him as Africa's greatest leader, and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. [230] Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine, he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to pure communism rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism. He wants to increase people's standard of living, the availability of material goods, and to import the latest technology. [405] In private though, Castro was actually skilled at keeping his anger in check and not allowing it to affect his judgement, simply becoming cold and withdrawn; Snchez stated that in 17 years he had only seen Castro explode in anger twice, one upon being informed of his daughter Alina's defection in 1993. Although described as a "relatively highly developed Latin American export economy" in 1959 and the early 1960s, Cuba's basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s. Without a doubt, he was one of the most recognizable people in the world in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. madden 22 teams with most draft picks,
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