Paul Foot - The Cuba Libre Story TV - Castro vs The World TV - William Blum - National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book 28 - TV Eye: US Invasion of Grenada TV - Ashley Smith - This Week TV - Hitler's Coup 1923 -
We now know that Pinochet’s 1973 coup, which overthrew an elected government, rounded up 70,000 of its supporters, burnt their books, raped the women, tortured and murdered at least 10,000 people, was planned in the dear old democratic US by an intelligence agency which was set up ostensibly to protect democracy. The reason for the coup was that investors in Chile had become sick and tired of laws which tried, usually unsuccessfully, to keep prices down. Low prices meant low profits, and low profits for any length of time were intolerable. Paul Foot, article 1998, ‘No Time to Make Up’
Cuba has always been fighting for its freedom. The Cuba Libre Story s1e1: Breaking Chains, dude, Netflix 2016
100,000 died, and even though we lost the war, the country had changed. ibid. historian
Meyer Lansky had thoroughly corrupted [Fulgencio] Batista. ibid. dude
Today’s Cuba is a curious mix of tropical paradise and quaint nostalgia. ibid. commentary
How did Cuba become a hub of the slave trade? … Cuba bears the scars of 500 years of foreign occupation. ibid.
Cuba is the biggest island in the Caribbean. It spans 760 miles from east to west … Cuba’s climate is hot and tropical. ibid.
Once hostilities began they did not stand a chance against the conquistadors. ibid.
Jose Marti, born in Havana, Cuba, in 1853, Cuba’s national hero, convinced that the Spaniards had no more business in Cuba. ibid.
The United States needed an excuse to intervene in Cuba and this excuse was The Maine. ibid. Cuban historian
The United States had gone from being Cuba’s liberators to its occupiers. ibid.
The US military occupation was a key historical moment for Cuba. The Cuba Libre Story s1e2: War and Sugar, Cuban historian
American business felt completely at ease in Cuba after its so-called liberation from Spanish rule. ibid. Nikolai Leonov, former KGB officer
Cuba became a mecca for migrants. ibid.
United Fruit amassed substantial political power in Central America and the Caribbean. ibid.
The Platt Amendment authorising an invasion at any time hung like the Sword of Damocles over the Cubans’ heads. ibid.
Many unemployed Cubans joined the island’s army. ibid.
The sugar crisis in Cuba began in 1918, with the end of the First World War. It would last many years. ibid.
Batista’s army upheld order in Cuba. ibid.
Cuban rum was a worldwide success. The Cuba Libre Story s1e3: Gangster’s Paradise
Cuba became an El Dorado for the Mafia in the 1940s. ibid.
The new president did little to stop organised crime … Cuba was their safe refuge. ibid.
For the rest of the people prospects were grim. ibid.
Castro’s will to fight was unbroken despite these revolutionary setbacks. ibid.
Thus began the Batista dictatorship … Cuba was a police state. ibid.
Cuba has always been an island of extremes. The Cuba Libre Story s1e4: A Ragtag Revolution
For more than 500 years Cuba has been scarred by poverty and oppression. ibid.
Batista’s police continued to crush any signs of revolt or rebellion. ibid.
The Castros gave the rebellious group a new name – the 26th July movement. ibid.
In both Santiago and Havana armed police offered no resistance to the victorious rebels. ibid.
Batista fled Cuba as a new revolution swept over the island led by Fidel Castro. The Cuba Libre Story s1e5: Making Heroes
There was no lack of unresolved conflicts. ibid.
Fidel Castro named himself Cuba’s prime minister. ibid.
Cuba attempted to procure weapons on the world market. ibid.
Fidel Castro was warmly welcomed in Harlem. ibid.
Fidel Castro presented victory in the Bay of Pigs as an unmitigated triumph. ibid.
So why did he authorise the presence of 43,000 Soviet soldiers on the island? The Cuba Libre Story s1e6: Of Soviets & Saviors
Castro’s government had to look for new trade partners. ibid.
The Soviet Union provided Cuba with a loan and other economic support. ibid.
In September 1962 the deployment was completed; most of the missiles were ready for launch. ibid.
What caused hundreds of thousands of Cubans to flee their country? The Cuba Libre Story s1e7: Secrets & Sacrifices
The Cuban missile crisis lasted 13 days. ibid.
‘This was where his literacy campaign came in. Until then, no-one had been interested in poor rural people.’ ibid. Bert Hoffmann, historian
Schools and hospitals were built across the island. ibid.
The most basic necessities were rationed. ibid.
The history of Cuba is 500 years of poverty and insurrection. And a dream of freedom the Cubans have never given up on. The Cuba Libre Story s1e8: Moments of Transition
Tens of thousands took to the sea in handmade floats and boats. ibid.
The prison [Guantanamo] was not shut down under US President Obama. ibid.
Raul took over his brother’s duty, first temporarily, then permanently. ibid.
Cuba: a small island that confronted the world. And the man who dominated Cuba’s recent history: Fidel Castro. Under Castro, Cuba would become one of the most difficult countries for the West to handle. Castro vs The World I: The Armed Struggle, BBC 2020
New Year’s Day 1959: Cuba’s corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista abandoned Havana and fled to the USA. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and their small guerrilla army swept down from Sierra Maestra mountains to defeat the US-backed Batista and his hated secret police. ibid.
Fidel proclaimed his movement would benefit the poor people of Cuba and the peasants. The Cuban Revolution was in tune with national liberation movements around the world that were fighting colonial oppression. ibid.
The support of the Soviet Union brought oil, weapons and subsidies. ibid.
The United States cut off diplomatic relations. In his inaugural address President Kennedy issued a stern warning. ibid.
Castro’s revolution had led many of Cuba’s anti-communists to flee to Florida. Now the CIA trained some of their young militants to overthrow Castro. ibid.
The young president Kennedy was humiliated by the complete failure of the mission but he wasn’t giving up. ibid.
The President announced an almost total economic embargo of Cuba which is still in place today. ibid.
Krushchev backed down and decided to withdraw the Soviet missiles but he didn’t tell Castro, who heard the news through the media. Fidel had learned a powerful lesson. ibid.
After six months of ineffectual fighting, Che and his fighters lost their international backing and were forced to retreat from the Congo. The CIA chalked up another Cold War victory. It was a debacle for Castro but it didn’t stop him from pursuing his grand strategy. ibid.
‘Our concern relates above all to Cuba’s export of revolution.’ ibid. Kissinger
By the end of 1975 Cuba was sent 7,000 troops to Angola. Kissinger’s negotiators were outraged. ibid.
As the talks continued, Castro launched a huge surge in Cuba troops, sending another 20,000 soldiers to Angola. Castro took some of his most sophisticated Soviet-supplied anti-aircraft systems, ear-marked to defend Cuba, and sent them to Angola. ibid.