Meanwhile in a humiliating defeat ninety of the invaders are killed, and the rest captured. The failed attempt is a major embarrassment for President Kennedy. And Castro firmly backed up by Guevara resolves never to trust the US again. ibid.
Guevara addresses the UN General Assembly. It should have been one of the greatest moments of his life. But his long rambling speech about Cuba’s non-alignment impresses neither capitalists nor communists. ibid.
I grew up in Cuba under a strong, military, oppressive dictatorship. So as a teenager, I found myself involved in a revolution. I remember during that time, a young, charismatic leader rose up, talking about hope and change. His name was Fidel Castro. Rafael Cruz
Cuba has become a symbol of courageous resistance to attack. Since 1959, Cuba has been under attack from the hemispheric superpower. Noam Chomsky
The United States has the right to make them suffer by economic strangulation: Eisenhower approved economic sanctions in the expectation that if the Cuban people are hungry they will throw Castro out. Kennedy agreed that the embargo would hasten Fidel Castro’s departure as a result of the rising discomfort among hungry Cubans. Along with expanding the embargo Kennedy initiated a major terrorist campaign designed to bring the terrors of the Earth to Cuba. (Failure & State & US Empire & Cuba) Noam Chomsky, Failed States audio
In 1898 Cuba was liberating itself from Spain and the US intervened in what’s called here Liberation of Cuba but in fact was the prevention of the liberation of Cuba by Cubans. The US took over the island … At gun point the US imposed a treaty on Cuba Noam Chomsky, Talks at Google 4th April 2014, Youtube 1.02.41
I was not chosen to be president to restore capitalism to Cuba. I was elected to defend, maintain and continue to perfect socialism, not destroy it. Raul Castro
It turns out Cuba has this incredible healthcare system for a very poor country. Michael Moore
Cuba: the perfect place for Luciano to make his comeback. The Making of the Mob s1e7, AMC 2015
It will become known as the Havana Summit. For his long awaited return Luciano decides to go big and brings a well-known performer in from New York City – named Frank Sinatra. ibid.
Fidel Castro – one of the most controversial leaders in history. Against all odds he stayed in power for almost fifty years. Castro: The World’s Most Watched Man, Discovery 2016
Castro’s security forces were never far away. In a matter of hours the revolt was crushed … A new wave of left-wing leaders started to emerge in the region. ibid.
In 1959 Fidel Castro rose to power in Cuba. He has been one of the most controversial figures in the world ever since. A political thorn in the side of the United States. Fidel Castro: The Lost Tapes, National Geographic 2016
‘We will establish a real representative and democratic government.’ ibid. Castro
Just ninety miles from the United States, Cuba is a playground for America. But for many Cubans in the country’s interior, poverty runs rampant. ibid.
During his reign more than 20,000 political dissidents have been killed. ibid.
‘Our political philosophy is representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy.’ ibid. Castro
Cuba’s war-crime trials are about to begin. Hundreds of Batista loyalists are put on trial. ibid.
Nearly a million Cubans turn up for a speech by Castro who defends the killings. ibid.
His reputation soars as a populist leader. ibid.
‘We are against all kinds of dictator.’ ibid. Castro
The leaders of the revolution discover they don’t have enough money to run the country. ibid.
The United States government doesn’t trust him fearing he is a communist. ibid.
Cuba begins accepting aid from the Soviet Union. ibid.
The United States enacts a trade embargo against Cuba. ibid.
Within months as many as 125,000 Cubans emigrate to the United States. ibid.
They call it tourist apartheid amongst themselves. And then there’s a sense of … frustration, tedium … Christopher Hitchens
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: This detention camp has shocked the world and split America. In his first act as president Barack Obama set himself a solemn deadline: ‘Guantanamo will be closed no later than one year from now.’ But hitting that deadline has proved impossible. This World with Michael Portillo: Closing Guantanamo, BBC 2010
They didn’t want to afford them prisoner of war status and they wanted them beyond the reach of American law: Guantanamo Bay was their solution. ibid.
We’ve all seen the images of a postcard-perfect Cuba, of an island peppered with brightly coloured vintage cars … Fidel may be gone but power is still in the hands of the old guard, the revolutionaries … I want to know if the revolution still beats at the heart of modern Cuba … How goes the revolution? Uncensored with Michael Ware: Cuban Rum and Revolution, National Geographic 2017
We’re off to the Bay of Pigs … it’s two hundred kilometres south-east of Havana … In 1961 the CIA sent over a thousand trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba. ibid.
25th November 1999: ‘My husband found a five-year-old child and he has him on the boat.’ Storyville: Boy Who Changed America, BBC 2017, 911 call
This is the story of a little boy from Cuba whose mother died bringing him to freedom in the United States. ibid.
In Cuba, Elian’s father, Juan Miguel, hadn’t known that his ex-wife and her boyfriend had taken Elian away on a home-made boat, hoping to start their lives over in the United States. ibid.
‘He [Castro] said, Our whole country will take to the streets and demand your son’s return.’ ibid. father
But in Miami the exiles’ fury continued to grow and spilling over into protests that blocked traffic on the highways. ibid.
‘Elian Gonzalez is as we speak being flown to Andrews air force base just outside of Washington where he will be reunited with his father.’ ibid. news
In 1959 the CIA is confronting a new enemy, Fidel Castro, the man who threatens to spread communism across America’s backyard. The US president Dwight Eisenhower wants him assassinated and the CIA is given the job. CIA Declassified s1e9: Castro and the Cold Cream, AHC 2014
It will involve the Mafia, a Watergate burglar and Castro’s lover. ibid.
Since then there’s been an estimated 638 plots to kill Castro. ibid.
On March 17th 1960 Eisenhower authorised $4,400,000 to fund a cover operation to train a cadre of Cuban exiles. Secrets of War s1e56: Cold War: Eisenhower’s Operatives, History 1999
In late April 1961 … Kennedy wondered aloud, How could I have been so stupid as to let them proceed? He was referring to the US Central Intelligence Agency which had just humiliated itself, the new president and the nation by completely bungling its secret invasion of Cuba. Secrets of War s1e57: Cold War: The Kennedy Years
The CIA’s deputy director of plans Richard Bissell claimed that there was significant internal support in Cuba to overthrow Castro. ibid.
One plan to kill Castro involved the use of poisonous cigars. ibid.
But for America missiles just ninety miles away was a new and terrifying experience. ibid.
January 8th 1959: A triumphant procession through the Cuban capital of Havana marked the return of Fidel Castro … Castro was on the way to returning Cuba to self-rule and self-respect, free of its long-lived role as an international pawn. Secrets of War s1e61: Cold War: Cuba’s Communist Revolution
The United States targeted the Cuban revolutionary government and Fidel Castro himself for his anti-American rhetoric and his growing relationship with the Soviets. ibid.
He [Castro] increased wages, reduced rents and seized foreign-owned farm-land … Fidel immediately set out to cultivate his relationship with Washington and the American public. ibid.
The CIA sent bombers painted with Cuban markings to destroy Castro’s Air Force planes. ibid.
Following humiliating defeat in the Bay of Pigs, John F Kennedy’s brother and attorney general Robert Kennedy vowed vengeance. ibid.