179-619: The term " Maximum Leader " (Spanish: Líder Máximo ) has been used by, or to describe, a number of politicians, including: Fidel Castro , Cuban revolutionary and political leader (1959–2008); the title is not utilised in Cuba Omar Torrijos , Panamian dictator (1968–1981); recognised as "Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution" in the 1972 Constitution of Panama Manuel Noriega , Panamian dictator (1983–1989);
358-513: A New York Times best seller , and was adapted into a 2004 film of the same name . A motorcycle journey the length of South America awakened him to the injustice of US domination in the hemisphere, and to the suffering colonialism brought to its original inhabitants. — George Galloway , British politician, 2006 The journey took Guevara through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador , Colombia , Venezuela , Panama , and Miami , Florida, for 20 days, before returning home to Buenos Aires . By
537-407: A mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas, close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956. Fleeing inland, its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Oriente's Sierra Maestra, being repeatedly attacked by Batista's troops. Upon arrival, Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination, the rest having been killed or captured. Setting up an encampment , the survivors included
716-500: A "hardened" man who had no qualms about the death penalty or about summary and collective trials. If the only way to "defend the revolution was to execute its enemies, he would not be swayed by humanitarian or political arguments". In a 5 February 1959 letter to Luis Paredes López in Buenos Aires , Guevara states unequivocally: "The executions by firing squads are not only a necessity for the people of Cuba, but also an imposition of
895-483: A "revolutionary friendship that would change the world", as a result of their coinciding commitment to anti-imperialism . By this point in Guevara's life, he deemed that US-controlled conglomerates installed and supported repressive regimes around the world. In this vein, he considered Batista a " U.S. puppet whose strings needed cutting". Although he planned to be the group's combat medic , Guevara participated in
1074-444: A "tendency toward foolhardiness". Guevara's teenage lieutenant, Joel Iglesias, recounts such actions in his diary, noting that Guevara's behavior in combat even brought admiration from the enemy. On one occasion Iglesias recounts the time he had been wounded in battle, stating "Che ran out to me, defying the bullets, threw me over his shoulder, and got me out of there. The guards didn't dare fire at him ... later they told me he made
1253-581: A Cuban-born member of 26 July movement with whom he had been living since late 1958. Guevara returned to the seaside village of Tarara in June for his honeymoon with Aleida. A civil ceremony was held at La Cabaña military fortress. In total, Guevara would have five children from his two marriages. On 12 June 1959, Castro sent Guevara out on a three-month tour of mostly Bandung Pact countries (Morocco, Sudan , Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia , Japan, Yugoslavia , and Greece) and
1432-659: A May Day speech in 1960, Fidel Castro inferred that elections were a corrupt affair, and that all future elections would be cancelled. On 13 October 1960, the US prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba, initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation, the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October, and on 25 October a further 166 US companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized. On 16 December,
1611-596: A Peruvian economist who was politically well-connected as a member of the left-leaning, Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) . She introduced Guevara to a number of high-level officials in the Árbenz government . Guevara then established contact with a group of Cuban exiles linked to Fidel Castro through the 26 July 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba . During this period, he acquired his famous nickname, due to his frequent use of
1790-467: A better world, for a better life for all the poor and exploited". During this time he renewed his friendship with Ñico López and the other Cuban exiles whom he had met in Guatemala. In June 1955, López introduced him to Raúl Castro , who subsequently introduced him to his older brother, Fidel Castro , the revolutionary leader who had formed the 26th of July Movement and was now plotting to overthrow
1969-541: A bourgeois environment. In 1954, Batista's government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him; the election was widely considered fraudulent. It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced, and Castro's supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incident's perpetrators. Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity, and the Congress and Batista agreed. Backed by
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#17327648529612148-482: A boy. His father, a staunch supporter of Republicans from the Spanish Civil War , would host veterans from the conflict in the Guevara home. As a young man, he briefly contemplated a career selling insecticides, and set up a laboratory in his family's garage to experiment with effective mixtures of talc and gammaxene under the brand name Vendaval , but was forced to abandon his efforts after suffering
2327-519: A close friend. Across Cuba, anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage; police responded with mass arrests, torture, and extrajudicial executions. In March 1957, the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace, during which Antonio was shot dead. Batista's government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cuba's cities under control. In the Sierra Maestra mountains, Castro
2506-532: A communist, Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions. Most significantly, Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries. President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism. Angered, Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his "fevered anti-Communism". Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded
2685-431: A demanding and harsh disposition, Guevara also viewed his role of commander as one of a teacher, entertaining his men during breaks between engagements with readings from the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson , Miguel de Cervantes , and Spanish lyric poets . Together with this role, and inspired by José Martí 's principle of "literacy without borders", Guevara further ensured that his rebel fighters made daily time to teach
2864-402: A democratically elected government that, through land reform and other initiatives, was attempting to end the latifundia agricultural system. To accomplish this, President Árbenz had enacted a major land reform program , where all uncultivated portions of large land holdings were to be appropriated and redistributed to landless peasants. The largest land owner, and the one most affected by
3043-713: A dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born out of wedlock at his father's farm on 13 August 1926. His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugarcane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , then in Oriente Province (now Holguín Province ). After
3222-454: A distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba. In contrast, his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and US imperialism. In April 1948, Castro travelled to Bogotá , Colombia, leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Perón 's Argentine government. There, the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between
3401-666: A failed assassination attempt against him. Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba, where they had gained a large support base in Oriente. Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up, primarily from the student movement; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil (DRE), founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed
3580-534: A great deal of influence over Urrutia's regime, which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office. He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections. Although repeatedly denying that he
3759-536: A great impression on them when they saw him run out with his pistol stuck in his belt, ignoring the danger, they didn't dare shoot." Guevara was instrumental in creating the clandestine radio station Radio Rebelde (Rebel Radio) in February 1958, which broadcast news to the Cuban people with statements by 26 July movement, and provided radiotelephone communication between the growing number of rebel columns across
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#17327648529613938-426: A journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed. Castro's guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts, forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region, and by spring 1958, the rebels controlled a hospital, schools, a printing press, slaughterhouse, land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory. By 1958, Batista was under increasing pressure,
4117-594: A legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans, albeit it proved a financial failure. Caring little for money or material goods, Castro failed to pay his bills; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off, distressing his wife. He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950, fighting with police to protest the Education Ministry's ban on student associations; he
4296-418: A letter to the press, declaring that he was "leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me ... As a follower of Martí, I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them, to fight instead of pleading for them." The Castros and several comrades travelled to Mexico, where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto "Che" Guevara , who
4475-485: A matter of days he executed a series of "brilliant tactical victories" that gave him control of all but the province's capital city of Santa Clara . Guevara then directed his "suicide squad" in the attack on Santa Clara , which became the final decisive military victory of the revolution. In the six weeks leading up to the battle, there were times when his men were completely surrounded, outgunned, and overrun. Che's eventual victory despite being outnumbered 10:1 remains in
4654-531: A one-man dictatorship. Batista moved to the right, solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States, severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups. Intent on opposing Batista, Castro brought several legal cases against the government, but these came to nothing, and Castro began thinking of alternative ways to oust
4833-534: A portion of this plan, Castro named Guevara commander of the La Cabaña Fortress prison, for a five-month tenure (2 January through 12 June 1959). Guevara was charged by the new government with purging the Batista army and consolidating victory by exacting "revolutionary justice" against those regarded as traitors, chivatos (informants) or war criminals . As commander of La Cabaña, Guevara reviewed
5012-585: A proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years. Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état , in March 1960, US President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castro's government. He provided them with a budget of $ 13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba. During
5191-511: A prominent Spanish landowner in colonial California , and Patrick Lynch , who emigrated from Ireland to the Río de la Plata Governorate . Referring to Che's "restless" nature, his father declared "the first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels ". Che Guevara was fond of Ireland, according to Irish actress Maureen O'Hara , "Che would talk about Ireland and all
5370-466: A prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares. That year, he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family, through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. The relationship was a love match, disapproved of by both families, but Díaz Balart's father gave them tens of thousands of dollars, along with Batista, to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon. Marxism taught me what society was. I
5549-410: A quintessential icon of various leftist movements. In contrast, his critics on the political right accuse him of promoting authoritarianism and endorsing violence against his political opponents. Despite disagreements on his legacy , Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century , while an Alberto Korda photograph of him, titled Guerrillero Heroico , was cited by
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5728-556: A result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administration's press censorship, torture, and extrajudicial executions. Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens, the US government ceased supplying him with weaponry. The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7. Beginning on 9 April, it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba, but little elsewhere. Batista responded with an all-out-attack, Operation Verano , in which
5907-736: A revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara . Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's prime minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic embargo , and counter-revolution, including
6086-480: A roaring " ¡Sí! " (yes). With between 1,000 and 20,000 Cubans estimated to have been killed at the hands of Batista's collaborators, and many of the accused war criminals sentenced to death accused of torture and physical atrocities, the newly empowered government carried out executions, punctuated by cries from the crowds of "¡al paredón!" ([to the] wall!), which biographer Jorge Castañeda describes as "without respect for due process ". I have yet to find
6265-608: A separate peace with Guevara, Fulgencio Batista boarded a plane in Havana and fled for the Dominican Republic , along with an amassed "fortune of more than $ 300,000,000 through graft and payoffs". The following day on 2 January, Guevara entered Havana to take final control of the capital. Fidel Castro took six more days to arrive, as he stopped to rally support in several large cities on his way to rolling victoriously into Havana on 8 January 1959. The final death toll from
6444-584: A severe asthmatic reaction to the chemicals. Despite numerous bouts of acute asthma that were to affect him throughout his life, he excelled as an athlete, enjoying swimming, football, golf, and shooting, while also becoming an "untiring" cyclist. He was an avid rugby union player. Several sources say he played for Estudiantes of Córdoba, first, and then to San Isidro Club (1947), Yporá Rugby Club (1948) and Atalaya Polo Club (1949), although other sources claim he played for Club Universitario de Buenos Aires (CUBA), at fly-half . His rugby playing earned him
6623-723: A ship carrying infantry and light artillery weapons was dispatched by communist Czechoslovakia for the Árbenz government and arrived in Puerto Barrios . As a result, the United States government—which since 1953 had been tasked by President Eisenhower to remove Árbenz from power in the multifaceted CIA operation code-named PBSuccess —responded by saturating Guatemala with anti-Árbenz propaganda through radio and air-dropped leaflets, and began bombing raids using unmarked airplanes. The United States also sponsored an armed force of several hundred anti-Árbenz Guatemalan refugees and mercenaries headed by Carlos Castillo Armas to help remove
6802-662: A single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed "an innocent". Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder. I should add that my research spanned five years, and included anti-Castro Cubans among the Cuban-American exile community in Miami and elsewhere. — Jon Lee Anderson , author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life , PBS forum Although accounts vary, it
6981-499: A speech for the Movement on 13 November, exposing the government's secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members. Attracting the attention of the national press, the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding, first in the countryside and then in the US. Returning to Havana several weeks later, Castro laid low and focused on his university studies, graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950. Castro co-founded
7160-409: A training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare. Frank País was also killed, leaving Castro the MR-26-7's unchallenged leader. Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views, Castro hid his, hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries. In 1957 he met with leading members of
7339-423: A tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised, and in March 1959, Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $ 100 a month halved. The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash. Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba "ruined" him. In
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7518-562: A visit by the president in February 1954. Meanwhile, Castro's wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior, something he discovered through a radio announcement. Appalled, he raged that he would rather die "a thousand times" than "suffer impotently from such an insult". Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings, with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito; this angered Castro, who did not want his son growing up in
7697-481: A while, Guevara considered going to work as a doctor in Africa and that he continued to be deeply troubled by the poverty around him. In one instance, Hilda describes Guevara's obsession with an elderly washerwoman whom he was treating, remarking that he saw her as "representative of the most forgotten and exploited class". Hilda later found a poem that Che had dedicated to the old woman, containing "a promise to fight for
7876-455: A young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout South America and was appalled by the poverty, hunger, and disease he witnessed. His burgeoning desire to help overturn what he saw as the capitalist exploitation of Latin America by the United States prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Árbenz , whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow at the behest of
8055-489: Is estimated that several hundred people were executed nationwide during this time, with Guevara's jurisdictional death total at La Cabaña ranging from 55 to 105. Conflicting views exist of Guevara's attitude towards the executions at La Cabaña. Some exiled opposition biographers report that he relished the rituals of the firing squad, and organized them with gusto, while others relate that Guevara pardoned as many prisoners as he could. All sides acknowledge that Guevara had become
8234-558: Is fairly intellectual for a Latino ". In 1948, Guevara entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. His "hunger to explore the world" led him to intersperse his collegiate pursuits with two long introspective journeys that fundamentally changed the way he viewed himself and the contemporary economic conditions in Latin America. The first expedition, in 1950, was a 4,500-kilometer (2,800 mi) solo trip through
8413-572: Is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men. Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally. He seems to be sincere. He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries. But because he has
8592-429: The 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf. Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers, and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university. However, he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends. In later years, anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at
8771-906: The Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis —a defining incident of the Cold War —in 1962. Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of
8950-539: The Cold War raged between two superpowers: the United States, a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union (USSR), a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the US, Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR, establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states. Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide
9129-826: 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. By 1970, a third of the population would be involved in the CDR, and this would eventually rise to 80%. Despite the fear of a coup, Castro garnered support in New York City. On 18 February 1961, 400 people—mainly Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and college students—picketed in
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#17327648529619308-517: The Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba, Castro feared a US-backed coup; in 1959 his regime spent $ 120 million on Soviet, French, and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cuba's armed forces. Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army, the government created a People's Militia to arm citizens favourable to the revolution, training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques. In September 1960, they created
9487-738: The Maryland Institute College of Art as "the most famous photograph in the world". Ernesto Guevara was born to Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna y Llosa, on 14 June 1928, in Rosario , Argentina . Although the legal name on his birth certificate was "Ernesto Guevara", his name sometimes appears with "de la Serna" and/or "Lynch" accompanying it. He was the eldest of five children in an upper-class Argentine family of pre-independence immigrants that have Spanish , Basque , and Irish ancestry. Two of Guevara's notable 18th century ancestors included Luis María Peralta ,
9666-469: The National Bank and instructional director for Cuba's armed forces , and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Such positions also allowed him to play a central role in training the militia forces who repelled the Bay of Pigs Invasion , and bringing Soviet nuclear -armed ballistic missiles to Cuba, which preceded the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis . Additionally, Guevara
9845-420: The National Bank . These appointments, combined with his existing position as Minister of Industries, placed Guevara at the zenith of his power, as the "virtual czar" of the Cuban economy. As a consequence of his position at the head of the central bank, it became Guevara's duty to sign the Cuban currency, which per custom bore his signature. Instead of using his full name, he signed the bills solely " Che ". It
10024-585: The Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás 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. As Cuba's press was censored, Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews ,
10203-541: The United Fruit Company solidified Guevara's political ideology. Later in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro , joined their 26th of July Movement , and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht Granma with the intention of overthrowing US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista . Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents , was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in
10382-565: The University of Havana . Admitting he was "politically illiterate", Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university. After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing US intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of "honesty, decency and justice". Castro became critical of
10561-487: The anti-Machado rebellion. Biographers note that in January 1959 the Cuban public was in a "lynching mood", and point to a survey at the time showing 93% public approval for the tribunal process. Moreover, a 22 January 1959, Universal Newsreel broadcast in the United States and narrated by Ed Herlihy featured Fidel Castro asking an estimated one million Cubans whether they approved of the executions, and being met with
10740-527: The urban guerrilla network of Frank País , 26 July Movement, and local campesinos. With the group withdrawn to the Sierra, the world wondered whether Castro was alive or dead until early 1957 when an interview by Herbert Matthews appeared in The New York Times . The article presented a lasting, almost mythical image for Castro and the guerrillas. Guevara was not present for the interview, but in
10919-523: The "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie ", rather than the failings of corrupt politicians, and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution. Visiting Havana's poorest neighbourhoods, he became active in the student anti-racist campaign. In September 1949, Mirta gave birth to a son, Fidelito, so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat. Castro continued to put himself at risk, staying active in
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#173276485296111098-705: The "inability to treat a child because of lack of money" and "stupefaction provoked by the continual hunger and punishment" that leads a father to "accept the loss of a son as an unimportant accident". Guevara cited these experiences as convincing him that to "help these people", he needed to leave the realm of medicine and consider the political arena of armed struggle . Ernesto Guevara spent just over nine months in Guatemala. On 7 July 1953, Guevara set out again, this time to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica , Nicaragua , Honduras , and El Salvador . On 10 December 1953, before leaving for Guatemala, Guevara sent an update to his aunt Beatriz from San José, Costa Rica . In
11277-512: The 82 men were either killed in the attack or executed upon capture; only 22 found each other afterwards. During this initial bloody confrontation Guevara laid down his medical supplies and picked up a box of ammunition dropped by a fleeing comrade, proving to be a symbolic moment in Che's life. Only a small band of revolutionaries survived to re-group as a bedraggled fighting force deep in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where they received support from
11456-600: The Argentine filler expression che (a multi-purpose discourse marker , like the syllable " eh " in Canadian English). During his time in Guatemala, Guevara was hosted by other Central American exiles, one of whom, Helena Leiva de Holst , provided him with food and lodging, discussed her travels to study Marxism in Russia and China, and to whom Guevara dedicated a poem, "Invitación al camino". In May 1954,
11635-708: The Bogotazo, 2009 In June 1947, Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a US ally, in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic, Castro joined the expedition. The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops, mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans, and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947. Grau's government stopped
11814-461: The Castros, Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry, and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata, treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio, the local mayoral (land company overseer), who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castro's rebels. Osorio's execution aided
11993-415: The Cuban air force. Such information also allowed Batista's army to burn the homes of peasants sympathetic to the revolution. Upon Guerra's request that they "end his life quickly", Che stepped forward and shot him in the head, writing "The situation was uncomfortable for the people and for Eutimio so I ended the problem giving him a shot with a .32 pistol in the right side of the brain, with exit orifice in
12172-566: The French freighter La Coubre , which was carrying Belgian munitions from the port of Antwerp , and was docked in Havana Harbor . The blasts killed at least 76 people and injured several hundred, with Guevara personally providing first aid to some of the victims. Fidel Castro immediately accused the CIA of "an act of terrorism" and held a state funeral the following day for the victims of
12351-769: The Japanese "imperialists" had "killed millions of Asians". Instead, Guevara stated that he would visit Hiroshima , where the American military had detonated an atomic bomb 14 years earlier. Despite his denunciation of Imperial Japan , Guevara considered President Truman a "macabre clown" for the bombings, and after visiting Hiroshima and its Peace Memorial Museum he sent back a postcard to Cuba stating, "In order to fight better for peace, one must look at Hiroshima." Upon Guevara's return to Cuba in September 1959, it became evident that Castro now had more political power. The government had begun land seizures in accordance with
12530-677: The La Salle boarding school in Santiago, where he regularly misbehaved; he was next sent to the privately funded, Jesuit -run Dolores School in Santiago. In 1942, Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history, geography, and debate at Belén, he did not excel academically, instead devoting much of his time to playing sports. In 1945, Castro began studying law at
12709-405: The MR-26-7, he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control, with some dissenters labelling him a caudillo (dictator); he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader. In 1955, bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent, with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest. Castro sent
12888-515: The Presidential Palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which he submitted. On 23 July, Castro resumed his premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president. Castro's government emphasised social projects to improve Cuba's standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development. Major emphasis was placed on education, and during the first 30 months of Castro's government, more classrooms were opened than in
13067-419: The US and major corporations, Batista believed Castro to be no threat, and on 15 May 1955, the prisoners were released. Returning to Havana, Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences; the government closely monitored him, curtailing his activities. Now divorced, Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters, Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde, each conceiving him a child. Setting about strengthening
13246-903: The US ended its import quota of Cuban sugar, the country's primary export. In September 1960, Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there, thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him. He also met Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev , with
13425-435: The US press, argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction." Acclaimed by many across Latin America, he travelled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil. Returning home, an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out. He
13604-519: The US would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba. General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro, promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however, Batista was warned, and fled into exile with over US$ 300 million on 31 December 1958. Cantillo entered Havana's Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president, and began appointing
13783-411: The US, causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the country's financial reserves were drained within two years. After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government, the pro-Castro printers' trade union disrupted editorial staff, and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a "clarification" written by the printers' union at the end of articles critical of
13962-483: The USSR with sugar, fruit, fibres, and hides in return for crude oil, fertilizers, industrial goods, and a $ 100 million loan. Cuba's government ordered the country's refineries—then controlled by the US corporations Shell and Esso —to process Soviet oil, but under US pressure they refused. Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries. Retaliating, the US cancelled its import of Cuban sugar, provoking Castro to nationalize most US-owned assets on
14141-706: The United States to stop selling arms to the Cuban government. Then in late July 1958, Guevara played a critical role in the Battle of Las Mercedes by using his column to halt a force of 1,500 men called up by Batista's General Cantillo in a plan to encircle and destroy Castro's forces. Years later, Major Larry Bockman of the United States Marine Corps analyzed and described Che's tactical appreciation of this battle as "brilliant". During this time Guevara also became an "expert" at leading hit-and-run tactics against Batista's army, and then fading back into
14320-539: The absence of freedom of speech and press. Che Guevara Ernesto " Che " Guevara ( Latin American Spanish: [ˈtʃe ɣeˈβaɾa] ; 14 June 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary , physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist . A major figure of the Cuban Revolution , his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture . As
14499-516: The adults were illiterate . As the war continued, Guevara became an integral part of the rebel army and "convinced Castro with competence, diplomacy and patience". Guevara set up factories to make grenades, built ovens to bake bread, and organized schools to teach illiterate campesinos to read and write. Moreover, Guevara established health clinics, workshops to teach military tactics, and a newspaper to disseminate information. The man whom Time dubbed three years later "Castro's brain" at this point
14678-508: The agrarian reform law, but was hedging on compensation offers to landowners, instead offering low-interest "bonds", a step which put the United States on alert. At this point the affected wealthy cattlemen of Camagüey mounted a campaign against the land redistributions and enlisted the newly disaffected rebel leader Huber Matos , who along with the anti-communist wing of the 26 July Movement, joined them in denouncing "communist encroachment". During this time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo
14857-561: The appeals of those convicted during the revolutionary tribunal process. The tribunals were conducted by 2–3 army officers, an assessor, and a respected local citizen. On some occasions the penalty delivered by the tribunal was death by firing-squad. Raúl Gómez Treto, senior legal advisor to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, has argued that the death penalty was justified in order to prevent citizens themselves from taking justice into their own hands, as had happened twenty years earlier in
15036-404: The armoury before reinforcements arrived. Supplied with new weaponry, Castro intended to spark a revolution among Oriente's impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings. Castro's plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for
15215-503: The army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants, while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra, driving north to the rebel encampments. Despite their numerical and technological superiority, the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare, and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes. Many of Batista's soldiers defected to Castro's rebels, who also benefited from local popular support. In
15394-401: The army by revealing that they had tortured suspects, after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further, claiming he was too ill. The trial ended on 5 October, with the acquittal of most defendants; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years. Castro was sentenced on 16 October, during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under
15573-408: The army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded. Meanwhile, some rebels took over a civilian hospital; subsequently stormed by government soldiers, the rebels were rounded up, tortured and 22 were executed without trial. Accompanied by 19 comrades, Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north, where they could establish a guerrilla base. Responding to
15752-447: The attack, Batista's government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent, and imposing strict media censorship. The government broadcast misinformation about the event, claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients, although news and photographs of the army's use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread, causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval. Over
15931-593: The cities of Singapore and Hong Kong. Sending Guevara away from Havana allowed Castro to appear to distance himself from Guevara and his Marxist sympathies, which troubled both the United States and some of the members of Castro's 26 July Movement. While in Jakarta , Guevara visited Indonesian president Sukarno to discuss the recent revolution of 1945–1949 in Indonesia and to establish trade relations between their two countries. The two men quickly bonded, as Sukarno
16110-403: The city's politics and joining the 30 September Movement, which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The group's purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university; despite his promises, Prío had failed to control the situation, instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries. Castro volunteered to deliver
16289-483: The collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant, Lina Ruz González (1903–1963)—of Canarian ancestry—as his mistress and later second wife; together they had seven children, among them Fidel. At age six, Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight. Being baptized enabled Castro to attend
16468-517: The coming months he began to realize the importance of the media in their struggle. Meanwhile, as supplies and morale diminished, and with an allergy to mosquito bites which resulted in agonizing walnut-sized cysts on his body, Guevara considered these "the most painful days of the war". During Guevara's time living hidden among the poor subsistence farmers of the Sierra Maestra mountains, he discovered that there were no schools, no electricity, minimal access to healthcare, and more than 40 percent of
16647-473: The communist Popular Socialist Party (PSP), fearing it would frighten away political moderates, but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba, Oriente. Castro's militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July, seizing control and raiding
16826-631: The corruption and violence of President Ramón Grau 's government, delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers. In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People (or Orthodox Party; Partido Ortodoxo ), founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure, Chibás advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Though Chibás came third in
17005-439: The countryside before the army could counterattack. As the war extended, Guevara led a new column of fighters dispatched westward for the final push towards Havana . Travelling by foot, Guevara embarked on a difficult 7-week march, only travelling at night to avoid an ambush and often not eating for several days. In the closing days of December 1958, Guevara's task was to cut the island in half by taking Las Villas province. In
17184-529: The coup, and he was marked for murder. After Gadea was arrested, Guevara sought protection inside the Argentine consulate , where he remained until he received a safe-conduct pass some weeks later and made his way to Mexico . The overthrow of the Árbenz government and establishment of the right-wing Armas dictatorship cemented Guevara's view of the United States as an imperialist power that opposed and attempted to destroy any government that sought to redress
17363-469: The crossing to take five days, and on the Granma ' s scheduled day of arrival, 30 November, MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo. However, the Granma ' s journey ultimately lasted seven days, and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements, País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks. The Granma ran aground in
17542-408: The dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista . During a long conversation with Fidel on the night of their first meeting, Guevara concluded that the Cuban's cause was the one for which he had been searching and before daybreak he had signed up as a member of 26 July Movement. Despite their "contrasting personalities", from this point on Che and Fidel began to foster what dual biographer Simon Reid-Henry deemed
17721-415: The disabled and elderly. Castro used radio and television to develop a "dialogue with the people", posing questions and making provocative statements. His regime remained popular with workers, peasants, and students, who constituted the majority of the country's population, while opposition came primarily from the middle class; thousands of doctors, engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in
17900-576: The end of the trip, he came to view Latin America not as a collection of separate nations, but as a single entity requiring a continent-wide liberation strategy. His conception of a borderless, united Hispanic America sharing a common Latino heritage was a theme that recurred prominently during his later revolutionary activities. Upon returning to Argentina, he completed his studies and received his medical degree in June 1953. Guevara later remarked that, through his travels in Latin America, he came in "close contact with poverty, hunger and disease" along with
18079-695: The final goal of spending a few weeks volunteering at the San Pablo leper colony in Peru, on the banks of the Amazon River . In Chile , Guevara was angered by the working conditions of the miners at Anaconda 's Chuquicamata copper mine, moved by his overnight encounter in the Atacama Desert with a persecuted communist couple who did not even own a blanket, describing them as "the shivering flesh-and-blood victims of capitalist exploitation". On
18258-460: The following days, the rebels were rounded up; some were executed and others—including Castro—transported to a prison north of Santiago. Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone, the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement, putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice, Santiago. Acting as his own defence counsel, Castro cited Martí as
18437-588: The general tone for the debates and speeches. 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. Subsequently, visited by Polish first secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian first secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evening's reception from
18616-573: The governing Conservatives —backed by the army—and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station, but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings. In April 1948, the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá, leading to protests, which Castro joined. Returning to Cuba, Castro became
18795-467: The government. Castro's government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement, rough treatment, and threatening behaviour. Militant anti-Castro groups, funded by exiles, the CIA, and the Dominican government, undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cuba's mountains, leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time, 1960,
18974-466: The guerilla warfare that had taken place there. He knew every battle in Ireland and all of its history" and told her that everything he knew about Ireland he learned on his grandmother's knee. Early on in life, Ernestito (as he was then called) developed an "affinity for the poor". Growing up in a family with leftist leanings, Guevara was introduced to a wide spectrum of political perspectives even as
19153-648: The highest on all of the tests given. At the end of the course, he was called "the best guerrilla of them all" by General Bayo. Guevara then married Hilda in Mexico in September 1955, before embarking on his plan to assist in the liberation of Cuba. The first step in Castro's revolutionary plan was an assault on Cuba from Mexico via the Granma , an old, leaky cabin cruiser . They set out for Cuba on 25 November 1956. Attacked by Batista's military soon after landing, many of
19332-604: The idea of death . Sigmund Freud 's ideas fascinated him as he quoted him on a variety of topics from dreams and libido to narcissism and the Oedipus complex . His favorite subjects in school included philosophy , mathematics , engineering , political science , sociology , history , and archaeology . A CIA "biographical and personality report", dated 13 February 1958 and declassified decades later, made note of Guevara's range of academic interests and intellect – describing him as "quite well read", while adding that "Che
19511-555: The intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the army's decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court, proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused—of "organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State"—was incorrect, for they had risen up against Batista, who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner. The trial embarrassed
19690-447: The invasion under US pressure, although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest. Returning to Havana, Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards. The protests, accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists, led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948, in which Castro was badly beaten. At this point, his public speeches took on
19869-507: The island, including banks and sugar mills. Relations between Cuba and the US were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel, the La Coubre , in Havana harbour in March 1960. The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium, and the cause of the explosion was never determined, but Castro publicly insinuated that the US government was guilty of sabotage. He ended this speech with " ¡Patria o Muerte! " ("Fatherland or Death"),
20048-448: The island. Guevara had apparently been inspired to create the station by observing the effectiveness of CIA supplied radio in Guatemala in ousting the government of Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán . To quell the rebellion, Cuban government troops began executing rebel prisoners on the spot, and regularly rounded up, tortured, and shot civilians as a tactic of intimidation. By March 1958, the continued atrocities carried out by Batista's forces led
20227-517: The letter Guevara speaks of traversing the dominion of the United Fruit Company , a journey which convinced him that the company's capitalist system was disadvantageous to the average citizen. He adopted an aggressive tone to frighten his more conservative relatives, and the letter ends with Guevara swearing on an image of the then-recently deceased Joseph Stalin , not to rest until these "octopuses have been vanquished". Later that month, Guevara arrived in Guatemala, where President Jacobo Árbenz headed
20406-604: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maximum_Leader&oldid=1254286632 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Spanish-language text Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( / ˈ k æ s t r oʊ / KASS -troh , Latin American Spanish: [fiˈðel aleˈxandɾo ˈkastɾo ˈrus] ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016)
20585-440: The military training with the members of the Movement. The key portion of training involved learning hit and run tactics of guerrilla warfare . Guevara and the others underwent arduous 15-hour marches over mountains, across rivers, and through the dense undergrowth, learning and perfecting the procedures of ambush and quick retreat. From the start Guevara was instructor Alberto Bayo 's "prize student" among those in training, scoring
20764-439: The mission, ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance. The attack took place on 26 July 1953, but ran into trouble; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there. Reaching the barracks, the alarm was raised, with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire. Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat. The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties, whilst
20943-523: The new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will. As a result, he rejected the need for elections, claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites. US Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule, with a one-party state, government control of trade unions, suppression of civil liberties, and
21122-596: The new government. Furious, Castro ended the ceasefire, and ordered Cantillo's arrest by sympathetic figures in the army. Accompanying celebrations at news of Batista's downfall on 1 January 1959, Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism. Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January, while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence. Heading toward Havana, he greeted cheering crowds at every town, giving press conferences and interviews. Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959. At Castro's command,
21301-817: The nickname "Fuser"—a contraction of El Furibundo (furious) and his mother's surname, de la Serna—for his aggressive style of play. Guevara learned chess from his father and began participating in local tournaments by the age of 12. During adolescence and throughout his life he was passionate about poetry, especially that of Pablo Neruda , John Keats , Antonio Machado , Federico García Lorca , Gabriela Mistral , César Vallejo , and Walt Whitman . He could also recite Rudyard Kipling 's If— and José Hernández 's Martín Fierro by heart. The Guevara home contained more than 3,000 books, which allowed Guevara to be an enthusiastic and eclectic reader, with interests including Karl Marx , William Faulkner , André Gide , Emilio Salgari , and Jules Verne . Additionally, he enjoyed
21480-408: The people." Along with ensuring "revolutionary justice", the other key early platform of Guevara was establishing agrarian land reform . Almost immediately after the success of the revolution, on 27 January 1959, Guevara made one of his most significant speeches where he talked about "the social ideas of the rebel army". During this speech he declared that the main concern of the new Cuban government
21659-617: The politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced (falsely) that Urrutia had been selected by "popular election". Most of Urrutia's cabinet were MR-26-7 members. 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 exercised
21838-679: The power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction". Proceeding to Canada, Trinidad, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $ 30 billion US-funded " Marshall Plan " for Latin America. In May 1959, Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to 993 acres (402 ha) per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership. Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up; popular among
22017-643: The press and the suppression of internal dissent. 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 . These actions, coupled with Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cuban medical internationalism , increased Cuba's profile on
22196-445: The press put the death toll at 20,000, but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants. More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000. In response to popular uproar, which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice, Castro helped to set up many trials, resulting in hundreds of executions. Although popular domestically, critics—in particular
22375-483: The previous 30 years. The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program, with half of the time spent in the classroom, and the other half in a productive activity. Health care was nationalized and expanded, with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid. Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented, and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically. A third part of this social program
22554-610: The rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castro's anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States' power over Cuba. The protesters held up signs that read, "Mr. Kennedy, Cuba is Not For Sale.", " Viva Fidel Castro!" and "Down With Yankee Imperialism!". Around 200 policemen were on the scene, but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castro's socialist movement. Some Americans disagreed with President John F. Kennedy 's decision to ban trade with Cuba, and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics. Castro proclaimed
22733-604: The rebels in gaining the trust of locals, although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries. As trust grew, some locals joined the rebels, although most new recruits came from urban areas. With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200, in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns, commanded by himself, his brother, and Guevara. The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation, sending supplies to Castro, and on 16 February 1957, he met with other senior members to discuss tactics; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become
22912-504: The reforms, was the United Fruit Company, from which the Árbenz government had already taken more than 225,000 acres (91,000 ha) of uncultivated land. Pleased with the direction in which the nation was heading, Guevara decided to make his home in Guatemala to "perfect himself and accomplish whatever may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary." In Guatemala City , Guevara sought out Hilda Gadea Acosta ,
23091-427: The regime. Castro formed a group called "The Movement" which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ), while arming and training anti-Batista recruits. From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive, gaining around 1,200 members in a year, the majority from Havana's poorer districts. Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with
23270-545: The revolution, would be postponed, so that the provisional government could focus on domestic reform. Castro announced this electoral delay with the slogan: " revolution first, elections later ". Later in April, he visited the US on a charm offensive where President Dwight D. Eisenhower would not meet with him, but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked. After meeting Castro, Nixon described him to Eisenhower: "The one fact we can be sure of
23449-602: The revolution. In 1959, the revolutionary government extended its application to the whole of the republic and to those it considered war criminals, captured and tried after the revolution. According to the Cuban Ministry of Justice , this latter extension was supported by the majority of the population, and followed the same procedure as those in the Nuremberg trials held by the Allies after World War II. To implement
23628-407: The revolutionary government proclaimed Guevara "a Cuban citizen by birth" in recognition of his role in the triumph. When Hilda Gadea arrived in Cuba in late January, Guevara told her that he was involved with another woman, and the two agreed on a divorce, which was finalized on 22 May. The first major political crisis arose over what to do with the captured Batista officials who had perpetrated
23807-479: The right temporal [lobe]." His scientific notations and matter-of-fact description, suggested to one biographer a "remarkable detachment to violence" by that point in the war. Later, Guevara published a literary account of the incident, titled "Death of a Traitor", where he transfigured Eutimio's betrayal and pre-execution request that the revolution "take care of his children", into a "revolutionary parable about redemption through sacrifice". Although he maintained
23986-461: The rural provinces of northern Argentina on a bicycle on which he had installed a small engine. Guevara then spent six months working as a nurse at sea on Argentina's merchant marine freighters and oil tankers. His second expedition, in 1951, was a nine-month, 8,000-kilometer (5,000 mi) continental motorcycle trek through part of South America. For the latter, he took a year off from his studies to embark with his friend, Alberto Granado , with
24165-457: The socioeconomic inequality endemic to Latin America and other developing countries. In speaking about the coup, Guevara stated: The last Latin American revolutionary democracy – that of Jacobo Árbenz – failed as a result of the cold premeditated aggression carried out by the United States. Its visible head was the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , a man who, through a rare coincidence,
24344-447: The son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . 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. After a year's imprisonment, Castro travelled to Mexico where he formed
24523-462: The student's support for indiscriminate assassination. After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956, Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz, with 81 armed revolutionaries. The 1,900-kilometre (1,200 mi) crossing to Cuba was harsh, with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points, they had to bail water caused by a leak, and at another, a man fell overboard, delaying their journey. The plan had been for
24702-451: The summer of 1959, Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners. He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled. He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement, over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities. Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being
24881-501: 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. By November, Castro's forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas, and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines, severely disadvantaging Batista. The US instructed Cantillo to oust Batista due to fears in Washington that Castro
25060-404: The time, but these accusations remain unproven. The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro "began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all: he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla, a voracious reader, an interminable speaker, and a pretty good baseball player". I joined the people; I grabbed a rifle in a police station that collapsed when it
25239-534: The title of History Will Absolve Me . 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 . Imprisoned with 25 comrades, Castro renamed his group the " 26th of July Movement " (MR-26-7) in memory of the Moncada attack's date, and formed a school for prisoners. He read widely, enjoying
25418-472: The title was officially given to him in 1989 by the National Assembly of Panama Massimo D'Alema , Italian prime minister (1998–2000); the title was chiefly used in a humorous vein by the media. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Maximum Leader . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
25597-524: The two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem. Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm; they led the applause to one another's speeches at the General Assembly. The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set
25776-532: The two years of revolutionary fighting was 2,000 people. In mid-January 1959, Guevara went to live at a summer villa in Tarará to recover from a violent asthma attack. While there he started the Tarará Group, a group that debated and formed the new plans for Cuba's social, political, and economic development. In addition, Che began to write his book Guerrilla Warfare while resting at Tarara. In February,
25955-497: The two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime. After the Cuban Revolution, Guevara played key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals , instituting agrarian land reform as minister of industries , helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign , serving as both president of
26134-523: The uneducated campesinos with whom they lived and fought to read and write, in what Guevara termed the "battle against ignorance". Tomás Alba, who fought under Guevara's command, later stated that "Che was loved, in spite of being stern and demanding. We would (have) given our life for him." His commanding officer, Fidel Castro , described Guevara as intelligent, daring, and an exemplary leader who "had great moral authority over his troops". Castro further remarked that Guevara took too many risks, even having
26313-407: The view of some observers a "remarkable tour de force in modern warfare". Radio Rebelde broadcast the first reports that Guevara's column had taken Santa Clara on New Year's Eve 1958. This contradicted reports by the heavily controlled national news media, which had at one stage reported Guevara's death during the fighting. At 3 am on 1 January 1959, upon learning that his generals were negotiating
26492-538: The way to Machu Picchu he was stunned by the crushing poverty of the remote rural areas, where peasant farmers worked small plots of land owned by wealthy landlords. Later on his journey, Guevara was especially impressed by the camaraderie among the people living in a leper colony, stating, "The highest forms of human solidarity and loyalty arise among such lonely and desperate people." Guevara used notes taken during this trip to write an account (not published until 1995), titled The Motorcycle Diaries , which later became
26671-569: The working class, it alienated the richer landowners, including Castro's own mother, whose farmlands were taken. 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." Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry, introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit, advertising Cuba as
26850-691: The works of Jawaharlal Nehru , Franz Kafka , Albert Camus , Vladimir Lenin , and Jean-Paul Sartre ; as well as Anatole France , Friedrich Engels , H. G. Wells , and Robert Frost . As he grew older, he developed an interest in the Latin American writers Horacio Quiroga , Ciro Alegría , Jorge Icaza , Rubén Darío , and Miguel Asturias . Many of these authors' ideas he cataloged in his own handwritten notebooks of concepts, definitions, and philosophies of influential intellectuals. These included composing analytical sketches of Buddha and Aristotle , along with examining Bertrand Russell on love and patriotism , Jack London on society , and Nietzsche on
27029-461: The works of Marx, Lenin, and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analysing them within a Marxist framework. Corresponding with supporters, he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison, he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on
27208-586: The world stage. 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. In the 2000s, Castro forged alliances in the Latin American " pink tide "—namely with Hugo Chávez 's Venezuela—and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006, Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro, who
27387-501: The worst of the repression. During the rebellion against Batista's dictatorship, the general command of the rebel army, led by Fidel Castro, introduced into the territories under its control the 19th-century penal law commonly known as the Ley de la Sierra (Law of the Sierra). This law included the death penalty for serious crimes, whether perpetrated by the Batista regime or by supporters of
27566-419: The Árbenz government. On 27 June, Árbenz chose to resign. This allowed Armas and his CIA-assisted forces to march into Guatemala City and establish a military junta , which elected Armas as president on 7 July. The Armas regime then consolidated power by rounding up and executing suspected communists, while crushing the previously flourishing labor unions and reversing the previous agrarian reforms. Guevara
27745-521: Was "the social justice that land redistribution brings about". A few months later, 17 May 1959, the agrarian reform law , crafted by Guevara, went into effect, limiting the size of all farms to 1,000 acres (400 ha). Any holdings over these limits were expropriated by the government and either redistributed to peasants in 67-acre (270,000 m ) parcels or held as state-run communes. The law also stipulated that foreigners could not own Cuban sugar-plantations. On 2 June 1959, he married Aleida March ,
27924-530: Was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. Born in Birán ,
28103-484: Was a communist to the press, he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state. We are not executing innocent people or political opponents. We are executing murderers and they deserve it. – Castro's response to his critics regarding the mass executions, 1959 In suppressing the revolution, Batista's government had killed thousands of Cubans; Castro and influential sectors of
28282-821: Was a prolific writer and diarist, composing a seminal guerrilla warfare manual , along with a best-selling memoir about his youthful continental motorcycle journey. His experiences and studying of Marxism–Leninism led him to posit that the Third World 's underdevelopment and dependence was an intrinsic result of imperialism , neocolonialism , and monopoly capitalism , with the only remedies being proletarian internationalism and world revolution . Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment continental revolutions across both Africa and South America, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia , where he
28461-479: Was a socialist, which were exacerbated by the association between nationalist and communist movements in Latin America and the links between the Cold War and decolonization. By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime. Ambassador to Cuba, E. T. Smith, who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement, personally went to Batista and informed him that
28640-404: Was also a stockholder and attorney for the United Fruit Company. Guevara's conviction strengthened that Marxism, achieved through armed struggle and defended by an armed populace, was the only way to rectify such conditions. Gadea wrote later, "It was Guatemala which finally convinced him of the necessity for armed struggle and for taking the initiative against imperialism. By the time he left, he
28819-475: Was also responsible for the summary executions of a number of men accused of being informers , deserters , or spies . In his diaries, Guevara described the first such execution, of Eutimio Guerra, a peasant who had acted as a guide for the Castrist guerrillas, but admitted treason when it was discovered he accepted the promise of ten thousand pesos for repeatedly giving away the rebels' position for attack by
28998-420: Was arrested and charged for violent conduct, but the magistrate dismissed the charges. His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás' politically motivated suicide in 1951. Seeing himself as Chibás' heir, Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections, though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him. He
29177-576: Was attracted to Guevara's energy and his relaxed informal approach; moreover they shared revolutionary leftist aspirations against Western imperialism . Guevara next spent 12 days in Japan (15–27 July), participating in negotiations aimed at expanding Cuba's trade relations with that country. During the visit he refused to visit and lay a wreath at Japan's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier commemorating soldiers lost during World War II , remarking that
29356-468: Was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and summarily executed . Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films . As a result of his perceived martyrdom, poetic invocations for class struggle , and desire to create the consciousness of a "new man" driven by moral rather than material incentives, Guevara has evolved into
29535-490: Was eager to fight on behalf of Árbenz, and joined an armed militia organized by the communist youth for that purpose. However, frustrated with that group's inaction, Guevara soon returned to medical duties. Following the coup, he again volunteered to fight, but soon after, Árbenz took refuge in the Mexican embassy and told his foreign supporters to leave the country. Guevara's repeated calls to resist were noted by supporters of
29714-400: Was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008. The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries, Castro polarized world opinion. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary government advanced economic and social justice while securing Cuba's independence from American hegemony . His critics view him as
29893-409: Was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels. As a result, Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned, going into exile in the US and joining the anti-Castro movement. On 16 February 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . On April 9, Castro announced that the elections, which the 26th of July Movement promised would occur after
30072-557: Was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havana's poorest districts and began campaigning. The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election. During his campaign, Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he
30251-643: Was instead won by his Partido Auténtico ' s new candidate, Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR, now allied to the police force, assassinated Justo Fuentes, a socialist friend of Castro. In response, Prío agreed to quell the gangs, but found them too powerful to control. Castro had moved further to the left, influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cuba's problems as an integral part of capitalist society, or
30430-466: Was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castro's troops in guerrilla warfare. Castro accepted the offer, but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition, so Sturgis became a gunrunner. Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) weapons expert Samuel Cummings' International Armament Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia. Sturgis opened
30609-479: Was like a blindfolded man in a forest, who doesn't even know where north or south is. If you don't eventually come to truly understand the history of the class struggle , or at least have a clear idea that society is divided between the rich and the poor, and that some people subjugate and exploit other people, you're lost in a forest, not knowing anything. – Fidel Castro on discovering Marxism, 2009 That same year, Grau decided not to stand for re-election, which
30788-406: Was offering assistance to the " Anti-Communist Legion of the Caribbean " which was training in the Dominican Republic. This multi-national force, composed mostly of Spaniards and Cubans, but also of Croatians, Germans, Greeks, and right-wing mercenaries, was plotting to topple Castro's new regime. At this stage, Guevara acquired the additional position of Minister of Finance, as well as President of
30967-410: Was promoted by Fidel Castro to Comandante (commander) of a second army column. As second-in-command, Guevara was a harsh disciplinarian who sometimes shot defectors. Deserters were punished as traitors, and Guevara was known to send squads to track those seeking to abandon their duties. As a result, Guevara became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness. During the guerrilla campaign, Guevara
31146-411: Was rushed by a crowd. I witnessed the spectacle of a totally spontaneous revolution ... [T]hat experience led me to identify myself even more with the cause of the people. My still incipient Marxist ideas had nothing to do with our conduct—it was a spontaneous reaction on our part, as young people with Martí-an , anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist and pro-democratic ideas. – Fidel Castro on
31325-452: Was successful; although both opposed Prío's administration, their meeting never got beyond polite generalities. On 10 March 1952, Batista seized power in a military coup, with Prío fleeing to Mexico. Declaring himself president, Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections, describing his new system as "disciplined democracy"; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batista's move, and like many others, considered it
31504-702: Was sure of this." Guevara arrived in Mexico City on 21 September 1954, and worked in the allergy section of the General Hospital and at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico. In addition he gave lectures on medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in the National Autonomous University of Mexico and worked as a news photographer for Latina News Agency . His first wife Hilda notes in her memoir My Life with Che , that for
31683-437: Was the improvement of infrastructure. Within the first six months of Castro's government, 1,000 km (600 mi) of roads were built across the island, while $ 300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects. Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness, while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for
31862-464: Was through this symbolic act, which horrified many in the Cuban financial sector, that Guevara signaled his distaste for money and the class distinctions it brought about. Guevara's long time friend Ricardo Rojo later remarked that "the day he signed Che on the bills, (he) literally knocked the props from under the widespread belief that money was sacred." International threats were heightened when, on 4 March 1960, two massive explosions ripped through
32041-524: Was working as a journalist and photographer for " Agencia Latina de Noticias ". Fidel liked him, later describing him as "a more advanced revolutionary than I was". Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castro's rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding, Castro toured the US in search of wealthy sympathizers, there being monitored by Batista's agents, who allegedly orchestrated
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