Castro was born in southeastern Cuba. In 2017 U.S. Pres. [321], Castro's government diversified its economy into biotechnology and tourism, the latter outstripping Cuba's sugar industry as its primary source of revenue in 1995. [85] Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo, who agreed to teach Castro's rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare. [296] On 30 January 1988, Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castro's plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans. Mandela praised Cuba's involvement in battling South Africa during the Angolan Civil War and thanked Castro personally. [35] Castro had moved further to the left, influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin. Cuba also began acquiring weapons from the Soviet Union, which soon became the countrys chief supporter and trade partner. "[523] Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as both "a sincere and reliable friend of Russia" and a "symbol of an era", while Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping similarly referred to him as "a close comrade and a sincere friend" to China. The program was designed to protect Cuban children whose parents were being targeted by Fidel Castro's new regimeand to shield them from the Communist ideologies feared by the U.S. at the . [311] When Gorbachev regained control, Cuba-Soviet relations deteriorated further and Soviet troops were withdrawn in September 1991. By the 1980s, Cuba's economy was again in trouble, following a decline in the market price of sugar and 1979's decimated harvest. His announcement that he was stepping down was made through a letter that was addressed to the country and posted on the Web site of the official Communist Party newspaper, Granma. [125] Entering Havana, Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency, setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel. Castros force of 800 guerrillas had defeated the Cuban governments 30,000-man professional army. The tide of battle would turn, however: Castros guerrilla warfare campaign and his propaganda efforts succeeded in eroding the power of Batistas military and popular support while also attracting volunteers to the revolutionary cause. [207] Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the US if Cuba were invaded, but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war. [302], When Gorbachev visited Cuba in April 1989, he informed Castro that perestroika meant an end to subsidies for Cuba. [487] Another son known as Ciro was also born in the early 1960s, the result of another brief fling, his existence confirmed by Celia Snchez.[476]. Barack Obamas historic visit to Cuba with a 1,600-word letter in Granma. Ral CastroFidels younger brother and successorcontinued to gradually adopt free-market policies. Severino Castro Apastillado. [436], Castro's primary residence was at Punto Cero, a large and vegetative estate approximately 6km from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighbourhood. [430], He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing; for 37 years, he wore only his trademark olive-green military fatigues or the standard MINFAR dress uniform for formal events and special occasions, emphasizing his role as the perpetual revolutionary, but in the mid-1990s began wearing dark civilian suits and guayabera in public. A better way to understand Castroism is as a system that sought to combine the economic and political elements of Marxism with those of Simn Bolvar, whose anti-imperialist bent is clearly evident in Castros own philosophy. But because he has the power to leadwe have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction". [73] Corresponding with supporters, he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me. [172] He also met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, with the two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem. [328] Castro also became a proponent of the anti-globalization movement, criticizing US global hegemony and the control exerted by multinationals. He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution, and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bella's socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War. Critics call him a dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses, the exodus of many Cubans, and the impoverishment of the country's economy. [528], "El Comandante" redirects here. [283] Cuba's economy became even more dependent on Soviet aid, with Soviet subsidies (mainly in the form of supplies of low-cost oil and voluntarily buying Cuban sugar at inflated prices) averaging $45billion a year by the late 1980s. [199] Gay men were forced into the Military Units to Aid Production (Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Produccin UMAP); after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move, the UMAP camps were closed in 1967, although gay men continued to be imprisoned. [14] After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing US intervention in the Caribbean,[15] he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of "honesty, decency and justice". [440] Next to Punto Cero is Unit 160 which was the base of Fidel's bodyguard units. [290], In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party; a reformer, he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press (glasnost) and economic decentralization (perestroika) in an attempt to strengthen socialism. "Biographers and historians on both poles have treated his life like prosecutors scouring his . President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism. [106] Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed. Fidel Castros revolutionary career began while he was enrolled at the School of Law of the University of Havana, when he participated in resistance movements in the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( / kstro /; [1] American Spanish: [fiel alexando kasto rus]; 13 August 1926 - 25 November 2016) 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. [20] 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".[21]. Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up; popular among the working class, it alienated the richer landowners, including Castro's own mother,[143] whose farmlands were taken. Adopting a MarxistLeninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. [282] In late 1981, Castro publicly accused the US of biological warfare against Cuba by orchestrating a dengue fever epidemic. 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. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully . Answer (1 of 6): I think the majority of people who responded on here don't fully understand genetics or culture and the cross cultural/genetic exchange that occurred since 1492 (but honestly even further back in Europe). [24] The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops, mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans, and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947. In their view, he should be "applauded" for his regime's "substantial improvements" to healthcare and education, but criticized for its "ruthless suppression of freedom of expression. [259] In February, Castro visited Algeria and then Libya, where he spent ten days with Gaddafi and oversaw the establishment of the Jamahariya system of governance, before attending talks with the Marxist government of South Yemen. He presented these demands to U Thant, visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations, but the US ignored them. A charismatic figure, Chibs advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Pedro Juan was the son of Casimiro Felipe/Phelipe de Castro Fernndez and Maria Lpez Juana Mndez. Although popular domestically, criticsin particular the US press, argued that many were not fair trials. [27] At this point, his public speeches took on a distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba. Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an "idiot", and would wait for the right time to retaliate against them. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (/kstro/;[1] American Spanish:[fiel alexando kasto rus]; 13 August 1926 25 November 2016) 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. He seems to be sincere. [316] Support for Castro remained strong, and although there were small anti-government demonstrations, the Cuban opposition rejected the exile community's calls for an armed uprising. [221] In October 1965, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the "Cuban Communist Party" and published the membership of its Central Committee.[222]. After legal means failed to dislodge Batistas new dictatorship, Castro began to organize a rebel force for the task in 1953. [326], Mired in economic problems, Cuba was aided by the election of Hugo Chvez to the Venezuelan Presidency in 1999. In a few hours you will be victorious or defeated, but regardless of the outcomelisten well, friendsthis Movement will triumph. [182] 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 the absence of freedom of speech and press.[183]. Cuba's foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist, believing that every nation should control its own natural resources. Although described as a "relatively highly developed Latin American export economy" in 1959 and the early 1960s, Cuba's basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s. [236] This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged, consisting of those connected to the administration; they had access to better housing, private transportation, servants, and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad. [121] Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January, while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence. [27], In April 1948, Castro travelled to Bogot, Colombia, leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Pern's Argentine government. ", "Viva Fidel Castro!" Expressing contempt for the US, Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR, establishing relations with several MarxistLeninist states. [250] As the Yom Kippur War broke out in October 1973 between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria, Cuba sent 4,000 troops to aid Syria. [239] When that year's production quota was not met, Castro offered to resign during a public speech, but assembled crowds insisted he remain. [172] Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly, speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America. [5] After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant, Lina Ruz Gonzlez (19031963)of Canarian ancestryas his mistress and later second wife; together they had seven children, among them Fidel. However, after massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001, Castro successfully proposed a one-time cash purchase of food from the US while declining its government's offer of humanitarian aid. [72] He read widely, enjoying the works of Marx, Lenin, and Mart but also reading books by Freud, Kant, Shakespeare, Munthe, Maugham, and Dostoyevsky, analysing them within a Marxist framework. [238] The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane, and to meet its export quota, the government drafted in the army, implemented a seven-day working week, and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest. However, Fidel Castro was quick to qualify his remarks in a speech that followed a few days later. [490] The London Observer stated that he proved to be "as divisive in death as he was in life", and that the only thing that his "enemies and admirers" agreed upon was that he was "a towering figure" who "transformed a small Caribbean island into a major force in world affairs". [279], By November 1987, Castro began spending more time on the Angolan Civil War, in which the Marxist MPLA government had fallen into retreat. ("Fatherland or Death"), a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years. [335] In September 2005, Castro established a group of medical professionals, known as the Henry Reeve Brigade, with the mission of international medical solidarity. [144] Within a year, Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 per cent of the nation's wealth, declaring that "the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters. [19] In later years, anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time, but these accusations remain unproven. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born out of wedlock at his father's farm on 13 August 1926. [76] 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 a bourgeois environment. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. Castros propaganda efforts proved particularly effective, and as internal political support waned and military defeats multiplied, Batista fled the country on January 1, 1959. Born in Birn, Oriente Province, Castro was the illegitimate son of ngel Castro y Argiz, a wealthy farmer and landowner, and his mistress Lina Ruz Gonzlez. [380] A funeral procession travelled 900 kilometres (560mi) along the island's central highway from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, tracing in reverse, the route of the "Freedom Caravan" of January 1959, and after nine days of public mourning, his ashes were entombed in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba. [384] According to Castro, a country could be regarded as socialist if its means of production were controlled by the state. [285] Soviet economic assistance had not helped Cuba's long-term growth prospects by promoting diversification or sustainability. In contrast, his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and US imperialism. [56] 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 Jos Mart. He held the title of premier until 1976 and then began a long tenure as president of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers. [453] Besides Ral, Castro was not close to any of his other siblings, although he did have friendly relations with his elder brother Ramn and sister Angelita. 1971, which means he was conceived just a few weeks after his parents got married (try not to . [246] Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Skou Tour, praising him as Africa's greatest leader, and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People. [385], Castro's government was also nationalistic, with Castro declaring, "We are not only Marxist-Leninists, but also nationalists and patriots". On the night of 16 to 17 April, Brigade 2506 landed along Cuba's Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia. Castro responded that "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction. [467] Throughout his rule, Castro never named an official "First Lady" and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary, Celia Snchez or Ral's wife, Vilma Espn, would play such a role of la primera dama. Whereas Fidel was "charismatic, energetic, visionary but extremely impulsive and totally disorganized", Ral was described as a "natural, methodical, and uncompromising organizer". [421][461][462] Outside of his escort, Castro was also close to Manuel "Barbarroja" Pineiro, the head of the American Department of the DGI, Antonio Nez Jimnez, and the Colombian novelist Gabriel Garca Mrquez. [377][378] The cause of death was not disclosed. The Canadian government denied it, Cuba has never claimed it and Trudeau's parents never visited Cuba until several years after Justin Trudeau was born. Fidel Castros early attempts to foment Marxist revolutions elsewhere in Latin America foundered, but Cuban troops played an important role in various conflicts in other less-developed countries, especially in Africa. [46], During his campaign, Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista, the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party. These changes were brought on in part by the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which had been Cubas chief ally and trade partner. [271], In the late 1970s, Cuba's relations with North American states improved during the period with Mexican President Luis Echeverra, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,[272] and US President Jimmy Carter in power. [277] For the first time, unemployment became a serious problem in Castro's Cuba, with the government sending unemployed youth to other countries, primarily East Germany, to work there. [18] Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers, and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university. In late 1993 Castros daughter sought asylum in the United States, where she openly criticized her fathers rule. His favourite film was the five-hour long 1967 adaption of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. [412] His hero was Alexander the Great, whose Spanish equivalent Alejandro he adopted as his nom de guerre. Fidel Castro's speech to the Movement just before the Moncada Attack, 1953[51], 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. Parents and Siblings. He provided them with a budget of $13million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia, who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba. Free farmers' markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth, while US dollars were also made legal tender. [403], Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as "fiercely hard-working, dedicated, loyal generous and magnanimous" but noted that he could be "vindictive and unforgiving". Calling the situation "incredible and absurd", he maintained that war would not benefit either side, and that it represented "one of the gravest risks of nuclear war" since the Cuban missile crisis. He came to interpret Cuba's problems as an integral part of capitalist society, or 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. [342] Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying that the US-led war had imposed an international "law of the jungle". "[145], Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry, introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit, advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination. [2] His father, ngel Castro y Argiz, a veteran of the SpanishAmerican War,[3] was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia, in the northwest of Spain. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination, economic embargo, and counter-revolution, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. [442], Castro's main vacation destination was Cayo de Piedra, a small key island formerly the site of a lighthouse, approximately a mile long and divided into two by a cyclone in the 1960s. [460] They were also his companions on special events, such as his birthday or during national holidays, which they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro where he would recall his life stories. [488] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a "remarkable leader" and a "larger than life leader who served his people. Those elections were canceled when Fulgencio Batista forcibly seized power. [416], Fidel Castro's religious beliefs have been a matter of some debate; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic. Others say the 50-year policy has failed to achieve its goals, and Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States. His big battle is international affairs. "[418] During a visit of Jesse Jackson, Castro accompanied him to a Methodist church service where he even spoke from the pulpit with a Bible before him, an event that marked a beginning of increased openness towards Christianity in Cuba. Many members of the Cuban upper and middle classes felt betrayed by these measures and chose to immigrate to the United States. [489] Bourne described Castro as "an influential world leader" who commanded "great respect" from individuals of all political ideologies across the developing world. [220] Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination, believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed. Alexis Castro Del Valle, born in 1962. In 2014 U.S. Pres. [260] Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance. [455], Outside of his immediate family, Castro's closest friend was fellow revolutionary Celia Snchez, who accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s, and controlled almost all access to the leader. [513] Balfour stated that Castro's "moral and political hegemony" within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making. While married to his first wife, ngel Castro began an affair with one of his servants, Lina Ruz Gonzlez, whom he later also married. [444] He arrived here from his inaccessible private marina located near the Bay of Pigs, La Caleta del Rosario, which also housed another residence and guesthouse. The agent, Paola Comin, didn't provide details. Fernandez's book created a rift even among Castro relatives in exile: Juana filed suit in Spain in 1998 arguing the book defamed her and Fidel's parents. Under US pressure, the hostages were released, and Castro welcomed them back as heroes. He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections. She was promoted into a national celebrity and propaganda tool, and when the cow died in 1985, Granma published an official obituary for her on the front page, and the postal service issued stamps in her honour as well. [267] Castro extended support to Latin American revolutionary movements, namely the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its overthrow of the Nicaraguan rightist government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979.