Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz). Born August 13, 1926 in Biran (Oriente province, Cuba) - died November 25, 2016 in Havana. Cuban statesman, politician, party leader and revolutionary, was Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Council of State of Cuba (President) in 1959-2008 and 1976-2008 and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba in 1961-2011.
Under his leadership, Cuba was transformed into a one-party socialist state, industry and private property were nationalized, and large-scale reforms were carried out throughout society.
He was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979-1983 and 2006-2009.
The son of a wealthy farmer, Castro acquired left-wing, anti-imperialist views while attending law school at the University of Havana. After participating in revolts against the right-wing governments of the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he attempted to overthrow the military junta of President Batista with a failed attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953. A year after his release, he headed to Mexico, where, together with his brother Raul, he organized the revolutionary July 26 Movement. Returning to Cuba, he led a guerrilla war against the Batista regime, beginning with the landings in the Sierra Maestra. As the government's fortunes deteriorated, Castro gradually assumed a central role in the Cuban Revolution, which successfully overthrew Batista in 1959, giving the revolutionaries control of Cuba.
The US administration, alarmed by Castro’s friendly relations with the USSR, organized a series of unsuccessful attempts assassination attempt and imposed an economic embargo against Cuba. The peak of the confrontation was the unsuccessful CIA-organized military operation upon his overthrow in 1961. In an effort to counter these threats, Castro formed a military and economic alliance with the USSR, allowing the latter to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, which, according to the American version, provoked Caribbean crisis 1962 (according to the Soviet version, the crisis was provoked by the previous deployment of American missiles medium range in Turkey).
In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution. Cuba became a one-party state under the leadership of the Communist Party, the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The Marxist-Leninist model of development was adopted, socialist reforms were carried out, the economy was placed under centralized control, measures were taken to develop education and health care, which, at the same time, were accompanied by the establishment of state control over the press and the suppression of dissent. Hoping to overthrow global capitalism, Castro supported foreign revolutionary organizations and Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua, and Grenada, sending Cuban troops to support leftist allies in the Yom Kippur War, the Ethiopian-Somali War, and the Angolan Civil War. These measures, combined with the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement, led to Cuba gaining prestige among developing countries. After the collapse of the USSR and CMEA, a “special period” was introduced in Cuba, accompanied by a limited introduction of market mechanisms into the economy, and in the international arena established strong relationships with a number of leftist Latin American leaders such as . Cuba, along with Venezuela, became a co-founding country of ALBA.
On July 31, 2006, due to health reasons, Castro transferred all of his key positions to his brother Raul.
On February 24, 2008, he left all government positions, and on April 19, 2011, he resigned from the post of head of the ruling party.
Castro is a controversial figure. His supporters praised his socialist, anti-imperialist and humanist policies, commitment to environmental protection and Cuba's independence from American influence. At the same time, he is viewed by critics as a dictator whose regime violated the human rights of Cubans and whose policies led to the departure of more than a million people from Cuba and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Through his actions and works, he has significantly influenced various organizations and politicians around the world.
.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in Cuba in the town of Biran (Oriente province) in the family of a native of the Spanish province of Galicia, Angel Castro.
According to many available sources, Fidel Castro was actually born on August 13, 1927 - this is supported by both the church record created at Fidel's baptism, which lists August 13, 1927 as his date of birth, and public confirmation in the late 1950s Fidel's mother and three sisters of this date of birth. And the date of birth, August 13, 1926, appeared due to the fact that when placing him in an elementary boarding school, his parents assigned Fidel one more year, since he was then 5 years old, and he was accepted into school only from the age of 6.
When agreeing on his biography prepared for Soviet newspapers, Fidel Castro himself asked to leave 1926 as his birthday, since this date appeared in all the documents he used.
His father is Angel Castro Argis (1875-1956), an emigrant from Spain, a former poor farmer who became rich and became the owner of a large sugar plantation. Mother - Lina Rus Gonzalez (1903-1963), was a cook on her father's estate. She bore Angel Castro five children before he married her. Remembering his childhood, Fidel said this: “I was born into a landowner’s family. What does it mean? My father was a Spanish peasant from a very poor family. He came to Cuba as a Spanish immigrant at the beginning of the century and began to work in very difficult conditions. Being an enterprising man, he soon attracted attention and took certain leadership positions at construction sites that were carried out at the beginning of the century.
He managed to accumulate some capital, which he invested in the purchase of land. In other words, as a business man, he became successful and became a land owner... Such things were not so difficult in the early years of the republic. Then he rented additional land. And when I was born, I was really born into a family that could be called landowning.
On the other hand, my mother was a simple, poor peasant woman. Therefore, in our family there was no what could be called oligarchic traditions. However, objectively speaking, our social position at that moment was such that we belonged to families with relatively high economic incomes. Our family was the owner of the lands and enjoyed all the advantages and, one might say, privileges inherent in landowners in our country.".
Although Castro's parents were illiterate, they tried to provide a good education for their children. At school, Fidel was one of the best students thanks to his truly phenomenal memory. At the same time, Fidel's revolutionary character manifested itself - at the age of 13, he participated in a workers' uprising on his father's plantation. Max Lestnik, Castro's school friend, recalled: “He had great courage. They said who would follow Fidel, die or win.”.
In 1940 he wrote to the then American President letter. In the letter, the boy congratulates the president on his re-election to a second term and asks: “If it’s not difficult for you, please send me an American 10 dollar bill. I've never seen it, but I'd really like to have it. Your friend". In the return address line - he indicated the coordinates of the school where he studied. The Comandante himself once mentioned this act: “I was very proud when I received a response from a member of the presidential administration. The message was even posted on the school bulletin board. Only there was no banknote in it.”. In 2004, a letter from young Fidel was found by employees of the National Archives Office in Washington.
In 1941, Fidel Castro entered the privileged Jesuit College Bethlehem. His mentor was the Jesuit Father Lorento, who noted determination and vanity in the boy. In college, Fidel got into many fights and often carried a gun. I once bet with a friend that riding a bicycle full speed ahead crashes into the wall. And crashed. I had to stay in the hospital later, but Castro won the bet.
In 1945, Fidel brilliantly graduated from college and entered the University of Havana to study law. IN student years he lived modestly. His room at the boarding house was in chaos; the only thing that was in order were the books of the revolutionary José Martí on the shelves. In those years, Fidel Castro read a lot of Mussolini and General Primo de Rivera. He had no sympathy for communists, but once joked: “I am ready to become a communist immediately if they make me Stalin”.
In 1945 he entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana, from which he graduated in 1950 with the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Doctor of Laws civil law. After graduating from university, he entered into private legal practice in Havana; in particular, he handled the affairs of the poor for free. At this time, he joined the Party of the Cuban People (Orthodox), and was considered for parliamentary nomination from the same party in the 1952 elections. On March 10, at the same time, the party leadership did not approve Castro’s candidacy as a candidate for deputy, citing his radicalism.
On March 11, a military coup took place, as a result of which Fulgencio Batista seized power. The Cuban Congress was dissolved and legislature passed to the Council of Ministers, the constitutional guarantees ceased for a month and a half, and the 1940 Constitution was soon abolished. Fidel Castro was at the forefront of the fight against the dictatorship, and on March 24, he presented to the Havana Court of Particularly Important and Urgent Cases a lawsuit, accompanied by evidence, to prosecute Batista for violating constitutional norms and seizing power. He demanded that Batista be tried and punished, while posing the following question with great subtext: “Otherwise, how can this tribunal judge an ordinary citizen who takes up arms against this illegal regime that came to power as a result of betrayal? It is absolutely clear that the conviction of such a citizen would be an absurdity, incompatible with the most elementary principles of justice.”.
In conclusion, Fidel, addressing the judges, said that if they do not find the strength to fulfill their professional and patriotic duty, then it would be better to take off their judicial robes and resign, so that it would be clear to everyone that in Cuba there are the same people exercise legislative, executive, and judicial power.
During the struggle against the Batista government, the Orthodox Party gradually disintegrated. Castro managed to unite a small group former members this party, which began preparations for the struggle to overthrow the Batista dictatorship. Fidel Castro and his comrades decided to seize the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba and the barracks in the city of Bayamo. Preparations for the assault took about a year. On July 25, 1953, 165 people gathered in the Siboney estate, located near Santiago de Cuba, under conditions of strict secrecy. Their main slogan was the words: “Freedom or death!” .
After the failure of the assault on the Moncada barracks, many of the attackers fled. Raul Castro was arrested on July 29, and Fidel went into hiding until August 1. The next day he was transported to the provincial prison of the city of Boniata, where Fidel was placed in solitary confinement, prohibited from using books and the right of correspondence was limited. The military tribunal began on September 21 and took place in the building of the Palace of Justice, from where Raul Castro’s group once fired at the barracks. At one of the court hearings, Fidel said famous speech “History will justify me!”, which sharply condemned the Batista regime and called on the Cuban people to armed struggle against tyranny.
On September 21, the court sentenced Castro to 15 years in prison. In mid-February 1954, Batista visited the Presidio Modelo prison, where the participants in the assault on the Moncada barracks were serving their sentences. Fidel organized a noisy protest and, as punishment, was placed in solitary confinement, located opposite the prison morgue.
On May 15, 1955, Castro was released under a general amnesty, having served about 22 months for organizing an armed rebellion. That same year, Castro emigrated to Mexico.
On July 7, 1955, Fidel flew to Mexico, where Raul and other comrades were waiting for him. Fidel Castro flew from Havana to Merida, the capital of Yucatan, from there he took a local company's plane to the port city of Vera Cruz, and from there he boarded a bus and went to Mexico City. The revolutionaries settled in the house of a woman named Maria Antonia Gonzalez Rodriguez, who had been living in exile for several years. Maria Antonia recalled: “Fidel arrived with one suitcase full of books, and under his arm he held another bundle of books. There was no other luggage".
Here they began to prepare an uprising. Fidel founded the “26 July Movement” and began preparing for the overthrow of Batista. On August 26, 1956, the most popular Cuban magazine, Bohemia, published his letter in which he warned the dictator: “...in 1956 we will either be free or victims. I solemnly confirm this statement, being in full consciousness and considering that there are 4 months and 6 days left until December 31st.".
On November 25, 1956, on the motor yacht Granma, Cuban revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, went to Cuba, among them was the Argentine doctor Ernesto Guevara (Che Guevara), who described this picture as follows: “The whole ship was a living tragedy: the men were holding their stomachs with sadness on their faces; some simply plunged their faces into buckets, others sat motionless in strange positions with clothes covered in vomit.".
A detachment of revolutionaries created in Mexico was supposed to land in the Sierra Maestra mountains, in the southeast of Cuba. The landing was unsuccessful. Soon after landing, the revolutionaries were attacked by troops, many were killed or captured. Two survived small groups who met by chance in the forests a few days later. At first, they did not have sufficient strength and did not pose a threat to the Batista regime, although they carried out individual operations attacking police stations. A decisive turn of events was caused by the proclamation of land reform and the distribution of land to peasants; this ensured massive support of the people, the movement increased its strength, Fidel’s troops numbered several hundred fighters. At this time, Batista sent several thousand soldiers to suppress the revolution. The unexpected happened - the troops entered the mountains and did not return. Most fled, but several thousand went over to the side of the revolutionaries, after which the revolution developed rapidly.
During the period 1957-1958. Armed rebel groups, conducting guerrilla warfare tactics, carried out several large and dozens of small operations. At the same time, the partisan detachments were transformed into the Rebel Army, whose commander-in-chief was Fidel Castro. In all the battles in the Sierra Maestra mountains, Fidel was always in the first line of attack. Often, with his shot from a sniper rifle, he gave the signal for the start of the battle. This was the case until the partisans wrote a collective letter asking Fidel to refrain from direct personal participation in hostilities in the future.
In the summer of 1958, Batista's army launched a major offensive against the revolutionary forces, after which events began to develop rapidly. Castro's armed forces were joined by units of the Student Federation, which opened the so-called Second Front in the Sierra del Escambray mountains in the central part of the island. In the west, in Pinar del Rio, the Third Front operated, under the control of Revolutionary movement 26 July.
On January 1, 1959, the Rebel Army entered Havana. The population of the capital rejoiced over the overthrow of Batista. On the same day, Batista's political opponents gathered at a meeting where a new government was formed. Manuel Urrutia, known for his honesty, became interim president, and liberal lawyer Miro Cardona became prime minister.
On January 8, Fidel Castro, appointed Minister of War, arrived in the capital and immediately showed claims to a leading role in the government. Back in 1957, Castro, giving an interview in the Sierra Maestra with journalist Herbert Matthews of the New York Times, said: “Power doesn’t interest me. After the victory, I will return to my village and practice law.". The famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara said then: “He possesses the qualities of a great leader, which, combined with his courage, with his energy and with his rare ability to recognize the will of the people again and again, have raised him to the place of honor that he now occupies.”.
However, in reality everything happens differently. After Prime Minister Miro Cardona resigns on February 15, Fidel Castro becomes the new head of government. In June he cancels previously planned free elections, suspends the 1940 Constitution, which guaranteed fundamental rights, and begins to govern the country exclusively with the help of decrees.
On May 17, 1959, the Council of Ministers of Cuba adopted an agrarian reform law; in accordance with it land with an area of more than 400 hectares, it was planned to seize it from the owners and divide it among the peasants. This law, as well as Castro's rapprochement with the communists, caused discontent in the United States. Thousands of counter-revolutionaries were arrested. A militia of thousands was created to protect the revolution. Fidel then announced the nationalization of large enterprises and banks, mostly owned by Americans.
On October 10, Raul Castro was appointed Minister of the Armed Forces. This caused great dissatisfaction with the commander of the troops in Camagüey, Uber Matos. On the same day, he, along with fourteen other officers, resigned and accused Fidel of becoming a communist. This point of view was held by the Cuban leadership, and later by Cuban and Soviet historians. From their point of view, Major Matos and the officers who supported him were about to announce their collective resignation, with the goal of starting a mutiny throughout the Rebel Army. This would entail the resignation of some members of the Revolutionary Government and cause a crisis of the entire revolutionary power. At night, Fidel received a telephone message that Uber Matos’s speech was scheduled for the morning of October 21. He ordered Camilo Cienfuegos to go to Camagüey, disarm and apprehend Matos and his men.
After some time, Fidel himself arrived in Camagüey. A message was broadcast on the radio that Fidel Castro had arrived to investigate an emergency case and all citizens speaking in defense of the revolution should come to the square. On the square the commandant addressed them with short speech, saying that a conspiracy was brewing in the province, led by Uber Matos, who was currently holed up in the regimental barracks, and that he had arrived to thwart the counter-revolutionary conspiracy. Fidel invited everyone who cares about the fate of the revolution to follow him. Fidel Castro moved unarmed ahead of the crowd following him, personally broke the lock on the barracks gate, disarmed the sentry and arrested the conspirators. “The process lasted 5 days, if, of course, you could call it that. It was more like a tribunal. Before we started, they showed me a stack of papers, and for the first time I saw that I was being accused of treason and sedition,” Matos recalls. Uber Matos was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and after serving his sentence he was deported to Venezuela, after which he joined the militant emigration; his son also became a prominent figure in emigrant circles.
Repressions against figures of the Batista regime and opposition to the Castro regime (including former anti-Batista fighters) began in Cuba shortly after the revolution and continued thereafter. Particularly massive arrests were carried out in 1961, when stadiums and other similar places were converted to hold those arrested.
In January 1961, John Kennedy took office as President of the United States, who received from the previous administration plans for an operation to overthrow the revolutionary government in Cuba.
On April 15, eight B-26 Invader aircraft (with Cuban identification marks and piloted by Cuban emigrants) bomb Cuban Air Force airfields. The next day, during the funeral of the victims of the bombing, Fidel calls the accomplished revolution socialist and, before the upcoming invasion, declares: “They cannot forgive us for being under their noses and for what we have done Socialist Revolution under the nose of the United States!”
Until this moment Political Views The Castros were not known to American intelligence. During testimony before Congress in December 1959, the Deputy Director of the CIA stated: “We know that the communists consider Castro to be a representative of the bourgeoisie.”. Castro himself never renounced Marxism, and while studying at the university he was strongly influenced by the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin; his closest ally in the fight against capitalism in Latin America was Che Guevara, who repeatedly emphasized his commitment to communist ideas.
At dawn On April 17, 1961, about 1,500 people from the so-called “Brigade 2506” landed in the Bay of Pigs area.. Most were Cubans trained in Nicaragua. The “brigade” headed to the shores of Cuba from Guatemala, which allowed the United States to deny its involvement in the incident at the UN. Although Kennedy later admitted his government's participation in preparing the operation.
From the very beginning, the attackers encountered desperate resistance from members of the people's militia and units of the Insurgent Army, command of which was assumed by Fidel Castro. The paratroopers managed to seize a bridgehead and even advance several kilometers into the interior of the island. But they failed to gain a foothold at the achieved levels. Over the next three days, the fighters of brigade 2506 were defeated first at Playa Larga, and then in the Playa Giron area. 1,173 people were captured, 82 (according to other sources 115) paratroopers were killed. The government army lost 173 soldiers killed, and according to some reports, several thousand militias were also injured.
Many versions of the failure of the operation have been put forward. The most popular of them is the version about the Americans’ refusal of previously promised military assistance to the landing of emigrants; version of an incorrect assessment of the strength of the Cuban army and the support of Castro by the population; version about poor preparation of the operation as such.
After attempting to overthrow the revolutionary government of Cuba, Fidel Castro announced his country's transition to a socialist path of development.
In 1962, the United States imposed an embargo on trade with Cuba and achieved its expulsion from the Organization of American States. The Castro government was accused of assisting revolutionaries in Venezuela, after which the OAS imposed diplomatic and trade sanctions against Cuba in 1964.
Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro:
Fidel Castro survived many assassination attempts during his life. He was one of the leaders whose life was under constant threat.
Behind the 638 planned and carried out attempts on his life were the American government, Cuban opponents of Castro and American mafia groups, who were dissatisfied with the fact that after the victory of the revolution, Castro took over the famous Havana casinos and brothels.
During his presidency, 38 assassination attempts were made on Castro, Kennedy - 42, - 72, Nixon - 184, Carter - 64, - 197, - 16, Clinton - 21. For the United States, the destruction of Castro has become a kind of obsession. “Everything else is less important; do not spare money, time, human resources and effort,” said one of the White House memos.
Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro - 638 ways to kill Fidel Castro
The most famous and original attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro include:
On November 22, 1963, a CIA officer gave a poisoned ballpoint pen to a Cuban for use against Fidel Castro during a meeting between President Kennedy's emissary and Castro to explore the possibility of improving relations between the two countries. The attempt failed.
In 1963, American lawyer Donovan went to see Castro. He was supposed to give the commander a gift of scuba gear, in the cylinders of which CIA agents had brought a tuberculosis bacillus. The lawyer, unaware of this, decided that the scuba gear was too simple for a gift, and bought another, more expensive one, and kept this one for himself. He soon died, but Castro remained alive.
In the 1960s, CIA intelligence agencies made another attempt on the commander's life. An exploding cigar was prepared as a gift for the Cuban leader. But the “gift” was not missed by the security service.
Knowing Castro's passion for diving, American intelligence distributed a large number of shellfish in the area of the Cuban coast. CIA agents planned to hide explosives in a large shell and paint the shellfish in bright colors to get Fidel's attention. However, a storm thwarted the attempt.
The Americans also tried to remove the commander with the help of women. One of former lovers Fidel was tasked with killing him using poison pills. She hid the pills in a tube of cream, but they dissolved in it. It is said that Castro, who uncovered the plot, offered her a gun so that she could shoot him, but the woman refused to do so.
In 1971, during Fidel Castro's trip to Chile, two snipers were supposed to shoot at him, but just before the assassination attempt, one of them was hit by a car, and the other was struck down by an acute attack of appendicitis.
In 2000, during the visit of the Cuban leader to Panama, 90 kg of explosives were planted under the podium from which he was supposed to speak. But it didn't work.
In 2000, a document was declassified that outlined the CIA's plans to destroy Fidel Castro. Among them there was a plan to use thallium salts.
Despite the fact that small Cuba successfully resisted its giant neighbor, it also participated in many wars around the world. Fidel Castro did not limit himself to fighting the United States; he actively helped the revolutionary forces of many third world countries. His army at one time consisted of 145 thousand people, not counting 110 thousand people in reserve and about one million men and women in the militia of the territorial troops; 57 thousand were sent to Angola, 5 thousand to Ethiopia, hundreds to South Yemen, Libya, Nicaragua, Grenada, Syria, Mozambique, Guinea, Tanzania, North Korea, Algeria, Uganda, Laos, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone.
On July 11, 2014, during his visit to Latin America, the President met with Fidel Castro Russian Federation V.V. Putin.
On July 12, 2014, he met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro. Before this, he wrote off 90% of Cuba's debts to the USSR, and the remaining 10% ($3.5 billion) is supposed to be invested in the Cuban economy by repaying it in equal semi-annual payments over 10 years. The foreign ministers of Russia and Cuba signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in international information security, as well as a Russian-Cuban statement on not being the first to deploy weapons in space.
January 27, 2015 already former manager Cuba's Fidel Castro said that although he does not trust the United States, he nevertheless welcomes the possibility of negotiations with Washington. In his written address, read out on Cuban central television, 88-year-old Castro stressed that any negotiations aimed at solving existing problems are accepted by Havana in accordance with international laws.
In February 2016, during a meeting between Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Pope Francis of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch attended a reception with Fidel, after which 6 photographs and a video without sound were published.
Cuban national television broadcast a meeting of 89-year-old Fidel Castro with schoolchildren at the educational complex. V. Espin.
Fidel Castro's height: 191 centimeters.
Personal life of Fidel Castro:
Fidel's personal life has always been surrounded by an aura of legends and numerous rumors. He himself always did not like to dwell on this topic.
Retired KGB Lieutenant General Nikolai Sergeevich Leonov, author of books and a close friend of the Castro brothers, when he was about to write about Fidel, received the following order from him: “Write everything that concerns my political activity. I have no secrets here. But leave your personal life, my emotional attachments to me - this is my only asset."
The official wife of Fidel Castro is considered to be Mirta Díaz-Balart, from whom he has his only legitimate son - Fidel Félix Castro Díaz-Balart, who was born in 1949 (he studied at Moscow State University at Faculty of Physics under the name Jose Raul Fernandez and interned at the Soviet Institute named after Kurchatov; he was married twice, the first time to a Russian woman, the second time to a Cuban woman).
After his divorce from his wife, Castro did not enter into a legal marriage. Mirta never talked about her marriage anywhere.
A book by Serge Raffy was published in France, the original title of which (Castro l"infidèle) contains a pun that plays on the name of Fidel. This is partly a biographical, partly a science fiction novel, "The Infidel Castro." It says that Fidel about twenty illegitimate children. In particular, Francisca Pupo, nicknamed “Pajita” (Pajita - “straw”), lives in Miami: “She was born after Castro met a young girl from Santa Clara in 1953.”
The daughter of Spanish immigrants who fled to Mexico after General Franco's rise to power, Isabel Custodio met Fidel in Mexico City while he was serving a short prison sentence after raiding revolutionary bases while preparing for the Granma expedition. In the book “Love will absolve me of my sins” (El amor me absolverá), published in Mexico, she claims that after leaving captivity, Fidel himself found her, spoke about his plans to rid Cuba of the Batista dictatorship and asked her to marry him.
A native of Bremen, Germany, Marita Lorenz claims that she became the mistress of 33-year-old Fidel immediately after the victory of the Cuban revolution. Marita was born on August 18, 1939 in the family of German sea captain Heinrich Lorenz and American dancer Alice June Lorenz, née Lofland. Her mother was arrested by the Gestapo on charges of spying for the United States. Together with Marita, they were in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp until 1945. On February 28, 1959, Marita met Castro on board the passenger ship Berlin, captained by her father. While her father was enjoying his afternoon nap, the 19-year-old girl invited the tall "Barbudos" onto the ship.
Fidel invited Marita Lorenz to become his translator and personal secretary. She dropped out of her studies at an American university and flew to Havana. The affair with Fidel ended in the fall of 1959, when Marita was five months pregnant. Their child died. It is unclear whether there was a miscarriage or whether Lorenz was forced to have an abortion. The girl's mother filed a lawsuit against Fidel Castro for $11 million. She wrote an angry letter to Fidel Castro, copies of which she was not too lazy to send to the Pope and US President Dwight Eisenhower.
The first lady of Cuba, according to reporters from Western agencies, could be considered a tall, blonde woman with green eyes named Dalia Soto del Valle, to whom Fidel Castro has allegedly been married since 1980. She has five children with Fidel. There is currently no confirmation of this information.
Lazaro Asensio, a journalist and former commander of the revolutionary troops, recalled: “In October 1959, a plane sank near Casilda Bay in Trinidad. Comandante Peña suggested that we use his niece by wife, a girl named Dalia Soto del Valle, as a diver. She was very young, beautiful, thin, with very white skin. We took her on the boat, she dived, but did not find the plane. When Fidel arrived in Trinidad, he was introduced to Dalia, he fell in love with her and no one ever saw her again."
Fidel Castro and Dalia Soto del Valle at a meeting with Pope Francis
Interesting Facts about Fidel Castro:
In 1962, Castro was excommunicated by Pope John XXIII on the basis of the Decree against Communism of Pope Pius XII for organizing the communist revolution in Cuba.
His sister Juanita Castro fled Cuba in 1964 and settled in Florida upon arriving in the United States; even before that, in the early sixties, she began collaborating with the US Central Intelligence Agency.
During the revolutionary years, Fidel often added two more zeros to the amount of the reward announced for his head.
Fidel Castro entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most fiery speaker - his speech to the UN on September 29, 1960 lasted 4 hours 29 minutes. According to Reuters: Castro's longest speech was delivered at the Third Congress of the Cuban Communist Party in 1986 and lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes. However, according to AN Cuba-vision, this speech lasted 27 hours.
Fidel Castro played in at least two American films, including the quite famous one at the time, “School for Mermaids.”
Castro has always been a fan of Rolex watches. In many photographs he can be seen with two Rolex Submariners on his wrist.
The NBO company, which ordered Stone's film Comandante, considered it a propaganda film praising Cuba and its leader. The film was banned from showing in the United States, and again went to Cuba in order to investigate how things are with human rights on Liberty Island. Ironically, in 2006, American authorities fined the Finding Fidel film crew for “violating the economic embargo” against Cuba.
At the end of April 2010, Fidel started a microblog on Twitter, intending to bypass the number of readers, Sebastian Piñera and Benjamin Netanyahu, but in the first weeks their number only grew to a couple of tens of thousands, and during the same time Hugo Chavez received 10 times more “votes” "
At the beginning of August 2010, the first part of Fidel's memoirs, La Victoria Estratégica, was published for the first time in Cuba. He is currently working on the second part of La contraofensiva estratégica final.
Fidel Castro has been an Arsenal fan since the Gunners' double gold in the 1970/71 season.
In computer games "Call of Duty": Black Ops" and "The Godfather 2" have an operation to eliminate Castro. Both operations end in failure, which again hints at his “invulnerability.”
Fidel Castro entered the Guinness Book of Records for surviving 638 different assassination attempts, including poison in cigars and a bomb in a baseball.
There are not many leaders in the world who have made such a vivid impression as the leader of Liberty Island. Fidel Castro is a legendary personality who has a special charm and a lot of fans not only among ardent lovers of politics. The President of Cuba led this revolutionary country for quite a long period, amounting to half a century.
Biographical information
in 1926 in the provincial town of Biran. The family of the future ruler was not wealthy, but, on the contrary, was quite poor. Fidel's mother worked as a cook, and his father was a modest landowner. His parents had no education, so they were most eager to give their children what they themselves did not have.Since childhood, Fidel had wonderful memory, thanks to which he became the best student in his school. In addition to this talent, Castro was distinguished by his determination and rebellious revolutionary character. As a teenager he took Active participation in uprisings involving workers on his father's plantations.
After graduating from school in 1941 future president Cuba entered a prestigious college and then the University of Havana. After completing his studies at the university, Fidel began his professional activities, providing free legal support to the people.
Political beliefs and early career
Thanks to his revolutionary spirit, the future president of Cuba begins his activities in the popular political party. The next step is trying to get into parliament, which was initially unsuccessful. But Fidel does not stand still and leads the movement of fighters against the dictatorial regime, which also becomes a failure; moreover, as a result of the failure, Castro ends up in prison for a fifteen-year sentence.
Thanks to a general amnesty, Fidel is released and leaves the country. Moving to Mexico promised the young revolutionary a new adventure, which was called the “26 July Movement.” Among its participants are many legendary figures, namely his brother Raul Castro and Che Guevara.
Return to the historical homeland
Thanks to Fidel's return to Cuba and the capture of its capital, the dictator Batista's regime fell. The revolutionary himself became military commander-in-chief, then accepted the offer to become Cuban prime minister.
Over the twenty-year period of his activity at the head of state, the first president of Cuba did the impossible for the country, turning it into a prosperous state in which economic growth was visible to the naked eye.
Particular concern for the population was evident in the social sector. A striking example of the results of the activities were free medical care and increased educational levels. During this period, the President of Cuba established friendly relations with the powerful Soviet Union.
Ardent political activity
The deployment of Soviet missiles on the island in 1962 led to a deterioration in relations between Liberty Island and America. As a result, enmity with Western countries was caused, which entailed the transition of a huge number of his comrades to the side of America.
Nevertheless, the Cuban president continued to act in one direction. There were many attempts on his part to destroy world capitalism, which was unfriendly to the Cuban consciousness.
The growth of the economic level and its accompanying indicators stopped in the eighties, during the period when additional capital investments in the Cuban financial system by the Soviet Union stopped. This entailed economic crisis and the disappointing status of Cuba - the poorest country in the world.
2006 was a fatal year for Fidel Castro. Due to serious health problems, he was forced to hand over the reigns to his younger brother. In 2008, the President of Cuba became the official leader of Liberty Island.
Fame, health and assassination attempts
Being a popular and legendary person, the former President of Cuba interfered with the activities of many political figures. In order to achieve their goal, a large number of them resorted to conspiring with CIA agents to destroy Fidel. The number of attempts was about 600. Fortunately, they were all nipped in the bud, thanks to the skills of the special agents of this state. The murder attempts were the most incredible, ranging from assassination attempts during underwater hunting and ending with the impregnation of the cigars that the Comandante loved to smoke with a poisonous composition.
Since 2006, Fidel’s health has deteriorated significantly, and the question of leaving his leadership position has become an issue. Progressive Parkinson's disease in 1998 played a role cruel joke with the legendary Comandante, turning him into a paranoid and aggressive person. Moreover, the great Cuban leader long time suffered from rectal cancer and was operated on in 1989. From time to time, rumors about his death arise in the press, which Fidel periodically refutes with his appearance in society.
Personal life
Even small children know the name of the President of Cuba, but his personal life is classified as “Top Secret”. It is a well-known fact that he had three true love. These women bore him seven children, and only one son was born in a legal marriage.
The last wife who was for a long time right hand and assistant commandant, committed suicide in 1985.
The official heir to the great revolutionary is called Fidelito. He is Fidel's firstborn. His mother is the daughter of the famous ruler of Cuba, who was in power during the time of Batista.
Financial position
During his leadership of the country, Fidel earned a considerable fortune, which, according to official sources, amounted to $550 million in 2005, and a year later the figure doubled. Due to this factor, Castro was among the richest inhabitants of the planet.
His financial situation is evidenced not only by his bank account, but also by the presence in his arsenal of expensive yachts, mansions and a huge number of security guards.
Permanent leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008. Prime Minister (1959–1976) and then Chairman of the Council of State of Cuba (1976–2008). A lawyer by training, in 1953 he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista then spent two years in prison. Came to power after the overthrow of Batista in 1959. Acted as an enemy of the United States and established alliance relations from the USSR. In 2006, he was hospitalized and temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul Castro. In February 2008, he announced his resignation from the posts of Chairman of the Council of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Armed Forces, after which Raul Castro was elected as the new Chairman of the State Council of the country.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in the town of Biran, Cuba, into the family of a sugar plantation owner. Since 1945 he studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana. After graduating in 1950, he began private legal practice. As a student, Castro was a political activist who joined the reformist Party of the Cuban People (Partido del Pueblo Cubano), also known as the Orthodox Party (Partido Ortodoxo). Participated in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo. Castro's plans included winning a seat in the Cuban parliament, but in 1952, dictator Fulgencio Batista returned to power after an eight-year break. The elections were canceled and Castro took up revolutionary activities.
On July 26, 1953, Castro led an attack by one hundred and fifty young revolutionaries on the Moncada barracks near Santiago, Batista's largest military garrison. The uprising was unsuccessful, many of Castro's associates died, he himself was arrested and in October 1953 sentenced to 15 years in prison. At the trial, he made a speech that became known as “History Will Acquit Me” and contained accusations against the Batista regime and a call for democratic reforms. In May 1955, under pressure from public opinion, the Cuban authorities granted amnesty to Castro, and he emigrated to Mexico, where he organized the 26th of July Movement (Movimiento 26 de Julio), named in memory of the 1953 uprising. In 1956, a group of revolutionaries, including Fidel, his brother Raul Castro and Argentine Ernesto Che Guevara, arrived in Cuba on the yacht Granma. Only a few managed to escape the persecution of Batista's forces, but the guerrilla movement they started in the Sierra Maestra mountains quickly grew and gained popularity. At first, the United States helped Batista's forces in the fight against the partisans, but in 1958, American military assistance to the dictator ceased. On January 1, 1959, Castro's rebel forces occupied Havana and Batista fled to the Dominican Republic. In the following week, a new government was formed. Castro became commander-in-chief of the armed forces and took over as prime minister in February. Later, in 1976, a new Cuban constitution was adopted, and Fidel took over as chairman of the Council of State.
Beginning in May 1959, Castro's government began expropriating American property in Cuba. In June 1960, after US President Dwight Eisenhower set a quota on Cuban sugar imports, Cuban authorities nationalized the property of American enterprises worth about $850 million. Tensions in relations with the United States pushed Fidel towards rapprochement with the USSR. On April 14, 1961, Castro proclaimed the Cuban revolution socialist (previously it was only about moderate politics, national representative democracy and a well-organized economy).
On April 15, 1961, the United States bombed Cuban airfields, and on April 17, about 1,400 Cuban exiles, trained and organized by the CIA, landed in Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs, Playa Giron). Their goal was to initiate a mass uprising against Castro's government. US President John F. Kennedy only at the last moment abandoned the idea of supporting this enterprise with the help of the US military. On April 21, 1961, Castro's troops successfully repelled the attack and captured about a thousand prisoners. On February 7, 1962, due to the ongoing nationalization of American property in Cuba, the United States imposed a trade embargo against the country.
In October 1962, the Cuban missile crisis who brought the world to the brink nuclear war. On October 14, a US reconnaissance aircraft detected Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. On October 22, Kennedy announced this in a public speech. On October 27, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba. On October 28, after tense negotiations, Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were able to reach a resolution to the crisis: the USSR removed the missiles from Cuba, the United States responded by abandoning plans for a military invasion of the island and withdrawing nuclear weapon from Turkey.
In November 1966, US President Lyndon Johnson declared an amnesty for illegal immigrants from Cuba who left the country after the 1959 revolution. About 125 thousand people took advantage of the amnesty. In addition, from December 1965 to April 1973, the United States carried out air evacuation of Cubans wishing to leave the country: their number was more than 260 thousand people.
On November 11, 1975, rebels from People's movement The Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola, MPLA), with intensive support from Cuba, captured the Angolan capital Luanda and declared their country's independence from Portugal. Military presence Cuba in Angola remained until 1988. In addition, the Cubans provided assistance to rebels in other countries - Ghana, Algeria, Mozambique, Nicaragua and El Salvador. At the same time, under Castro's leadership, Cuba became a key participant international movement non-alignment.
On November 20, 1975, the United States released information about eight unsuccessful attempts on Castro's life undertaken by the CIA from 1960 to 1965. According to Cuban authorities, during the years of Fidel's rule, the CIA made more than 600 attempts to kill him.
Under Fidel's leadership, Cuba achieved significant success in the social sphere. Cubans enjoy free health care, literacy rates reach 98 percent, and Cuba's infant mortality rate is lower than many Western countries. At the same time, the Cuban economy became dependent on the country's alliance with the USSR. In the years" cold war" Soviet Union bought most of sugar produced by Cuba and supplied various goods to the island, which helped overcome the consequences of the American blockade. With the beginning of Soviet “perestroika,” sugar purchases stopped, and after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Soviet advisers working in Cuba left the island. Termination of Soviet economic assistance led to a decline in the Cuban economy, increasing shortages of food and consumer goods and, as a result, a flourishing black market. Castro's government was forced to make significant concessions, allowing foreign investment in some sectors of the economy, particularly tourism, and then allowing the circulation of foreign currencies in the country.
Economic difficulties caused an increase in the number of refugees, many of whom died trying to reach the shores of the United States on boats and other available watercraft. On September 9, 1994, Cuba and the United States entered into an agreement under which the number of Cuban emigrants accepted by the States was limited to 20 thousand people per year. In January 1996, the Miami-based organization of Cuban dissidents Hermanos al Rescate dropped leaflets over Havana calling for the overthrow of Castro. One of the two American aircraft used for this was shot down by Cuban air defense, after which on February 24 the United States made the trade embargo against Cuba permanent.
In January 1998, Pope John Paul II visited Cuba and met with Fidel, who had been excommunicated in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. Since the revolution, the Cuban authorities have emphasized the atheistic nature of their state, but in the mid-1990s they began to rapprochement with Catholic Church, hoping with its help to gain international support and persuade the United States to lift the economic embargo against the country. The pope celebrated several masses in different parts of the island, each of which attracted several hundred thousand people, and during the last and largest of them, held on January 25 at Revolution Square in Havana (Castro was personally present at it), John Paul II called on the United States ease economic pressure on Cuba.
In October 2000, the US House of Representatives revised the trade embargo against Cuba and allowed limited supplies of food and medicine to that country. Castro condemned Act of terrorism September 11, 2001 in the USA. At the same time, he opposed the war launched by the United States in Afghanistan. Against this background, there was a rapprochement between Cuba and Venezuela, which was headed by anti-globalist President Hugo Chavez in 1998.
In April 2004, the UN Commission on Human Rights condemned the Cuban authorities for human rights violations, including the detention of 78 representatives of the political opposition.
In 2005, Forbes magazine named Castro one of the richest people on the planet and estimated his personal fortune at $550 million. In 2006 it was already about 900 million. Castro was outraged by these reports and categorically denied that he received income from state-owned enterprises.
IN last years The world closely monitored Castro's deteriorating health. In 2004, during public speaking he fell, injuring his leg and arm. On March 30, 2006, the Spanish-language press erroneously reported Castro's death. On July 31, 2006, an official statement from Cuban authorities was released, announcing that Castro had undergone surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding. He temporarily transferred power to the Minister of Defense and Vice President - his brother Raul. After this, Fidel did not participate in any public events. Although official Cuban sources claimed that the leader was recovering, many observers questioned this information.
On January 16, 2007, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Fidel had suffered at least three unsuccessful operations and was in serious condition. Cuban officials called the report false. In March, official Cuban sources reported that Castro would certainly return to office ahead of general elections scheduled for April 2008.
On February 18, 2008, Fidel announced that he was going to resign as Chairman of the Council of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Armed Forces. On February 24, his brother Raul Castro was elected as the new Chairman of the State Council.
On October 20, Fidel was awarded the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church"Glory and honor" for his great contribution to the development of religious cooperation and in honor of the opening Orthodox church in Havana.
Having headed a tiny state, he challenged the almighty Uncle Sam, as the Americans call their government. There were rumors about his ardent nature, similar to a fairy tale, and they were not without foundation. Fidel Castro became the last legend of the past century. His unforgettable appearance will remain in our memory for centuries, although we will forget about his political program and mass shootings political opponents. The image of the bearded Zeus and the fairy tale about the island of freedom will remain.
From Biran to Sierra Maestra
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in the family of a wealthy landowner from the town of Biran. This was one of the few Spanish families that managed to gain a foothold in the former colony and retain their estates. The Barons of Castro have been known in Spanish history since the early Middle Ages as decisive and independent feudal lords. Fidel seems to have inherited these qualities. His parents went wild among the black slaves, but they tried to give their children the best education. The Jesuit college taught the future comandante to control himself and hide his emotions, as he once taught another successful rebel Bohdan Khmelnitsky. However, the law faculty of the University of Havana became the forge of a revolutionary for Fidel. In general, it is common for real revolutionaries to have a legal education. The Great French and February revolutions in Russia were carried out by lawyers, although the latter lost to the Bolsheviks, whose leader, by the way, also had a legal education.
The paradox of revolutions and coups d'etat is that their organizers are always favored by the tyrant, having a position in society, money and influence. Poor, illiterate peasants and workers have never played thrones. Fidel Castro was married to a well-connected girl. Her father was a friend of Fulgencio Batista, who ruled Cuba with American support. This may be why Fidel Castro got off so lightly after his reckless attempt to attack the Moncada barracks in 1953. Two years in prison resulted in an amnesty and made him famous. For a man with the ambitions of a leader, there was no turning back. Fidel flies to Mexico and prepares a new fight plan there.
The history of Cuba is remarkable in its own way. The Spanish colonialists slaughtered the local Indians who did not want to be baptized and work on the plantations. Instead, blacks were brought from Africa. However, the era of Spanish rule was coming to an end, giving way to new masters of the world, whose oppression was not so obvious. Appealing to democratic values and the struggle for independence, the United States liberates Cuba from the Spaniards and includes it in its sphere of influence. Wall Street bankers know how to manage a new type of colony. Their protege Batista has all the formal regalia of power, but in fact he is Washington’s puppet. The luxury of Havana's casinos and brothels is amazing. Rich Yankees come here to have fun and allow themselves things that would never be allowed in Puritan America. It was the heyday Italian mafia, which developed Cuba and received fabulous profits.
The majority of the population here were former African slaves. They were free, but did not know what to do with this freedom, vegetating in poverty and ignorance. They were treated with even less ceremony than African-Americans in the United States of America. It was in the ominous silence of the popular masses that Fidel Castro saw his chance. He accurately grasped the mood in society and did not doubt his success for a second. How else to explain the ridiculous attempt to conquer Cuba, landing at the head of a detachment of 80 people on the motor yacht Granma in November 1956? Batista's soldiers shot most of the revolutionaries, and the 15 surviving brave men took refuge in the Sierra Maestra mountains.
They had nothing but support local population, but it brought them success. Peasants and enemy soldiers join the partisan army in droves. Fidel knows the value of propaganda, so he gets a portable radio station. The population voluntarily supplies him with food, clothing and weapons. Next to the Comandante is his faithful comrade-in-arms, doctor and military strategist Ernesto Che Guevara. On January 1, 1959, the rebels triumphantly enter Havana. Dictator Batista flees to the USA.
Image of power
The beard made Fidel look like an ancient god. That's why he didn't fulfill his vow to shave it off when Cuba became free. The former student of the Jesuits knew that power rests not only on fear, but also on image. The image of Fidel Castro is that of a bearded comandante in a protective military uniform. This is how we will always remember him. He was a talented and tireless speaker, but not an idle talker. With an iron hand Fidel rules the island of freedom, shooting some and trading others for food, medicine and equipment. The all-powerful CIA repeatedly tries to kill him, but fate protects the Comandante. Sea and air attacks cannot intimidate him. He turns every attack from the United States against them.
The economic blockade is pushing Cuba into the arms of the USSR. Despite his repeated assurances of his indifference to the ideas of Bolshevism, the Cuban Communist Party appears on his island, and the country takes a course towards socialism. Fidel Castro spent forty days in the Soviet Union, entrusting the country to his brother Raul. Spanish becomes the language of the revolution, and the phrase "Patria o muerte!" enters the Russian language without translation. In Russia, Fidel is carried on the arms, both under Khrushchev and under Brezhnev. Here he gets everything. But in return, the USSR places nuclear warheads in Cuba, reacting to the appearance military base USA in Turkey. The deadly needles of Soviet warheads rested in the underbelly of the United States. In 1962, the world was on the brink of nuclear war. John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev were able to come to an agreement, but the fate of each of them is unenviable. However, the dictator of Cuba survived. The country continued to develop and grow rich until 1991.
Perestroika
In the Soviet Union, Cuba began to be forgotten when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. We covered the crash in detail Berlin Wall, velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia and the bloody one in Romania, the triumphant victory of Lech Walesa in Poland and unrest in the national outskirts, but Cuba is almost not mentioned in the news feeds. One day Gorbachev came to Fidel to launch perestroika here too. But the experienced commander knew how it would all end. The General Secretary was greeted according to his rank, but the country was thoroughly cleansed, so the destructive flame of “transformations” never broke out on the free island.
Soon the Soviet Union collapsed, and Yeltsin's Russia was in no hurry to help Cuba. The most difficult tests began for Fidel and his system. We don’t know that in the 90s they ate not only dogs, but also cats. We don’t know that women engaged in prostitution en masse for a piece of bread, and young people became drug addicts. The aged Zeus makes speeches calling for patience and new sacrifices. People still believe Fidel. Betrayal was a serious blow for him. my own daughter, who fled to America in 1993 and led the opposition movement. But Cuba survived, maintaining the socialist system.
The age of the Cuban leader makes itself felt. In 2001, he faints right at a rally. An article in the country's constitution directly states that "in the event of illness or death of the Chairman of the State Council, his duties will be performed by the First Vice-President of the State Council." In 2006, Fidel Castro finally relinquished his powers as head of state, the Armed Forces and the Communist Party of Cuba and transferred them to his brother Raul, who is 5 years younger than him.
Shortly before the death of its leader, Cuba again found itself in the spotlight of the world community, becoming the venue for an unprecedented summit - a meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill. Both religious leaders paid their respects by personally visiting the distinguished retiree. 89-year-old Fidel Castro appears in public surrounded by schoolchildren from the educational complex. E. Espin, and on August 13, 2016 he is present at the theater. Karl Marx, where his 90th birthday is celebrated. Did the old man understand that he was present at the rehearsal? own funeral, which took place very soon? Fidel Castro Ruz died on November 25, 2016, as announced on state television through the mouth of Raul Castro.
The country he built will never be the same. Catholics and pagans live peacefully with fans of the communist religion. Here everyone lives modestly, but medicine and education are still free, remaining at a high professional level. Internet mania has not yet become widespread, and the gap between rich and poor is almost invisible. The Cuban experiment is over, and it's time to take stock. I would like to believe that the formidable shadow of Fidel Castro will not allow Cubans to devour each other in the pursuit of profit, and his dream of an island of freedom will survive more than one generation.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz). Born August 13, 1926 in Biran (Oriente province, Cuba) - died November 25, 2016 in Havana. Cuban statesman, politician, party leader and revolutionary, was Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Council of State of Cuba (President) in 1959-2008 and 1976-2008 and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba in 1961-2011.
Under his leadership, Cuba was transformed into a one-party socialist state, industry and private property were nationalized, and large-scale reforms were carried out throughout society.
He was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979-1983 and 2006-2009.
The son of a wealthy farmer, Castro acquired left-wing, anti-imperialist views while attending law school at the University of Havana. After participating in revolts against the right-wing governments of the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he attempted to overthrow the military junta of President Batista with a failed attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953. A year after his release, he headed to Mexico, where, together with Che Guevara and his brother Raul, he organized the revolutionary July 26 Movement. Returning to Cuba, he led a guerrilla war against the Batista regime, beginning with the landings in the Sierra Maestra. As the government's fortunes deteriorated, Castro gradually assumed a central role in the Cuban Revolution, which successfully overthrew Batista in 1959, giving the revolutionaries control of Cuba.
The US administration, alarmed by Castro's friendly relations with the USSR, organized a number of unsuccessful attempts to assassinate him and imposed an economic embargo against Cuba. The peak of the confrontation was the unsuccessful military operation organized by the CIA to overthrow him in 1961. In an effort to counter these threats, Castro formed a military and economic alliance with the USSR, allowing the latter to station nuclear missiles in Cuba, which, according to the American version, provoked the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 (according to the Soviet version, the crisis was provoked by the previous deployment of American intermediate-range missiles in Turkey) .
In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution. Cuba became a one-party state under the leadership of the Communist Party, the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The Marxist-Leninist model of development was adopted, socialist reforms were carried out, the economy was placed under centralized control, measures were taken to develop education and health care, which, at the same time, were accompanied by the establishment of state control over the press and the suppression of dissent.
Hoping to overthrow global capitalism, Castro supported foreign revolutionary organizations and Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua, and Grenada, sending Cuban troops to support leftist allies in the Yom Kippur War, the Ethiopian-Somali War, and the Angolan Civil War. These measures, combined with the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement, led to Cuba gaining prestige among developing countries.
After the collapse of the USSR and CMEA, a “special period” was introduced in Cuba, accompanied by a limited introduction of market mechanisms into the economy, and strong relations were established in the international arena with a number of left-wing Latin American leaders, such as Hugo Chavez. Cuba, along with Venezuela, became a co-founding country of ALBA.
On July 31, 2006, due to health reasons, Castro transferred all of his key positions to his brother Raul.
On February 24, 2008, he left all government positions, and on April 19, 2011, he resigned from the post of head of the ruling party.
Castro is a controversial figure. His supporters praised his socialist, anti-imperialist and humanist policies, commitment to environmental protection and Cuba's independence from American influence. At the same time, he is viewed by critics as a dictator whose regime violated the human rights of Cubans and whose policies led to the departure of more than a million people from Cuba and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Through his actions and works, he has significantly influenced various organizations and politicians around the world.
Biography
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in Cuba in the town of Biran (Oriente province) in the family of a native of the Spanish province of Galicia, Angel Castro.
According to many available sources, Fidel Castro was actually born on August 13, 1927 - this is supported by both the church record created at Fidel's baptism, which lists August 13, 1927 as his date of birth, and public confirmation in the late 1950s Fidel's mother and three sisters of this date of birth. And the date of birth, August 13, 1926, appeared due to the fact that when placing him in an elementary boarding school, his parents assigned Fidel one more year, since he was then 5 years old, and he was accepted into school only from the age of 6.
When agreeing on his biography, prepared for Soviet newspapers, Fidel Castro himself asked to leave 1926 as his birthday, since this date appeared in all the documents he used.
His father is Angel Castro Argis (1875-1956), an emigrant from Spain, a former poor farmer who became rich and became the owner of a large sugar plantation. Mother - Lina Rus Gonzalez (1903-1963), was a cook on her father's estate. She bore Angel Castro five children before he married her. Remembering his childhood, Fidel said this: “I was born into the family of a landowner. What does it mean? My father was a Spanish peasant from a very poor family. He came to Cuba as a Spanish immigrant at the beginning of the century and began to work in very difficult conditions. Being an enterprising man, he soon attracted attention and took certain leadership positions at construction sites that were carried out at the beginning of the century.
Fidel Castro as a child
He managed to accumulate some capital, which he invested in the purchase of land. In other words, as a business man, he became successful and became a land owner... Such things were not so difficult in the early years of the republic. Then he rented additional land. And when I was born, I was really born into a family that could be called landowning.
On the other hand, my mother was a simple, poor peasant woman. Therefore, in our family there was no what could be called oligarchic traditions. However, objectively speaking, our social position at that moment was such that we belonged to families with relatively high economic incomes. Our family was the owner of the lands and enjoyed all the advantages and, one might say, privileges inherent in landowners in our country.”
Although Castro's parents were illiterate, they tried to provide a good education for their children. At school, Fidel was one of the best students thanks to his truly phenomenal memory. At the same time, Fidel's revolutionary character manifested itself - at the age of 13, he participated in a workers' uprising on his father's plantation. Max Lestnik, Castro's school friend, recalled: “He had great courage. They said who would follow Fidel, die or win.”.
In 1940, he wrote a letter to then American President Franklin Roosevelt. In the letter, the boy congratulates the president on his re-election to a second term and asks: “ If you don't mind, please send me an American 10 dollar bill. I've never seen it, but I'd really like to have it. Your friend". In the return address line - he indicated the coordinates of the school where he studied. The Comandante himself once mentioned this act: “I was very proud when I received a response from a member of the presidential administration. The message was even posted on the school bulletin board. Only there was no banknote in it.”. In 2004, a letter from young Fidel was found by employees of the National Archives Office in Washington.
In 1941, Fidel Castro entered the privileged Jesuit College Bethlehem. His mentor was the Jesuit Father Lorento, who noted determination and vanity in the boy. In college, Fidel got into many fights and often carried a gun. I once bet with a friend that I would crash into a wall while riding a bicycle at full speed. And crashed. I had to stay in the hospital later, but Castro won the bet.
In 1945, Fidel brilliantly graduated from college and entered the University of Havana to study law. During his student years he lived modestly. His room at the boarding house was in chaos; the only thing that was in order were the books of the revolutionary José Martí on the shelves. In those years, Fidel Castro read a lot of Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, and General Primo de Rivera. He had no sympathy for communists, but once joked: “I am ready to become a communist immediately if they make me Stalin.”
In 1945 he entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana, from which he graduated in 1950 with the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Doctor of Civil Law. After graduating from university, he entered into private legal practice in Havana; in particular, he handled the affairs of the poor for free. At this time, he joined the Party of the Cuban People (Orthodox), and was considered for parliamentary nomination from the same party in the 1952 elections. On March 10, at the same time, the party leadership did not approve Castro’s candidacy as a candidate for deputy, citing his radicalism.
On March 11, a military coup took place, as a result of which Fulgencio Batista seized power. The Cuban Congress was dissolved, and legislative power passed to the Council of Ministers, constitutional guarantees were suspended for a month and a half, and the 1940 Constitution was soon abolished. Fidel Castro was at the forefront of the fight against the dictatorship, and on March 24, he presented to the Havana Court of Particularly Important and Urgent Cases a lawsuit, accompanied by evidence, to prosecute Batista for violating constitutional norms and seizing power. He demanded that Batista be tried and punished, while posing the following question with great subtext: “Otherwise, how can this tribunal judge an ordinary citizen who takes up arms against this illegal regime that came to power as a result of betrayal? It is absolutely clear that the conviction of such a citizen would be an absurdity, incompatible with the most elementary principles of justice.”.
In conclusion, Fidel, addressing the judges, said that if they do not find the strength to fulfill their professional and patriotic duty, then it would be better to take off their judicial robes and resign, so that it would be clear to everyone that in Cuba there are the same people exercise legislative, executive, and judicial power.
During the struggle against the Batista government, the Orthodox Party gradually disintegrated. Castro managed to unite a small group of former members of this party, which began preparations for the fight to overthrow the Batista dictatorship. Fidel Castro and his comrades decided to seize the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba and the barracks in the city of Bayamo. Preparations for the assault took about a year. On July 25, 1953, 165 people gathered in the Siboney estate, located near Santiago de Cuba, under conditions of strict secrecy. Their main slogan was the words: “Freedom or death!” .
After the failure of the assault on the Moncada barracks, many of the attackers fled. Raul Castro was arrested on July 29, and Fidel went into hiding until August 1. The next day he was transported to the provincial prison of the city of Boniata, where Fidel was placed in solitary confinement, prohibited from using books and the right of correspondence was limited. The military tribunal began on September 21 and took place in the building of the Palace of Justice, from where Raul Castro’s group once fired at the barracks. At one of the court hearings, Fidel made a famous speech “History will justify me!”, in which he sharply condemned the Batista regime and called on the Cuban people to take up armed struggle against tyranny.
On September 21, the court sentenced Castro to 15 years in prison. In mid-February 1954, Batista visited the Presidio Modelo prison, where the participants in the assault on the Moncada barracks were serving their sentences. Fidel organized a noisy protest and, as punishment, was placed in solitary confinement, located opposite the prison morgue.
On May 15, 1955, Castro was released under a general amnesty, having served about 22 months for organizing an armed rebellion. That same year, Castro emigrated to Mexico.
On July 7, 1955, Fidel flew to Mexico, where Raul and other comrades were waiting for him. Fidel Castro flew from Havana to Merida, the capital of Yucatan, from there he took a local company's plane to the port city of Vera Cruz, and from there he boarded a bus and went to Mexico City. The revolutionaries settled in the house of a woman named Maria Antonia Gonzalez Rodriguez, who had been living in exile for several years. Maria Antonia recalled: “Fidel arrived with one suitcase full of books, and under his arm he held another bundle of books. There was no other luggage".
Here they began to prepare an uprising. Fidel founded the “26 July Movement” and began preparing for the overthrow of Batista. On August 26, 1956, the most popular Cuban magazine, Bohemia, published his letter in which he warned the dictator: “...in 1956 we will either be free or victims. I solemnly confirm this statement, being in full consciousness and considering that there are 4 months and 6 days left until December 31st.".
On November 25, 1956, on the motor yacht Granma, Cuban revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, went to Cuba, among them was the Argentine doctor Ernesto Guevara (Che Guevara), who described this picture as follows: “The whole ship was a living tragedy: the men were holding their stomachs with sadness on their faces; some simply plunged their faces into buckets, others sat motionless in strange positions with clothes covered in vomit.".
A detachment of revolutionaries created in Mexico was supposed to land in the Sierra Maestra mountains, in the southeast of Cuba. The landing was unsuccessful. Soon after landing, the revolutionaries were attacked by troops, many were killed or captured. Two small groups survived, meeting by chance in the forests a few days later. At first, they did not have sufficient strength and did not pose a threat to the Batista regime, although they carried out individual operations attacking police stations.
A decisive turn of events was caused by the proclamation of land reform and the distribution of land to peasants; this ensured massive support of the people, the movement increased its strength, Fidel’s troops numbered several hundred fighters. At this time, Batista sent several thousand soldiers to suppress the revolution. The unexpected happened - the troops entered the mountains and did not return. Most fled, but several thousand went over to the side of the revolutionaries, after which the revolution developed rapidly.
During the period 1957-1958. Armed rebel groups, conducting guerrilla warfare tactics, carried out several large and dozens of small operations. At the same time, the partisan detachments were transformed into the Rebel Army, whose commander-in-chief was Fidel Castro. In all the battles in the Sierra Maestra mountains, Fidel was always in the first line of attack. Often, with his shot from a sniper rifle, he gave the signal for the start of the battle. This was the case until the partisans wrote a collective letter asking Fidel to refrain from direct personal participation in hostilities in the future.
In the summer of 1958, Batista's army launched a major offensive against the revolutionary forces, after which events began to develop rapidly. Castro's armed forces were joined by units of the Student Federation, which opened the so-called Second Front in the Sierra del Escambray mountains in the central part of the island. In the west, in Pinar del Rio, the Third Front operated, under the control of the Revolutionary Movement of July 26.
On January 1, 1959, the Rebel Army entered Havana. The population of the capital rejoiced over the overthrow of Batista. On the same day, Batista's political opponents gathered at a meeting where a new government was formed. Manuel Urrutia, known for his honesty, became interim president, and liberal lawyer Miro Cardona became prime minister.
On January 8, Fidel Castro, appointed Minister of War, arrived in the capital and immediately showed claims to a leading role in the government. Back in 1957, Castro, giving an interview in the Sierra Maestra with journalist Herbert Matthews of the New York Times, said: “Power doesn’t interest me. After the victory, I will return to my village and practice law.” The famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara said then: “He possesses the qualities of a great leader, which, combined with his courage, with his energy and with his rare ability to recognize the will of the people again and again, have raised him to the place of honor that he now occupies.”.
However, in reality everything happens differently. After Prime Minister Miro Cardona resigns on February 15, Fidel Castro becomes the new head of government. In June, he cancels previously planned free elections, suspends the 1940 Constitution, which guaranteed fundamental rights, and begins to govern the country exclusively through decrees.
On May 17, 1959, the Council of Ministers of Cuba adopted an agrarian reform law; in accordance with it, land plots with an area of more than 400 hectares were planned to be confiscated from the owners and divided among the peasants. This law, as well as Castro's rapprochement with the communists, caused discontent in the United States. Thousands of counter-revolutionaries were arrested. A militia of thousands was created to protect the revolution. Fidel then announced the nationalization of large enterprises and banks, mostly owned by Americans.
On October 10, Raul Castro was appointed Minister of the Armed Forces. This caused great dissatisfaction with the commander of the troops in Camagüey, Uber Matos. On the same day, he, along with fourteen other officers, resigned and accused Fidel of becoming a communist. This point of view was held by the Cuban leadership, and later by Cuban and Soviet historians. From their point of view, Major Matos and the officers who supported him were about to announce their collective resignation, with the goal of starting a mutiny throughout the Rebel Army. This would entail the resignation of some members of the Revolutionary Government and cause a crisis of the entire revolutionary power. At night, Fidel received a telephone message that Uber Matos’s speech was scheduled for the morning of October 21. He ordered Camilo Cienfuegos to go to Camagüey, disarm and apprehend Matos and his men.
After some time, Fidel himself arrived in Camagüey. A message was broadcast on the radio that Fidel Castro had arrived to investigate an emergency case and all citizens speaking in defense of the revolution should come to the square.
In the square, the commandant addressed them with a short speech, saying that a conspiracy was brewing in the province, led by Uber Matos, who was currently holed up in the regimental barracks, and that he had arrived to thwart the counter-revolutionary plot. Fidel invited everyone who cares about the fate of the revolution to follow him.
Fidel Castro moved unarmed ahead of the crowd following him, personally broke the lock on the barracks gate, disarmed the sentry and arrested the conspirators. “The process lasted 5 days, if, of course, you could call it that. It was more like a tribunal. Before the start, I was shown a stack of papers, and for the first time I saw that I was accused of treason and incitement of rebellion.", Matos recalls.
Uber Matos was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and after serving his sentence he was deported to Venezuela, after which he joined the militant emigration; his son also became a prominent figure in emigrant circles.
Repressions against figures of the Batista regime and opposition to the Castro regime (including former anti-Batista fighters) began in Cuba shortly after the revolution and continued thereafter. Particularly massive arrests were carried out in 1961, when stadiums and other similar places were converted to hold those arrested.
In January 1961, John Kennedy took office as President of the United States, who received from the previous administration plans for an operation to overthrow the revolutionary government in Cuba.
On April 15, eight B-26 Invaders (with Cuban markings and piloted by Cuban exiles) bomb Cuban Air Force airfields. The next day, during the funeral of the victims of the bombing, Fidel calls the accomplished revolution socialist and, before the upcoming invasion, declares: “They cannot forgive us for the fact that we are under their noses, and that we carried out the Socialist Revolution under the nose of the United States!”
Until this point, Castro's political views were unknown to American intelligence. During testimony before Congress in December 1959, the Deputy Director of the CIA stated: “We know that the communists consider Castro to be a representative of the bourgeoisie.”. Castro himself never renounced Marxism, and while studying at the university he was strongly influenced by the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin; his closest ally in the fight against capitalism in Latin America was Che Guevara, who repeatedly emphasized his commitment to communist ideas.
At dawn On April 17, 1961, about 1,500 people from the so-called “Brigade 2506” landed in the Bay of Pigs area.. Most were Cubans trained in Nicaragua. The “brigade” headed to the shores of Cuba from Guatemala, which allowed the United States to deny its involvement in the incident at the UN. Although Kennedy later admitted his government's participation in preparing the operation.
From the very beginning, the attackers encountered desperate resistance from members of the people's militia and units of the Insurgent Army, command of which was assumed by Fidel Castro. The paratroopers managed to seize a bridgehead and even advance several kilometers into the interior of the island. But they failed to gain a foothold at the achieved levels. Over the next three days, the fighters of brigade 2506 were defeated first at Playa Larga, and then in the Playa Giron area. 1,173 people were captured, 82 (according to other sources 115) paratroopers were killed. The government army lost 173 soldiers killed, and according to some reports, several thousand militias were also injured.
Many versions of the failure of the operation have been put forward. The most popular of them is the version about the Americans’ refusal of previously promised military assistance to the landing of emigrants; version of an incorrect assessment of the strength of the Cuban army and the support of Castro by the population; version about poor preparation of the operation as such.
After attempting to overthrow the revolutionary government of Cuba, Fidel Castro announced his country's transition to a socialist path of development.
In 1962, the United States imposed an embargo on trade with Cuba and achieved its expulsion from the Organization of American States. The Castro government was accused of assisting revolutionaries in Venezuela, after which the OAS imposed diplomatic and trade sanctions against Cuba in 1964.
Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro survived many assassination attempts during his life. He was one of the leaders whose life was under constant threat.
Behind the 638 planned and carried out attempts on his life were the American government, Cuban opponents of Castro and American mafia groups, who were dissatisfied with the fact that after the victory of the revolution, Castro took over the famous Havana casinos and brothels.
During Eisenhower's presidency, 38 assassination attempts were made on Castro, Kennedy - 42, Johnson - 72, Nixon - 184, Carter - 64, Reagan - 197, Bush Sr. - 16, Clinton - 21. For the United States, the destruction of Castro became a kind of obsession. “Everything else is less important, do not spare money, time, human resources and effort”- said one of the White House notes.
The most famous and original attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro include:
On November 22, 1963, a CIA officer gave a poisoned ballpoint pen to a Cuban for use against Fidel Castro during a meeting between President Kennedy's emissary and Castro to explore the possibility of improving relations between the two countries. The attempt failed.
In 1963, American lawyer Donovan went to see Castro. He was supposed to give the commander a gift of scuba gear, in the cylinders of which CIA agents had brought a tuberculosis bacillus. The lawyer, unaware of this, decided that the scuba gear was too simple for a gift, and bought another, more expensive one, and kept this one for himself. He soon died, but Castro remained alive.
In the 1960s, CIA intelligence agencies made another attempt on the commander's life. An exploding cigar was prepared as a gift for the Cuban leader. But the “gift” was not missed by the security service. Knowing Castro's passion for diving, American intelligence distributed a large number of shellfish in the area of the Cuban coast. CIA agents planned to hide explosives in a large shell and paint the shellfish in bright colors to attract Fidel's attention. However, a storm thwarted the attempt.
The Americans also tried to remove the commander with the help of women. One of Fidel's former lovers was tasked with killing him with poison pills. She hid the pills in a tube of cream, but they dissolved in it. It is said that Castro, who uncovered the plot, offered her a gun so that she could shoot him, but the woman refused to do so.
In 1971, during Fidel Castro's trip to Chile, two snipers were supposed to shoot at him, but just before the assassination attempt, one of them was hit by a car, and the other was struck down by an acute attack of appendicitis.
In 2000, during the visit of the Cuban leader to Panama, 90 kg of explosives were planted under the podium from which he was supposed to speak. But it didn't work.
In 2000, a document was declassified that outlined the CIA's plans to destroy Fidel Castro. Among them there was a plan to use thallium salts.
Despite the fact that small Cuba successfully resisted its giant neighbor, it also participated in many wars around the world. Fidel Castro did not limit himself to fighting the United States; he actively helped the revolutionary forces of many third world countries. His army at one time consisted of 145 thousand people, not counting 110 thousand people in reserve and about one million men and women in the militia of the territorial troops; 57 thousand were sent to Angola, 5 thousand to Ethiopia, hundreds to South Yemen, Libya, Nicaragua, Grenada, Syria, Mozambique, Guinea, Tanzania, North Korea, Algeria, Uganda, Laos, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone.
On July 11, 2014, during his visit to Latin America, the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin met with Fidel Castro.
On July 12, 2014, Vladimir Putin met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro. Before this, he wrote off 90% of Cuba's debts to the USSR, and the remaining 10% ($3.5 billion) is supposed to be invested in the Cuban economy by repaying it in equal semi-annual payments over 10 years. The foreign ministers of Russia and Cuba signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in international information security, as well as a Russian-Cuban statement on not being the first to deploy weapons in space.
On January 27, 2015, the now former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, said that although he does not trust the United States, he nevertheless welcomes the possibility of negotiations with Washington. In his written address, read out on Cuban central television, 88-year-old Castro stressed that any negotiations aimed at solving existing problems are accepted by Havana in accordance with international laws.
In February 2016, during a meeting between Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Pope Francis of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch attended a reception with Fidel, after which 6 photographs and a video without sound were published.
In April 2016, Fidel Castro appeared in public - Cuban national television broadcast a meeting of 89-year-old Fidel Castro with schoolchildren at the educational complex named after. V. Espin.
Fidel Castro's height: 191 centimeters.
Personal life of Fidel Castro
Fidel's personal life has always been surrounded by an aura of legends and numerous rumors. He himself always did not like to dwell on this topic.
Retired KGB Lieutenant General Nikolai Sergeevich Leonov, author of books and close friend of the Castro brothers, when he was about to write about Fidel, received the following order from him: “Write everything that concerns my political activities. I have no secrets here. But leave your personal life, my emotional attachments to me - this is my only asset.".
Fidel Castro's official wife is Mirta Díaz-Balart, from whom he has his only legitimate son, Fidel Félix Castro Díaz-Balart, who was born in 1949 (he studied at Moscow State University at Faculty of Physics under the name Jose Raul Fernandez and interned at the Soviet Institute named after Kurchatov; he was married twice, the first time to a Russian woman, the second time to a Cuban woman). After his divorce from his wife, Castro did not enter into a legal marriage. Mirta never talked about her marriage anywhere.
Fidel Castro and Mirta Diaz-Balart
A book by Serge Raffy was published in France, the original title of which (Castro l’infidèle) contains a pun on the name of Fidel. In this half-biographical, half-fantasy novel, “The Unfaithful Castro.” It says that Fidel has about twenty illegitimate children. In particular, Francisca Pupo, nicknamed “Paquita” (Pajita - “straw”), lives in Miami: “She was born after Castro met a young girl from Santa Clara in 1953.”.
The daughter of Spanish immigrants who fled to Mexico after General Franco's rise to power, Isabel Custodio met Fidel in Mexico City while he was serving a short prison sentence after raiding revolutionary bases while preparing for the Granma expedition. In the book “Love will absolve me of my sins” (El amor me absolverá), published in Mexico, she claims that after leaving captivity, Fidel himself found her, spoke about his plans to rid Cuba of the Batista dictatorship and asked her to marry him.
A native of Bremen, Germany, Marita Lorenz claims that she became the mistress of 33-year-old Fidel immediately after the victory of the Cuban revolution. Marita was born on August 18, 1939 in the family of German sea captain Heinrich Lorenz and American dancer Alice June Lorenz, née Lofland. Her mother was arrested by the Gestapo on charges of spying for the United States. Together with Marita, they were in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp until 1945. On February 28, 1959, Marita met Castro on board the passenger ship Berlin, captained by her father. While her father was enjoying his afternoon nap, the 19-year-old girl invited the tall “Barbudos” onto the ship.
Fidel invited Marita Lorenz to become his translator and personal secretary. She dropped out of her studies at an American university and flew to Havana. The affair with Fidel ended in the fall of 1959, when Marita was five months pregnant. Their child died. It is unclear whether there was a miscarriage or whether Lorenz was forced to have an abortion. The girl's mother filed a lawsuit against Fidel Castro for $11 million. She wrote an angry letter to Fidel Castro, copies of which she was not too lazy to send to the Pope and US President Dwight Eisenhower.
Fidel Castro and Marita Lorenz
The first lady of Cuba, according to reporters from Western agencies, could be considered a tall, blonde woman with green eyes named Dalia Soto del Valle, to whom Fidel Castro has allegedly been married since 1980. She has five children with Fidel. There is currently no confirmation of this information.
Lázaro Asensio, a journalist and former revolutionary commander, recalled: “In October 1959, a plane sank near Casilda Bay in Trinidad. Comandante Peña suggested that we use his niece by wife, a girl named Dalia Soto del Valle, as a diver. She was very young, beautiful, thin, with very white skin. We took her on the boat, she dived, but didn’t find the plane. When Fidel came to Trinidad, he was introduced to Dalia, fell in love with her and took her with him. No one ever saw her again.".
Fidel Castro and Dalia Soto del Valle at a meeting with Pope Francis
Interesting facts about Fidel Castro
In 1962, Castro was excommunicated by Pope John XXIII on the basis of the Decree against Communism of Pope Pius XII for organizing the communist revolution in Cuba.
His sister Juanita Castro fled Cuba in 1964 and settled in Florida upon arriving in the United States; even before that, in the early sixties, she began collaborating with the US Central Intelligence Agency.
During the revolutionary years, Fidel often added two more zeros to the amount of the reward announced for his head.
Fidel Castro entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most fiery speaker - his speech to the UN on September 29, 1960 lasted 4 hours 29 minutes. According to Reuters: Castro's longest speech was delivered at the Third Congress of the Cuban Communist Party in 1986 and lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes. However, according to AN Cuba-vision, this speech lasted 27 hours.
Fidel Castro played in at least two American films, including the quite famous one at the time, “School for Mermaids.”
Castro has always been a fan of Rolex watches. In many photographs he can be seen with two Rolex Submariners on his wrist.
The NBO company, which ordered Stone's film Comandante, considered it a propaganda film praising Cuba and its leader. The film was banned from showing in the United States, and Oliver Stone again went to Cuba to investigate the situation with human rights on Liberty Island. Ironically, in 2006, American authorities fined the Finding Fidel film crew for “violating the economic embargo” against Cuba.
At the end of April 2010, Fidel started a microblog on Twitter, intending to surpass Barack Obama, Sebastian Piñera and Benjamin Netanyahu in the number of readers, but in the first weeks their number only grew to a couple of tens of thousands, and during the same time Hugo Chavez received 10 times more "voices".
At the beginning of August 2010, the first part of Fidel's memoirs, La Victoria Estratégica, was published for the first time in Cuba.
Fidel Castro has been an Arsenal fan since the Gunners' double gold in the 1970/71 season.
In the computer games "Call of Duty: Black Ops" and "The Godfather 2" there is an operation to eliminate Castro. Both operations end in failure, which again hints at his “invulnerability.”
Fidel Castro entered the Guinness Book of Records surviving 638 different assassination attempts, which included poison in cigars and a bomb in a baseball.
"pros" and "cons" of democracy
Surveyor. Who is a surveyor? Description of the profession. Profession surveyor Surveyor training
Magellanic clouds: who are they?
Pepper Steak Sauce Creamy Pepper Sauce
How to create a competent portfolio for a designer