Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born out of wedlock on the 13th of August 1926 at his father's farm in Birán, Cuba. His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz, had migrated to Cuba from Galicia in northwest Spain. After the collapse of his first marriage, he took his household servant, Lina Ruz González, as his mistress and later second wife. Together they had seven children, among them Fidel. At age six, Castro was sent to live with a teacher in Santiago de Cuba before being baptized into the Catholic Church at the age of eight. This baptism allowed him to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago and later the Jesuit-run Dolores School. In 1942, Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana. The strict discipline and religious instruction of these schools shaped his early worldview, though he would eventually reject the church's authority. By 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana, where he became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university. He developed passionate anti-imperialist views opposing US intervention in the Caribbean. He unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students but gained attention for his public speeches condemning corruption.
Castro formed a group called The Movement which operated along a clandestine cell system while publishing an underground newspaper named El Acusador. From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive gaining around 1,200 members in a year, mostly from Havana's poorer districts. Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks, a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba. His militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on the 25th of July 1953. They hoped to seize control and raid the armoury before reinforcements arrived. The attack took place on the 26th of July 1953 but ran into trouble immediately. Three of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there. Reaching the barracks, the alarm was raised with most rebels pinned down by machine gun fire. Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat. The rebels suffered six fatalities and 15 other casualties while the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded. Some rebels took over a civilian hospital subsequently stormed by government soldiers where 22 were executed without trial. Accompanied by 19 comrades, Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north.
Over the following days the rebels were rounded up with some executed and others including Castro transported to a prison north of Santiago. Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone, the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement putting 122 defendants on trial on the 21st of September at the Palace of Justice in Santiago. Acting as his own defence counsel, Castro cited José Martí as the intellectual author of the attack. He convinced the three judges to overrule the army's decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court. The trial embarrassed the army by revealing that they had tortured suspects after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further. The trial ended on the 5th of October with the acquittal of most defendants. Fifty-five were sentenced to prison terms between seven months and 13 years. Castro was sentenced on the 16th of October during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title History Will Absolve Me. He was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison on the Isla de Pinos. Imprisoned with 25 comrades, Castro renamed his group the 26th of July Movement in memory of the Moncada attack's date.
In 1954 Batista's government held presidential elections but no politician stood against him so the election was widely considered fraudulent. Backed by the US and major corporations, Batista believed Castro to be no threat and on the 15th of May 1955 the prisoners were released. Returning to Havana, Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences while the government closely monitored him. Now divorced, Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde each conceiving him a child. Setting about strengthening the MR-26-7 he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control. In 1955 bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest. The Castros and several comrades travelled to Mexico where Raúl befriended Ernesto Che Guevara who was working as a journalist for Agencia Latina de Noticias. After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma on the 25th of November 1956, Castro set sail from Tuxpan Veracruz with 81 armed revolutionaries. The crossing to Cuba was harsh with food running low and many suffering seasickness. At some points they had to bail water caused by a leak and at another a man fell overboard delaying their journey.
In January 1961 Castro ordered Havana's US Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff suspecting that many of them were spies. The US responded by ending diplomatic relations and increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents. These militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba and bombed factories shops and sugar mills. On the 15th of April 1961 CIA-supplied B-26s bombed three Cuban military airfields. The US announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots but Castro exposed these claims as false flag misinformation. Fearing invasion he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries. The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army Brigade 2506 in Nicaragua. On the night of the 16th to the 17th of April Brigade 2506 landed along Cuba's Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia. Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive before taking personal control of it. After bombing the invaders' ships and bringing in reinforcements Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on the 20th of April.
Militarily weaker than NATO Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance. Although conflicted Castro agreed believing it would guarantee Cuba's safety and enhance the cause of socialism. Undertaken in secrecy only the Castro brothers Guevara Dorticós and security chief Ramiro Valdés knew the full plan. Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance in October the US implemented an island-wide quarantine to search vessels headed to Cuba. The US saw the missiles as offensive while Castro insisted they were for defence only. Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the US if Cuba were invaded but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war. Castro was left out of the negotiations in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US commitment not to invade Cuba. Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev Castro was furious and soon fell ill. He presented demands to U Thant visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations but the US ignored them. In turn Castro refused to allow the UN's inspection team into Cuba.
Castro considered Africa to be the weakest link in the imperialist chain and at the request of Agostinho Neto ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975. When the US and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola. This played a major role in forcing a South African and UNITA retreat. The decision to intervene in Angola has been controversial with critics charging it was not his decision at all. Castro always maintained that he took the decision to launch Operation Carlota himself in response to an appeal from Neto. Traveling to Angola Castro celebrated with Neto Sékou Touré and Guinea-Bissau president Luís Cabral where they agreed to support Mozambique's Marxist-Leninist government against RENAMO. Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance. This was followed with visits to East Berlin and Moscow. In May 1970 the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group Alpha 66 who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants.
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Common questions
When and where was Fidel Castro born?
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born out of wedlock on the 13th of August 1926 at his father's farm in Birán, Cuba. His father Ángel Castro y Argiz had migrated to Cuba from Galicia in northwest Spain.
What happened during the Moncada Barracks attack led by Fidel Castro?
The attack took place on the 26th of July 1953 but ran into trouble immediately with rebels suffering six fatalities and 15 other casualties while the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded. Some rebels were executed without trial after taking over a civilian hospital subsequently stormed by government soldiers.
How did Fidel Castro respond to the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961?
Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive before taking personal control of it. After bombing the invaders' ships and bringing in reinforcements Castro forced Brigade 2506 to surrender on the 20th of April.
Why did Fidel Castro agree to Soviet nuclear missiles being placed in Cuba?
Although conflicted Castro agreed believing it would guarantee Cuba's safety and enhance the cause of socialism. He urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the US if Cuba were invaded but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war.
When did Fidel Castro send troops to Angola and how many were deployed?
At the request of Agostinho Neto Fidel Castro ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975. When the US and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola.