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Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (American Spanish: [fiˈðel aleˈxandɾo ˈkastɾo ˈrus]; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. A Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, Castro also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state, while industry and business were nationalized and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.
Born in Birán, Oriente as the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics while studying law at the University of Havana. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year's imprisonment, Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother Raúl Castro and Che Guevara. Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination, economic blockade and counter-revolution, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962.
Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent. Abroad, Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups, backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua and Grenada, as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angolan Civil War. These actions, coupled with Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cuba's medical internationalism, increased Cuba's profile on the world stage. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the "Special Period", embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s, Castro forged alliances in the Latin American "pink tide" – namely with Hugo Chávez's Venezuela – and signed Cuba up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. In 2006, Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008.
The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries, Castro polarized world opinion. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cuba's independence from American imperialism. Critics view him as a dictator whose administration oversaw human-rights abuses, the exodus of a large number of Cubans and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world.
Born in Birán, Oriente as the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics while studying law at the University of Havana. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year's imprisonment, Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother Raúl Castro and Che Guevara. Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination, economic blockade and counter-revolution, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962.
Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent. Abroad, Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups, backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua and Grenada, as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angolan Civil War. These actions, coupled with Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cuba's medical internationalism, increased Cuba's profile on the world stage. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the "Special Period", embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s, Castro forged alliances in the Latin American "pink tide" – namely with Hugo Chávez's Venezuela – and signed Cuba up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. In 2006, Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008.
The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries, Castro polarized world opinion. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cuba's independence from American imperialism. Critics view him as a dictator whose administration oversaw human-rights abuses, the exodus of a large number of Cubans and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world.
Fidel Castro - Wikipedia
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Cubans On Surviving Fidel Castro's Cuba
Two women share their story of the Castro regime's oppression of the Cuban people.
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that August 13 is the anniversary of the birth of Cuban communist revolutionary and Marxist–Leninist politician Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008.
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were brutal Marxist–Leninist revolutionaries. Thankfully they are both dead now. Fidel was more charismatic as a speaker. Che was more of a guerilla revolutionary so he was exported and thankfully Bolivian Special Forces killed him decades ago.
My wife's family is from Cuba. The family suffered after Castro took over and nationalized all property to the state and yet the previous property owner were responsible for taking care of what used to be there from automobiles to livestock. My wife's parents had to guard the family car from thieves and finally sold it/gave it away so they were no longer responsible for it.
A cow on my in-laws farm was slaughtered to provide meat for families. The authorities got wind of it and searched the property. My mother-in-law had my wife [who was 7 at the time] sit on a barrel and cry. Under her was some of the meat from the cow in the barrel. The searchers did not disturb the young girl and found no evidence - yet they knew a cow was missing. My father-in-law was imprisoned in a reeducation/concentration camp. Thankfully he was not taken to the prison from which few returned alive.
Thankfully my future father-in-law was released after serving his sentence. My future wife left at age 14 and was told not to look back at her parents or she would not be able to fly away. She stayed with missionaries in Mexico until she was able to get a visa to go to family in Oregon. She earned some money and helped to bring her parents to Oregon.
Much of the family emigrated when they could. Some pastors elected to stay behind and other family members became communists.
Cubans On Surviving Fidel Castro's Cuba
"Two women share their story of the Castro regime's oppression of the Cuban people."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqnUyeg2pRk
Images:
1. Revolutionary Fidel Castro 1957.
2. Revolutionary 'brothers' Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
3. Dead Fidel Castro.
4. Aged Fidel Castro
Background from thoughtco.com/fidel-castro-1779894
"Biography of Fidel Castro, President of Cuba for 50 Years by Jennifer Rosenberg
Updated July 21, 2019
Fidel Castro (August 13, 1926–November 25, 2016) took control of Cuba by force in 1959 and remained its dictatorial leader for nearly five decades. As the leader of the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere, Castro was long the focus of international controversy.
Fast Facts: Fidel Castro
Known For: President of Cuba, 1959–2008
Born: August 13, 1926 in the province of Orient, Cuba
Parents: Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz and Lina Ruz González
Died: November 25, 2016 in Havana, Cuba
Education: Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, Colegio de Belén, University of Havana
Spouse(s): Mirta Diaz-Balart (m. 1948–1955), Dalia Soto del Valle (1980–2016); Partners: Naty Revuelta (1955–1956), Celia Sánchez, others.
Children: One son Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (known as Fidelito, 1949–2018) with Diaz-Balart; five sons (Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Ángel) with Soto del Valle; one daughter (Alina Fernandez) with Naty Revuelta
Early Life
Fidel Castro was born Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz on August 13, 1926 (some sources say 1927) near his father's farm, Birán, in southeast Cuba in what was then the Oriente Province. Castro's father Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz came to Cuba from Spain to fight in the Spanish American War and stayed. Ángel Castro prospered as a sugarcane farmer, eventually owning 26,000 acres. Fidel was the third of seven children born to Lina Ruz González, who worked for Ángel Castro as a maid and cook. At the time, the elder Castro was married to Maria Luisa Argota, but that marriage eventually ended and then Ángel and Lina married. Fidel's full siblings were Ramon, Raúl, Angela, Juanita, Emma, and Agustina.
Fidel spent his youngest years on his father's farm, and at the age of 6 he began school at Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, transferring to the Colegio de Belén, an exclusive Jesuit high school in Havana.
Becoming a Revolutionary
In 1945, Fidel Castro started work on a law degree at the University of Havana, where he excelled at oratory and quickly became involved in politics.
In 1947, Castro joined the Caribbean Legion, a group of political exiles from Caribbean countries who planned to rid the Caribbean of dictator-led governments. When Castro joined, the Legion was planning to overthrow Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, but the plan was later canceled because of international pressure.
In 1948, Castro traveled to Bogotá, Colombia with plans to disrupt the Pan-American Union Conference, when country-wide riots broke out in response to the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitán. Castro grabbed a rifle and joined the rioters. While handing out anti-U.S. pamphlets to the crowds, Castro gained first-hand experience of popular uprisings.
After returning to Cuba, Castro married fellow student Mirta Diaz-Balart in October 1948. Castro and Mirta had one child together, Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (known as Fidelito, 1949–2018).
Castro vs. Batista
In 1950, Castro graduated from law school and began practicing law. Retaining a strong interest in politics, Castro became a candidate for a seat in Cuba's House of Representatives during the election of June 1952. However, before the elections could be held, a successful coup led by General Fulgencio Batista toppled the previous Cuban government, canceling the elections.
From the beginning of Batista's rule, Castro fought against him. At first, Castro took to the courts to try legal means to oust Batista. However, when that failed, Castro began to organize an underground group of rebels.
Castro Attacks the Moncada Barracks
On the morning of July 26, 1953, Castro, his brother Raúl, and a group of about 160 armed men attacked the second-largest military base in Cuba—the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Confronted with hundreds of trained soldiers at the base, there was little chance that the attack could have succeeded. Sixty of Castro's rebels were killed; Castro and Raúl were captured and then given a trial.
After delivering a speech at his trial which ended with, "Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me," Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released two years later, in May 1955.
The 26th of July Movement
Upon his release, Castro went to Mexico where he spent the next year organizing the "26th of July Movement" (based on the date of the failed Moncada Barracks attack). There he became involved with Naty Revuelta, a Cuban fellow fighter against Batista. Although the affair did not last, Naty and Fidel had a daughter, Alina Fernandez. The affair also ended Fidel's first marriage: Mirta and Fidel were divorced in 1955.
On December 2, 1956, Castro and the rest of the 26th of July Movement rebels landed on Cuban soil with the intention of starting a revolution. Met by heavy Batista defenses, nearly everyone in the Movement was killed, with merely a handful escaping, including Castro, Raúl, and Che Guevara.
For the next two years, Castro continued guerrilla attacks and succeeded in gaining large numbers of volunteers. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, Castro and his supporters attacked Batista's forces, overtaking town after town. Batista quickly lost popular support and suffered numerous defeats. On January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba.
Castro Becomes Cuba's Leader
In January, Manuel Urrutia was selected as president of the new government and Castro was placed in charge of the military. However, by July 1959, Castro had effectively taken over as leader of Cuba, which he remained for the next five decades.
During 1959 and 1960, Castro made radical changes in Cuba, including nationalizing industry, collectivizing agriculture, and seizing American-owned businesses and farms. Also during these two years, Castro alienated the United States and established strong ties with the Soviet Union. Castro transformed Cuba into a communist country.
The United States wanted Castro out of power. In one attempt to overthrow Castro, the U.S. sponsored the failed incursion of Cuban-exiles into Cuba in April 1961 (the Bay of Pigs Invasion). Over the years, the U.S. has made hundreds of attempts to assassinate Castro, all with no success.
Fidel was rumored to have had many partners and illegitimate children over his lifetime. In the 1950s, Fidel began a relationship with the Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez Manduley (1920–1980) which lasted until her death. In 1961, Castro met Cuban teacher Dalia Soto del Valle. Castro and Dalia had five children together (Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Ángel) and married in 1980, after Sánchez's death. During his presidency, Vilma Espín de Castro, a fellow revolutionary and the wife of Raúl Castro, acted as First Lady.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, Cuba was the center of world focus when the U.S. discovered the construction sites of Soviet nuclear missiles. The struggle that ensued between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the Cuban Missile Crisis, brought the world the closest it has ever come to nuclear war.
Over the next four decades, Castro ruled Cuba as a dictator. While some Cubans benefited from Castro's educational and land reforms, others suffered from the food shortages and lack of personal freedoms. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled Cuba to live in the United States.
Having relied heavily on Soviet aid and trade, Castro found himself suddenly alone after the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991; many speculated that Castro would fall as well. Even though the U.S. embargo against Cuba was still in effect and damaging Cuba's economic situation throughout the 1990s, Castro remained in power.
Retirement
In July 2006, Castro announced that he was temporarily handing over power to his brother Raúl while he underwent gastrointestinal surgery. Complications with the surgery caused infections for which Castro underwent several additional surgeries. Rumors of his death appeared frequently in news reports for the next decade, but they were all proven false until 2016.
Still in ill health, Castro announced on February 19, 2008, that he would not seek nor accept another term as president of Cuba, effectively resigning as its leader. The handover of power to Raúl raised more anger among United States officials, who characterized the transfer as the prolonging of a dictatorship. In 2014, President Barack Obama used his executive powers to attempt to normalize diplomatic relations and exchange prisoners with Cuba. But after Obama's visit, Castro publicly denigrated his offer and insisted that Cuba needed nothing from the U.S.
Death and Legacy
Fidel Castro was in power through 10 U.S. presidential administrations, from Eisenhower to Obama, and he sustained personal relationships in Latin America with political leaders such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and literary leaders such as the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose novel "The Autumn of the Patriarch" is in part based on Fidel.
Castro made his final public appearance to a congress of the Cuban Communist Party in April 2016. He died of undisclosed causes in Havana on November 25, 2016.
Sources
Archibold, Randal C. et al. "Decades in the Making: Fidel Castro's Obituary." The New York Times, November 29, 2016.
Arsenault, Chris. "Obituary: Fidel Castro." Al Jazeera, November 26, 2018.
DePalma, Anthony. "Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90," The New York Times, November 26, 2016.
"Meet Fidel Castro's family: torn by bitterness, rows and dysfunction." The Telegraph, November 26, 2016.
Sullivan, Kevin and J.Y. Smith. "Fidel Castro, revolutionary leader who remade Cuba as a socialist state, dies at 90. The Washington Post, November 26, 2016.
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SFC (Join to see)cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest Fitzrandolph
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Sgt John H.PVT Mark ZehnerSPC Robert Gilhuly1sg-dan-capriSGT Robert R.CPT Tommy CurtisSGT (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerSGT Mark Anderson
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were brutal Marxist–Leninist revolutionaries. Thankfully they are both dead now. Fidel was more charismatic as a speaker. Che was more of a guerilla revolutionary so he was exported and thankfully Bolivian Special Forces killed him decades ago.
My wife's family is from Cuba. The family suffered after Castro took over and nationalized all property to the state and yet the previous property owner were responsible for taking care of what used to be there from automobiles to livestock. My wife's parents had to guard the family car from thieves and finally sold it/gave it away so they were no longer responsible for it.
A cow on my in-laws farm was slaughtered to provide meat for families. The authorities got wind of it and searched the property. My mother-in-law had my wife [who was 7 at the time] sit on a barrel and cry. Under her was some of the meat from the cow in the barrel. The searchers did not disturb the young girl and found no evidence - yet they knew a cow was missing. My father-in-law was imprisoned in a reeducation/concentration camp. Thankfully he was not taken to the prison from which few returned alive.
Thankfully my future father-in-law was released after serving his sentence. My future wife left at age 14 and was told not to look back at her parents or she would not be able to fly away. She stayed with missionaries in Mexico until she was able to get a visa to go to family in Oregon. She earned some money and helped to bring her parents to Oregon.
Much of the family emigrated when they could. Some pastors elected to stay behind and other family members became communists.
Cubans On Surviving Fidel Castro's Cuba
"Two women share their story of the Castro regime's oppression of the Cuban people."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqnUyeg2pRk
Images:
1. Revolutionary Fidel Castro 1957.
2. Revolutionary 'brothers' Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
3. Dead Fidel Castro.
4. Aged Fidel Castro
Background from thoughtco.com/fidel-castro-1779894
"Biography of Fidel Castro, President of Cuba for 50 Years by Jennifer Rosenberg
Updated July 21, 2019
Fidel Castro (August 13, 1926–November 25, 2016) took control of Cuba by force in 1959 and remained its dictatorial leader for nearly five decades. As the leader of the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere, Castro was long the focus of international controversy.
Fast Facts: Fidel Castro
Known For: President of Cuba, 1959–2008
Born: August 13, 1926 in the province of Orient, Cuba
Parents: Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz and Lina Ruz González
Died: November 25, 2016 in Havana, Cuba
Education: Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, Colegio de Belén, University of Havana
Spouse(s): Mirta Diaz-Balart (m. 1948–1955), Dalia Soto del Valle (1980–2016); Partners: Naty Revuelta (1955–1956), Celia Sánchez, others.
Children: One son Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (known as Fidelito, 1949–2018) with Diaz-Balart; five sons (Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Ángel) with Soto del Valle; one daughter (Alina Fernandez) with Naty Revuelta
Early Life
Fidel Castro was born Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz on August 13, 1926 (some sources say 1927) near his father's farm, Birán, in southeast Cuba in what was then the Oriente Province. Castro's father Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz came to Cuba from Spain to fight in the Spanish American War and stayed. Ángel Castro prospered as a sugarcane farmer, eventually owning 26,000 acres. Fidel was the third of seven children born to Lina Ruz González, who worked for Ángel Castro as a maid and cook. At the time, the elder Castro was married to Maria Luisa Argota, but that marriage eventually ended and then Ángel and Lina married. Fidel's full siblings were Ramon, Raúl, Angela, Juanita, Emma, and Agustina.
Fidel spent his youngest years on his father's farm, and at the age of 6 he began school at Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, transferring to the Colegio de Belén, an exclusive Jesuit high school in Havana.
Becoming a Revolutionary
In 1945, Fidel Castro started work on a law degree at the University of Havana, where he excelled at oratory and quickly became involved in politics.
In 1947, Castro joined the Caribbean Legion, a group of political exiles from Caribbean countries who planned to rid the Caribbean of dictator-led governments. When Castro joined, the Legion was planning to overthrow Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, but the plan was later canceled because of international pressure.
In 1948, Castro traveled to Bogotá, Colombia with plans to disrupt the Pan-American Union Conference, when country-wide riots broke out in response to the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitán. Castro grabbed a rifle and joined the rioters. While handing out anti-U.S. pamphlets to the crowds, Castro gained first-hand experience of popular uprisings.
After returning to Cuba, Castro married fellow student Mirta Diaz-Balart in October 1948. Castro and Mirta had one child together, Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (known as Fidelito, 1949–2018).
Castro vs. Batista
In 1950, Castro graduated from law school and began practicing law. Retaining a strong interest in politics, Castro became a candidate for a seat in Cuba's House of Representatives during the election of June 1952. However, before the elections could be held, a successful coup led by General Fulgencio Batista toppled the previous Cuban government, canceling the elections.
From the beginning of Batista's rule, Castro fought against him. At first, Castro took to the courts to try legal means to oust Batista. However, when that failed, Castro began to organize an underground group of rebels.
Castro Attacks the Moncada Barracks
On the morning of July 26, 1953, Castro, his brother Raúl, and a group of about 160 armed men attacked the second-largest military base in Cuba—the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Confronted with hundreds of trained soldiers at the base, there was little chance that the attack could have succeeded. Sixty of Castro's rebels were killed; Castro and Raúl were captured and then given a trial.
After delivering a speech at his trial which ended with, "Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me," Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released two years later, in May 1955.
The 26th of July Movement
Upon his release, Castro went to Mexico where he spent the next year organizing the "26th of July Movement" (based on the date of the failed Moncada Barracks attack). There he became involved with Naty Revuelta, a Cuban fellow fighter against Batista. Although the affair did not last, Naty and Fidel had a daughter, Alina Fernandez. The affair also ended Fidel's first marriage: Mirta and Fidel were divorced in 1955.
On December 2, 1956, Castro and the rest of the 26th of July Movement rebels landed on Cuban soil with the intention of starting a revolution. Met by heavy Batista defenses, nearly everyone in the Movement was killed, with merely a handful escaping, including Castro, Raúl, and Che Guevara.
For the next two years, Castro continued guerrilla attacks and succeeded in gaining large numbers of volunteers. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, Castro and his supporters attacked Batista's forces, overtaking town after town. Batista quickly lost popular support and suffered numerous defeats. On January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba.
Castro Becomes Cuba's Leader
In January, Manuel Urrutia was selected as president of the new government and Castro was placed in charge of the military. However, by July 1959, Castro had effectively taken over as leader of Cuba, which he remained for the next five decades.
During 1959 and 1960, Castro made radical changes in Cuba, including nationalizing industry, collectivizing agriculture, and seizing American-owned businesses and farms. Also during these two years, Castro alienated the United States and established strong ties with the Soviet Union. Castro transformed Cuba into a communist country.
The United States wanted Castro out of power. In one attempt to overthrow Castro, the U.S. sponsored the failed incursion of Cuban-exiles into Cuba in April 1961 (the Bay of Pigs Invasion). Over the years, the U.S. has made hundreds of attempts to assassinate Castro, all with no success.
Fidel was rumored to have had many partners and illegitimate children over his lifetime. In the 1950s, Fidel began a relationship with the Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez Manduley (1920–1980) which lasted until her death. In 1961, Castro met Cuban teacher Dalia Soto del Valle. Castro and Dalia had five children together (Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Ángel) and married in 1980, after Sánchez's death. During his presidency, Vilma Espín de Castro, a fellow revolutionary and the wife of Raúl Castro, acted as First Lady.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, Cuba was the center of world focus when the U.S. discovered the construction sites of Soviet nuclear missiles. The struggle that ensued between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the Cuban Missile Crisis, brought the world the closest it has ever come to nuclear war.
Over the next four decades, Castro ruled Cuba as a dictator. While some Cubans benefited from Castro's educational and land reforms, others suffered from the food shortages and lack of personal freedoms. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled Cuba to live in the United States.
Having relied heavily on Soviet aid and trade, Castro found himself suddenly alone after the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991; many speculated that Castro would fall as well. Even though the U.S. embargo against Cuba was still in effect and damaging Cuba's economic situation throughout the 1990s, Castro remained in power.
Retirement
In July 2006, Castro announced that he was temporarily handing over power to his brother Raúl while he underwent gastrointestinal surgery. Complications with the surgery caused infections for which Castro underwent several additional surgeries. Rumors of his death appeared frequently in news reports for the next decade, but they were all proven false until 2016.
Still in ill health, Castro announced on February 19, 2008, that he would not seek nor accept another term as president of Cuba, effectively resigning as its leader. The handover of power to Raúl raised more anger among United States officials, who characterized the transfer as the prolonging of a dictatorship. In 2014, President Barack Obama used his executive powers to attempt to normalize diplomatic relations and exchange prisoners with Cuba. But after Obama's visit, Castro publicly denigrated his offer and insisted that Cuba needed nothing from the U.S.
Death and Legacy
Fidel Castro was in power through 10 U.S. presidential administrations, from Eisenhower to Obama, and he sustained personal relationships in Latin America with political leaders such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and literary leaders such as the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose novel "The Autumn of the Patriarch" is in part based on Fidel.
Castro made his final public appearance to a congress of the Cuban Communist Party in April 2016. He died of undisclosed causes in Havana on November 25, 2016.
Sources
Archibold, Randal C. et al. "Decades in the Making: Fidel Castro's Obituary." The New York Times, November 29, 2016.
Arsenault, Chris. "Obituary: Fidel Castro." Al Jazeera, November 26, 2018.
DePalma, Anthony. "Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90," The New York Times, November 26, 2016.
"Meet Fidel Castro's family: torn by bitterness, rows and dysfunction." The Telegraph, November 26, 2016.
Sullivan, Kevin and J.Y. Smith. "Fidel Castro, revolutionary leader who remade Cuba as a socialist state, dies at 90. The Washington Post, November 26, 2016.
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