Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: [fiˈðel ˈkastro]; born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban

political leader and former communist revolutionary.[1] As the primary leader of the Cuban
Revolution, Castro served as the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December
1976, and then as the President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of Council
of Ministers of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008. He served as First
Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961. His younger
brother Raúl Castro is currently Second Secretary of the Communist Party and President of
the Councils of State and Ministers and previously served under Fidel as Minister of Defence
in 1959-2008.
While studying law at the University of Havana, he began his political career and became a
recognized figure in Cuban politics.[2] His political career continued with nationalist critiques
of the president, Fulgencio Batista, and of the United States' political and corporate influence
in Cuba. He gained an ardent, but limited, following and also drew the attention of the
authorities.[3] He eventually led the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which
he was captured, tried, incarcerated, and later released. He then traveled to Mexico[4][5] to
organize and train for an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Batista's government, which began in
December 1956.
Castro subsequently came to power as a result of the Cuban Revolution, which overthrew the
US-backed[6] dictatorship of Batista,[7] and shortly thereafter became Prime Minister of Cuba.
[8]
In 1965 he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and led the
transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became President of the
Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military
rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces.
Following intestinal surgery from an undisclosed digestive illness believed to have been
diverticulitis,[9] Castro transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger
brother Raúl Castro, on July 31, 2006. On February 19, 2008, five days before his mandate
was to expire, he announced he would neither seek nor accept a new term as either president
or commander-in-chief.[10][11] On February 24, 2008, the National Assembly elected Raúl
Castro to succeed him as the President of Cuba.[12] Castro is currently most active in
commenting on world affairs, commonly in the form of his regularly published Reflections,
articles offering his view on world events from US foreign policy to global warming.[13]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Childhood and education
• 2 Political beginnings
○ 2.1 Decision for revolution
• 3 Cuban Revolution
○ 3.1 Attack on Moncada Barracks
○ 3.2 July 26 Movement
○ 3.3 Operation Verano
○ 3.4 Battle of Yaguajay
○ 3.5 Collapse of the Batista regime
○ 3.6 New government
○ 3.7 Castro consolidates power
 • 4 Years in power
○ 4.1 Bay of Pigs Invasion
○ 4.2 Reaction: the socialist state
○ 4.3 Cuban Missile Crisis
○ 4.4 Assassination attempts
○ 4.5 United States embargo
○ 4.6 Foreign relations
 4.6.1 Soviet Union
 4.6.2 Other countries
• 5 Religious beliefs
• 6 Succession issues
○ 6.1 Speculation on illness 1998–2005
○ 6.2 Transfer of duties, speculation on illness 2006–2007
○ 6.3 Retirement
• 7 Public image
• 8 Family
• 9 Controversy and criticism
○ 9.1 Human rights record
○ 9.2 Allegations of mismanagement
○ 9.3 Allegations of wealth
• 10 Ancestry
• 11 Authored works
• 12 See also
• 13 References
• 14 Further reading
• 15 External links

Childhood and education

A letter written by the 14-year-old Castro, learning English, to U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt — "My good friend Roosevelt." In the letter Castro expresses his joy at
Roosevelt's re-election, states his age as "twelve years old" and writes, "If you like, give me a
ten dollar bill green American, because never, I have not seen a ten dollar bill," signing the
letter, "Thank you very much. Good by [sic]. Your friend, Fidel Castro."
Fidel Alejandro Vittore Castro Ruz was born on a sugar plantation in Birán, near Mayarí, in
the modern-day province of Holguín – then a part of the now-defunct Oriente Province. He
was the third child born to Ángel Castro y Argiz, a Galician immigrant from the
impoverished northwest of Spain who became relatively prosperous through work in the
sugar industry and successful investing.[14]
His mother, Lina Ruz González (September 23, 1903 – August 6, 1963.[15]), was a household
servant. Ángel Castro was married to another woman, Maria Luisa Argota,[16] until Fidel was
15, and thus Fidel as a child had to deal both with his illegitimacy and the challenge of being
raised in various foster homes away from his father's house.
Castro has two brothers, Ramón and Raúl, and four sisters, Angelita, Juanita, Enma, and
Agustina, all of whom were born out of wedlock. He also has two half siblings, Lidia and
Pedro Emilio who were raised by Ángel Castro's first wife. His maternal grandparents were
canarian people.[17][18] Fidel was not baptized until he was 8, also very uncommon, bringing
embarrassment and ridicule from other children.[19][20] Ángel Castro finally dissolved his first
marriage when Fidel was 15 and married Fidel’s mother. Castro was formally recognized by
his father when he was 17, when his surname was legally changed to Castro from Ruz, his
mother’s name.[19][20]
Although accounts of his education differ, most sources agree that he was an intellectually
gifted student, more interested in sports than in academics, and spent many years in private
Catholic boarding schools, finishing high school at El Colegio de Belén, a Jesuit school in
Havana in 1945.[21] While at Belén, Castro pitched on the school's baseball team. There are
persistent rumors that Castro was scouted for various U.S. baseball teams,[22] but there is no
evidence that this ever actually happened.[23]
Political beginnings
In late 1945, Castro entered law school at the University of Havana. He became immediately
embroiled in the political culture at the University, which was a reflection of the volatile
politics in Cuba during that era. Since the fall of president Gerardo Machado in the 1930s,
student politics had degenerated into a form of gangsterismo dominated by fractious action
groups, and Castro, believing that the gangs posed a physical threat to his university
aspirations, experienced what he later described as "a great moment of decision."[24]
He returned to the university from a brief hiatus to involve himself fully in the various violent
battles and disputes which surrounded university elections, and was to be implicated in a
number of shootings linked to Rolando Masferrer's MSR action group. "To not return", said
Castro later, "would be to give in to bullies, to abandon my beliefs".[24] Rivalries were so
intense that Castro apparently collaborated in an attempt on Masferrer's life during this
period,[24] while Masferrer, whose paramilitary group Les Tigres later became an instrument
of state violence under Batista,[25] perennially hunted the younger student seeking violent
retribution.[26]
In 1947, Castro joined the Partido Ortodoxo which had been newly formed by Eduardo
Chibás. A charismatic figure, Chibás attracted many Cubans with his message of social
justice, honest government, and political freedom.[27] Chibás was running for president
against the incumbent Ramón Grau San Martín who had allowed rampant corruption to
flourish during his term.[citation needed] The Partido Ortodoxo publicly exposed corruption and
demanded government and social reform. It aimed to instill a strong sense of national identity
among Cubans, establish Cuban economic independence and freedom from the United States,
and dismantle the power of the elite over Cuban politics.[citation needed] Though Chibás lost the
election, Castro, considering Chibás his mentor, remained committed to his cause, working
fervently on his behalf. In 1951, while running for president again, Chibás shot himself in the
stomach during a radio broadcast. Castro was present and accompanied him to the hospital
where he died.[21]
During 1948, Castro was twice linked to political assassinations.[2] He was suspected of
Manolo Castro's assassination that took place on February 22.[2] This was soon followed on
June 6 by the assassination of the university policeman Oscar Fernandez, who was killed in
front of his home; as he lay dying, he allegedly identified Castro as his killer, as did several
other witnesses, although Castro himself was never put on trial for the incident.[2] In 1948,
Castro joined an anti-American demonstration trip to Bogotá, Colombia, paid by Argentine
army colonel and President Juan Perón.[2] Castro joined mob violence and property
destruction, and later sought refuge in the Argentine embassy.[2]
Decision for revolution
In 1948, Castro married Mirta Díaz Balart, a student from a wealthy Cuban family through
which he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. Mirta's father gave them tens of
thousands to spend in a three-month honeymoon in New York.[28] Castro also received a
$1,000 wedding gift from Fulgencio Batista, the ex-President who was a friend of both
families.[2][28] Although Castro considered enrolling at Columbia University, a private
university in Manhattan, he returned to Cuba to complete his degree.[2]
Castro started to have money problems. He refused to find work and others had to pay the
family's bills.[2][28] The relationship with his wife was also strained. In 1950 he graduated from
law school with a Doctor of Laws degree and began practicing law in a small partnership in
Havana.[28] By now he had become well known for his passionately nationalist views and his
intense opposition to the United States. Castro spoke publicly against the United States
involvement in defending South Korea in the Korean War.[2]
In 1951, Fidel Castro said to Batista "I don't see an important book here". When Batista asked
which, Castro replied "Curzio Malaparte's The Technique of the Coup d'état".[28] According to
Rafael Diaz-Ballart, Fidel Castro realized that Batista was not a "revolutionary" leader
anymore, even though both looked at each other with admiration.[28]
Increasingly interested in a career in politics, Castro had become a candidate for a seat in the
Cuban parliament in the 1952 elections when former president, General Fulgencio Batista,
ousted President Carlos Prío Socarrás in a coup d'état, cancelled the elections and assumed
government as "provisional president". Batista was supported by establishment elements of
Cuban society, powerful Cuban agencies, and labor unions.
Cuban Revolution
Main article: Cuban Revolution
Attack on Moncada Barracks
Main article: Moncada Barracks
As discontent over the Batista coup grew, Castro abandoned his law practice and formed an
underground organization of supporters, including his brother, Raúl, and Mario Chanes de
Armas. Together they actively plotted to overthrow Batista. They collected guns and
ammunition and finalized their plans for an armed attack on Moncada Barracks, Batista's
largest garrison outside Santiago de Cuba. On July 26, 1953, they attacked Moncada
Barracks. The Céspedes garrison in Bayamo was also attacked as a diversion.[4] The attack
proved disastrous and more than sixty of the one-hundred and thirty-five militants involved
were killed.
Castro and other surviving members of his group managed to escape to a part of the rugged
Sierra Maestra[29] mountains east of Santiago where they were eventually discovered and
captured.
Although there is disagreement over why Castro and his brother, Raúl, were not executed on
capture as many of their fellow militants were, there is evidence that an officer recognized
Castro from his university days and treated the captured rebels compassionately, despite the
'illegal' unofficial order to have the leader executed.[4] Others, such as Angel Prado, military
commander of July 26 Movement, say that on the morning of the attack Castro's driver got
lost and he never reached the barracks. In his spoken autobiography[30] Castro maintains that
his car, which was second in the convoy of 'ten or twelve' cars, encountered a foot patrol near
to the Moncada Barracks. When he stopped the car to deal with them, the rest of the convoy
also stopped and so the momentum of the operation was lost. He gives this as the sole reason
for the failure of the operation.
Castro was tried in the fall of 1953 and sentenced to up to fifteen years in prison. During his
trial Castro delivered his famous defense speech History Will Absolve Me,[31] upholding his
rebellious actions and boldly declaring his political views:
I warn you, I am just beginning! If there is in your hearts a vestige of love for your country,
love for humanity, love for justice, listen carefully... I know that the regime will try to
suppress the truth by all possible means; I know that there will be a conspiracy to bury me in
oblivion. But my voice will not be stifled – it will rise from my breast even when I feel most
alone, and my heart will give it all the fire that callous cowards deny it... Condemn me. It
does not matter. History will absolve me.
While he was being held at the prison for political activists on Isla de Pinos, he continued to
plot Batista's overthrow, planning upon release to reorganize and train in Mexico.[4] After
having served less than two years, he was released in May 1955 due to a general amnesty
from Batista who was under political pressure, and went as planned to Mexico.[5]
July 26 Movement
Main article: July 26 Movement
Once in Mexico, Castro reunited with other Cuban exiles and founded the July 26 Movement,
named after the date of the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks. The goal remained the
overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. Castro had learned from the Moncada experience that new
tactics were needed if Batista's forces were to be defeated. This time, the plan was to use
underground guerrilla tactics, which were used by the Cubans the last time they attempted a
populist overthrow of what they considered an imperialistic regime. The Cuban war of
Independence against the Spanish was Cuba's introduction to guerrilla warfare, about which
they read once the Cuban campaign ended but was taken up by Emilio Aguinaldo in the
Philippines. Once again, it would be guerrilla warfare to bring down a government.
In Mexico Castro met Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a proponent of guerrilla warfare. Guevara
joined the group of rebels and became an important force in shaping Castro's evolving
political beliefs. Guevara's observations of the misery of the poor in Latin America had
already convinced him that the only solution lay in violent revolution.
Since regular contacts with a KGB agent named Nikolai Sergeevich Leonov in Mexico City
had not resulted in the hoped for weapon supply,[32] they decided to go to the United States to
gather personnel and funds from Cubans living there, including Carlos Prío Socarrás, the
elected Cuban president deposed by Batista in 1952. Back in Mexico, the group trained under
a Spanish Civil War Veteran, Cuban-born Alberto Bayo[31] who had fled to Mexico after
Francisco Franco's victory in Spain. On November 26, 1956, Castro and his group of 81
followers, mostly Cuban exiles, set out from Tuxpan, Veracruz, aboard the yacht Granma for
the purpose of starting a rebellion in Cuba.[33]
The rebels landed at Playa Las Coloradas close to Los Cayuelos near the eastern city of
Manzanillo on December 2, 1956. In short order, most of Castro's men were killed, dispersed,
or taken prisoner by Batista's forces.[33] While the exact number is in dispute, it is agreed that
no more than twenty of the original eighty-two men survived the bloody encounters with the
Cuban army and succeeded in fleeing to the Sierra Maestra mountains.[34] The group of
survivors included Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro, and Camilo Cienfuegos. Those
who survived were aided by people in the countryside. They regrouped in the Sierra Maestra
in Oriente province and organized a column under Fidel Castro's command.
From their encampment in the Sierra Maestra mountains, July 26 Movement waged a
guerrilla war against the Batista government. In the cities and major towns also, resistance
groups were organizing until underground groups were everywhere. The strongest was in
Santiago formed by Frank País.[35][36]
In the summer of 1957, País’s organization merged with July 26 Movement of Castro. As
Castro's movement gained popular support in the cities and countryside, it grew to over eight
hundred men. In mid-1957 Castro gave Che Guevara command of a second column. A
journalist, Herbert Matthews from the New York Times, came to interview him in the Sierra
Maestra, attracting interest to Castro's cause in the United States. The New York Times front
page stories by Matthews presented Castro as a romantic and appealing revolutionary,
bearded and dressed in rumpled fatigues.[37][38] Castro and Matthews were followed by the TV
crew of Andrew Saint George, said to be a CIA contact person.[39] Through television,
Castro's rudimentary command of the English language and charismatic presence enabled
him to appeal directly to a U.S. audience.
In 1957, Castro also signed the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra[40] in which he agreed to call
elections under the Electoral Code of 1943 within the first 18 months of his time in power
and to restore all of the provisions of the 1940 Constitution of Cuba that had been suspended
under Batista. While he took steps to implement some of the measures in the Manifesto upon
coming into power, Cuba failed to have elections, the most important part of the program,
within the allotted time.
In February 1958, Castro published in Coronet Magazine a famous statement of the goals of
the movement.[41] He stated that "we are fighting to do away with dictatorship in Cuba and to
establish the foundations of genuine representative government" and promised to "prepare
and conduct truly honest general elections within twelve months" after success. He also
stated, "we have no plans for the expropriation or nationalization of foreign investments
here". He also justified his attacks on Cuba's economy as the only way to bring down the
Batista dictatorship. Despite his denouncement of dictatorships, Castro himself has been
described as a dictator.[42][43][44]
Operation Verano
Main article: Operation Verano
In May 1958, Batista launched Operation Verano aiming to crush Castro and other anti-
government groups. It was called La Ofensiva ("The Offensive") by the rebels (Alarcón
Ramírez,1997). Although on paper heavily outnumbered, Castro's guerrilla forces scored a
series of victories, largely aided by mass desertions from Batista's army of poorly trained and
uncommitted young conscripts. During the Battle of La Plata, Castro's forces defeated an
entire battalion. While pro-Castro Cuban sources later emphasized the role of Castro's
guerrilla forces in these battles, other groups and leaders were also involved, such as
escopeteros (poorly armed irregulars). During the Battle of Las Mercedes, Castro's small
army came close to defeat but he managed to pull his troops out by opening up negotiations
with General Cantillo while secretly slipping his soldiers out of a trap.
When Operation Verano ended, Castro ordered three columns commanded by Guevara,
Jaime Vega and Camilo Cienfuegos to invade central Cuba where they were strongly
supported by rebellious elements who had long been operating in the area. One of Castro's
columns moved out onto the Cauto Plains. Here, they were supported by Huber Matos, Raúl
Castro and others who were operating in the eastern-most part of the province. On the plains,
Castro's forces first surrounded the town of Guisa in Granma Province and drove out their
enemies, then proceeded to take most of the towns that had been taken by Calixto García in
the 1895–1898 Cuban War of Independence.
Battle of Yaguajay
Main article: Battle of Yaguajay
In December 1958, the columns of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos continued their
advance through Las Villas province. They succeeded in occupying several towns, and then
began preparations for an attack on Santa Clara, the provincial capital. Guevara's fighters
launched a fierce assault on the Cuban army surrounding Santa Clara, and a vicious house-to-
house battle ensued. They also derailed an armored train which Batista had sent to aid his
troops in the city while Cienfuegos won the Battle of Yaguajay. Defeated on all sides,
Batista's forces crumbled. The provincial capital was captured after less than a day of fighting
on December 31, 1958.
Collapse of the Batista regime
Main article: Fulgencio Batista
After the loss at the Battle of Santa Clara, expecting betrayal by his own army and having lost
all backup from the previously supportive US government, Batista (accompanied by
president-elect Andrés Rivero Agüero) boarded a plane and fled to the Dominican Republic
in the early hours of January 1, 1959. Accompanying Batista into exile was an amassed
fortune of more than $300,000,000 that he acquired through "graft and payoffs."[45]
Batista left behind a junta headed by Gen. Eulogio Cantillo, recently the commander in
Oriente province, the center of the Castro revolt. The junta immediately selected Dr. Carlos
Piedra, the oldest judge of the Supreme Court, as provisional President of Cuba as specified
in the Constitution of 1940. Castro refused to accept the selection of Justice Piedra as
provisional President and the Supreme Court refused to administer the oath of office to the
Justice.[46]
The rebel forces of Fidel Castro moved swiftly to seize power throughout the island.[46] At the
age of 32, Castro had successfully masterminded a classic guerrilla campaign from his
headquarters in the Sierra Maestra and ousted Batista.
New government
On January 8, 1959, Castro's army rolled victoriously into Havana[47] and would shortly
thereafter declare that "power does not interest me, and I will not take it."[48] As news of the
fall of Batista's government spread through Havana, The New York Times described the scene
as one of jubilant crowds pouring into the streets and automobile horns honking. The black
and red flag of July 26 Movement waved on automobiles and buildings. The atmosphere was
chaotic.[46] Castro called a general strike in protest of the Piedra government. He demanded
that Dr. Urrutia, former judge of the Urgency Court of Santiago de Cuba, be installed as the
provisional President instead. The Cane Planters Association of Cuba, speaking on behalf of
the island's crucial sugar industry, issued a statement of support for Castro and his movement.
[citation needed]
Law professor José Miró Cardona created a new government with himself as prime minister
and Manuel Urrutia Lleó as president on January 5. The United States officially recognized
the new government two days later.[49] Castro himself arrived in Havana to cheering crowds
and assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on January 8.
Castro consolidates power
"Until Castro, the U.S. was so overwhelmingly influential in Cuba that the American
ambassador was the second most important man, sometimes even more important than the
Cuban president."
– Earl T. Smith, former American Ambassador to Cuba, during 1960 testimony to the U.S.
Senate[50]
Fidel Castro sought to oust liberals and democrats, such as José Miró Cardona and Manuel
Urrutia Lleó.[28] In February professor José Miró Cardona had to resign because of Castro's
attacks. On February 16, 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.[8] Professor
Miró soon went into exile in the United States, and would later participate in the Bay of Pigs
Invasion against Castro's form of government. President Manuel Urrutia Lleó wanted to
restore elections, but Castro opposed free elections.[51] Castro's slogan was "Revolution first,
elections later".[52]
The new government began expropriating property and announced plans to base the
compensation on the artificially low property valuations that the companies themselves had
kept to a fraction of their true value so that their taxes would be negligible.[citation needed] During
this period Castro repeatedly denied being a communist.[53][54][55][56][57] For example in New
York on April 25 he said, "...[communist] influence is nothing. I don't agree with
communism. We are democracy. We are against all kinds of dictators... That is why we
oppose communism."[58]
Between April 15 and April 26, Castro and a delegation of industrial and international
representatives visited the U.S. as guests of the Press Club. Castro hired one of the best
public relations firms in the United States for a charm offensive visit by Castro and his
recently initiated government. Castro answered impertinent questions jokingly and ate hot
dogs and hamburgers. His rumpled fatigues and scruffy beard cut a popular figure easily
promoted as an authentic hero.[59] He was refused a meeting with President Eisenhower. After
his visit to the United States, he would go on to join forces with the Soviet leader, Nikita
Khrushchev.[47]
On May 17, 1959, Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform, which limited
landholdings to 993 acres (4 km²) per owner and forbade foreign land ownership.[60][61]
Castro started to organize attacks on President Manuel Urrutia Lleó. Castro himself resigned
as Prime Minister of Cuba and later that day appeared on television to deliver a lengthy
denouncement of Urrutia, claiming that Urrutia "complicated" government, and that his
"fevered anti-Communism" was having a detrimental effect. Castro's sentiments received
widespread support as organized crowds surrounded the presidential palace demanding
Urrutia's resignation, which was duly received. On July 23, Castro resumed his position as
premier and appointed Osvaldo Dorticós as the new president.[62]
Years in power
As early as July 1959, Castro's intelligence chief Ramiro Valdés contacted the KGB in
Mexico City.[32] Subsequently, the USSR sent over one hundred mostly Spanish speaking
advisors, including Enrique Líster Forján, to organize the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution.
In February 1960, Cuba signed an agreement to buy oil from the USSR. When the U.S.-
owned refineries in Cuba refused to process the oil, they were expropriated, and the United
States broke off diplomatic relations with the Castro government soon afterward. To the
concern of the Eisenhower administration, Cuba began to establish closer ties with the Soviet
Union. A variety of pacts were signed between Castro and Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev, allowing Cuba to receive large amounts of economic and military aid from the
USSR.
In June 1960, Eisenhower reduced Cuba's sugar import quota by 7,000,000 tons, and in
response, Cuba nationalized some $850 million worth of U.S. property and businesses.
Health care[63] and education[citation needed] were socialized. The new government took control of
the country by nationalizing industry, redistributing property, collectivizing agriculture and
creating policies that would benefit the poor. While popular among the poor, these policies
alienated many former supporters of the revolution among the Cuban middle and upper-
classes.

Fidel Castro and members of the East German Politburo in 1972.

By the early autumn of 1960, the U.S. government was engaged in a semi-secret campaign to
remove Castro from power.[64]
In September 1960, Castro created Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, which
implemented neighborhood spying in an effort to weed out "counter-revolutionary" activities.
[65]

By the end of 1960, all opposition newspapers had been closed down and all radio and
television stations were in state control, run under the Leninist principle of Democratic
Centralism.[65] Moderates, teachers and professors were purged.[65] He was accused of keeping
about 20,000 dissidents held captive and tortured under inhuman prison conditions every
year.[65]
Groups such as homosexuals were locked up in concentration camps in the 1960s, where they
were subject to medical-political "re-education".[66] Castro's admiring description of rural life
in Cuba ("in the country, there are no homosexuals"[67]) reflected the idea of homosexuality as
bourgeois decadence, and he denounced "maricones" (faggots) as "agents of imperialism".[68]
Castro stated that "homosexuals should not be allowed in positions where they are able to
exert influence upon young people".[69] However, in August 2010, Castro called the sending
of openly gay men to labor camps without charge or trial "moments of great injustice, great
injustice!" saying that "if someone is responsible, it's me."[70]
Loyalty to Castro became the primary criteria for all appointments on the island.[71] The
Communist Party strengthened its one-party rule, with Castro as the Prime Minister.[65]
In the 1961 New Year's Day parade, Castro exhibited Soviet tanks and other weapons.[71] The
Soviet Union awarded him the Lenin Peace Prize later that year.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Main article: Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (known as La Batalla de Girón, or Playa Girón in Cuba), was an
unsuccessful attempt by a US-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with
support from US government armed forces, to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel
Castro.
The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy assumed
the presidency in the United States. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by
Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the exile combatants in three days.
Reaction: the socialist state
On May 1, 1961, Castro declared Cuba a socialist state and officially abolished multiparty
elections.[2] Critics noted that Castro feared elections would eject him from power.[2] On the
same day Castro announced to the hundreds of thousands in his audience that:
The revolution has no time for elections. There is no more democratic government in Latin
America than the revolutionary government. ... If Mr. Kennedy does not like Socialism, we
do not like imperialism. We do not like capitalism.[72]
In a nationally broadcast speech on December 2, 1961, Castro declared that he was a Marxist-
Leninist and that Cuba was adopting Communism. On February 7, 1962, the US imposed an
embargo against Cuba. This embargo was broadened during 1962 and 1963, including a
general travel ban for American tourists.[73]
Cuban Missile Crisis
Main article: Cuban Missile Crisis
Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. heightened during the 1962 missile crisis, which nearly
brought the U.S. and the USSR into nuclear conflict. Khrushchev conceived the idea of
placing missiles in Cuba as a deterrent to a possible U.S. invasion and justified the move in
response to U.S. missile deployment in Turkey. After consultations with his military advisors,
he met with a Cuban delegation led by Raúl Castro in July in order to work out the specifics.
It was agreed to deploy Soviet R-12 MRBMs on Cuban soil; however, American Lockheed
U-2 reconnaissance discovered the construction of the missile installations on October 15,
1962 before the weapons had actually been deployed.
The U.S. government viewed the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons 90 miles (145 km)
south of Key West as an aggressive act and a threat to U.S. security. As a result, the U.S.
publicly announced its discovery on October 22, 1962, and implemented a quarantine around
Cuba that would actively intercept and search any vessels heading for the island. Nikolai
Sergevich Leonov, who would become a General in the KGB Intelligence Directorate[74] and
the Soviet KGB deputy station chief in Warsaw, was the translator Castro used for contact
with the Russians during this period.
In a personal letter to Khrushchev dated October 27, 1962, Castro urged him to launch a
nuclear first strike against the United States if Cuba were invaded, but Khrushchev rejected
any first strike response.[75] Soviet field commanders in Cuba were, however, authorized to
use tactical nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States. Khrushchev agreed to remove
the missiles in exchange for a U.S. commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that
the US would secretly remove American MRBMs targeting the Soviet Union from Turkey
and Italy, a measure that the U.S. implemented a few months later. The missile swap was
never publicized because the Kennedy Administration demanded secrecy in order to preserve
NATO relations and protect Democratic Party candidates in the upcoming U.S. elections.
[citation needed]

Assassination attempts
Fabian Escalante, who was long tasked with protecting the life of Castro, estimated the
number of assassination schemes or attempts by the CIA to be 638. Some such attempts
allegedly included an exploding cigar, a fungal-infected scuba-diving suit, and a mafia-style
shooting. Some of these plots are depicted in a documentary entitled 638 Ways to Kill Castro.
[76]
One of these attempts was by his ex-lover Marita Lorenz whom he met in 1959. She
allegedly agreed to aid the CIA and attempted to smuggle a jar of cold cream containing
poison pills into his room. When Castro realized, he reportedly gave her a gun and told her to
kill him but her nerve failed.[77] Castro once said, in regards to the numerous attempts on his
life he believes have been made, "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event,
I would win the gold medal."
According to the Family Jewels documents declassified by the CIA in 2007, one such
assassination attempt before the Bay of Pigs invasion involved Johnny Roselli and Al
Capone's successor in the Chicago Outfit, Salvatore Giancana and his right-hand man Santos
Trafficante. It was personally authorized by the then US attorney general Robert Kennedy.[78]
Giancana and Miami Syndicate leader Santos Trafficante were contacted in September 1960
about the possibility of an assassination attempt by a go-between from the CIA, Robert
Maheu, after Maheu had contacted Johnny Roselli, a member of the Las Vegas Syndicate and
Giancana's number-two man. Maheu had presented himself as a representative of numerous
international business firms in Cuba that were being expropriated by Castro. He offered
$150,000 for the "removal" of Castro through this operation (the documents suggest that
neither Roselli nor Giancana and Trafficante accepted any sort of payments for the job).
According to the files, it was Giancana who suggested using a series of poison pills that could
be used to doctor Castro's food and drink. These pills were given by the CIA to Giancana's
nominee Juan Orta, whom Giancana presented as being an official in the Cuban government
who was also in the pay of gambling interests, and who did have access to Castro.[79][80][81]
After a series of six attempts to introduce the poison into Castro's food, Orta abruptly
demanded to be let out of the mission, handing over the job to another, unnamed participant.
Later, a second attempt was mounted through Giancana and Trafficante using Dr. Anthony
Verona, the leader of the Cuban Exile Junta, who had, according to Trafficante, become
"disaffected with the apparent ineffectual progress of the Junta". Verona requested $10,000 in
expenses and $1,000 worth of communications equipment. However, it is unknown how far
the second attempt went, as the entire program was cancelled shortly thereafter due to the
launching of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.[79][80][81]
United States embargo
Main article: United States embargo against Cuba
Castro arriving at the MATS Terminal in Washington D.C in 1959
José María Aznar, former Spanish Prime Minister, wrote that the embargo was Castro's
greatest ally, and that Castro would lose his presidency within three months if the embargo
was lifted.[82] Castro retained control after Cuba became bankrupt and isolated following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The synergic contraction of Cuban economy resulted
in eighty-five percent of its markets disappearing, along with subsidies and trade agreements
that had supported it, causing extended gas and water outages, severe power shortages, and
dwindling food supplies.[83]
In 1994, the island's economy plunged into what was called the "Special Period"; teetering on
the brink of collapse. Cuba legalized the US dollar, turned to tourism, and encouraged the
transfer of remittances in US dollars from Cubans living in the USA to their relatives on the
Island. After massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001, Castro proposed a one-
time cash purchase of food from the U.S. while declining a U.S. offer of humanitarian aid.[84]
The U.S. authorized the shipment of food in 2001, the first since the embargo was imposed.
[85]
During 2004, Castro shut down 118 factories, including steel plants, sugar mills and paper
processors to compensate for the crisis due to fuel shortages.,[86] and in 2005 directed
thousands of Cuban doctors to Venezuela in exchange for oil imports.[87]
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Cuba
Soviet Union
Following the establishment of diplomatic ties to the Soviet Union, and after the Cuban
Missile Crisis, Cuba became increasingly dependent on Soviet markets and military and
economic aid. Castro was able to build a formidable military force with the help of Soviet
equipment and military advisors. The KGB kept in close touch with Havana, and Castro
tightened Communist Party control over all levels of government, the media, and the
educational system, while developing a Soviet-style internal police force.
Castro's alliance with the Soviet Union caused something of a split between him and
Guevara. In 1966, Guevara left for Bolivia in an ill-fated attempt to stir up revolution against
the country's government.
On August 23, 1968, Castro made a public gesture to the USSR that caused the Soviet
leadership to reaffirm their support for him. Two days after the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia to repress the Prague Spring, Castro took to the airwaves and publicly
denounced the Czech rebellion. Castro warned the Cuban people about the Czechoslovakian
'counterrevolutionaries', who "were moving Czechoslovakia towards capitalism and into the
arms of imperialists". He called the leaders of the rebellion "the agents of West Germany and
fascist reactionary rabble."[88] In return for his public backing of the invasion, at a time when
many Soviet allies were deeming the invasion an infringement of Czechoslovakia's
sovereignty, the Soviets bailed out the Cuban economy with extra loans and an immediate
increase in oil exports.
In 1971, despite an Organization of American States convention that no nation in the Western
Hemisphere would have a relationship with Cuba (the only exception being Mexico, which
had refused to adopt that convention), Castro took a month-long visit to Chile, following the
re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba. The visit, in which Castro participated
actively in the internal politics of the country, holding massive rallies and giving public
advice to Salvador Allende, was seen by those on the political right as proof to support their
view that "The Chilean Way to Socialism" was an effort to put Chile on the same path as
Cuba.[89]
When Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited Cuba in 1989, the camaraderie between
Havana and Moscow was strained by Gorbachev's implementation of economic and political
reforms in the USSR. "We are witnessing sad things in other socialist countries, very sad
things," lamented Castro in November 1989, in reference to the changes that were sweeping
such communist allies as the Soviet Union, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland.[90] The
subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 had an immediate and devastating effect
on Cuba.
Other countries

Nelson Mandela with Castro after his release from prison on July 27, 1991, in Matanzas,
Cuba. Their combined anti-apartheid speeches from the event were published as the book
How Far We Slaves Have Come![91]
"As I have said before, the ever more sophisticated weapons piling up in the arsenals of the
wealthiest and the mightiest can kill the illiterate, the ill, the poor and the hungry, but they
cannot kill ignorance, illness, poverty or hunger."
– Fidel Castro, 2002[92]
On November 4, 1975, Castro ordered the deployment of Cuban troops to Angola in order to
aid the Marxist MPLA-ruled government against the South African-backed UNITA
opposition forces. Moscow aided the Cuban initiative with the USSR engaging in a massive
airlift of Cuban forces into Angola. On Cuba's role in Angola, Nelson Mandela is said to have
remarked "Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom,
and justice."[93]
Cuban troops were also sent to Marxist Ethiopia to assist Ethiopian forces in the Ogaden War
with Somalia in 1977. In addition, Castro extended support to Marxist Revolutionary
movements throughout Latin America, such as aiding the Sandinistas in overthrowing the
Somoza government in Nicaragua in 1979. It has been claimed by the Carthage Foundation-
funded Center for a Free Cuba[94] that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in Cuban
military actions abroad.[95] Castro never disclosed the amount of casualties in Soviet African
wars, but one estimate is 14,000, a high number for the small country.[96]
Juan Antonio Rodríguez Mernier, a former Cuban Intelligence Major who defected in 1987,
says the regime made large amounts of money from drug trafficking operations in the 1970s.
The cash was to be deposited in Fidel's Swiss bank accounts "in order to finance liberation
movements".[97] Norberto Fuentes, a defected member of the Castro brothers' inner circle, has
provided details about these operations. According to him, an operation conducted in
cooperation with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine helped Cuban
intelligence to steal one billion by robbing banks in Lebanon during the 1975–76 civil war.
Gold bars, jewelry, gems, and museum pieces were carried in diplomatic pouches via air
route Beirut-Moscow-Havana. Castro personally greeted the robbers as heroes.[97]
Cuba and Panama restored diplomatic ties in 2005 after breaking them off a year prior when
Panama's former president pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate
Cuban President Fidel Castro in 2000. The foreign minister of each country re-established
official diplomatic relations in Havana by signing a document describing a spirit of fraternity
that has long linked both nations.[98] Cuba, once shunned by many of its Latin American
neighbours, now has full diplomatic relations with all but Costa Rica and El Salvador.[98]
Although the relationship between Cuba and Mexico remains strained, each side appears to
make attempts to improve it. In 1998, Fidel Castro apologized for remarks he made about
Mickey Mouse which led Mexico to recall its ambassador from Havana. He said he intended
no offense when he said earlier that Mexican children would find it easier to name Disney
characters than to recount key figures in Mexican history. Rather, he said, his words were
meant to underscore the cultural dominance of the US.[99] Mexican president Vicente Fox
apologized to Fidel Castro in 2002 over statements by Castro, who had taped their telephone
conversation, to the effect that Fox forced him to leave a United Nations summit in Mexico
so that he would not be in the presence of President Bush, who also attended.[100]
At a summit meeting of sixteen Caribbean countries in 1998, Castro called for regional unity,
saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their
domination by rich nations in a global economy.[101] Caribbean nations have embraced Cuba's
Fidel Castro while accusing the US of breaking trade promises. Castro, until recently a
regional outcast, has been increasing grants and scholarships to the Caribbean countries,
while US aid has dropped 25% over the past five years.[102] Cuba has opened four additional
embassies in the Caribbean Community including: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica,
Suriname, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This development makes Cuba the only country
to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community.[103]
North Korea has granted Castro "the Golden Medal (Hammer and Sickle) and the First Class
Order of the National Flag".[104]
Libyan de facto leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has granted Castro a "Libyan human rights
prize".[105] On a visit to South Africa in 1998 he was warmly received by President Nelson
Mandela.[106] President Mandela gave Castro South Africa's highest civilian award for
foreigners, the Order of Good Hope.[107] Last December Castro fulfilled his promise of
sending 100 medical aid workers to Botswana, according to the Botswana presidency. These
workers play an important role in Botswana's war against HIV/AIDS. According to Anna
Vallejera, Cuba's first-ever Ambassador to Botswana, the health workers are part of her
country's ongoing commitment to proactively assist in the global war against HIV/AIDS,[108]
In Harlem, Castro is seen as an icon because of his historic visit with Malcolm X in 1960 at
the Hotel Theresa.[109]
Castro was known to be a friend of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and was
an honorary pall bearer at Trudeau's funeral in October 2000. They had continued their
friendship after Trudeau left office until his death. Canada became one of the first American
allies openly to trade with Cuba. Cuba still has a good relationship with Canada. In 1998,
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Cuba to meet President Castro and
highlight their close ties. He is the first Canadian government leader to visit the island since
Pierre Trudeau was in Havana in 1976.[110]
The European Union accuses the Castro regime of "continuing flagrant violation of human
rights and fundamental freedoms".[111] In December 2001, European Union representatives
described their political dialogue with Cuba as back on track after a weekend of talks in
Havana. The EU praised Cuba's willingness to discuss questions of human rights. Cuba is the
only Latin American country without an economic co-operation agreement with the EU.
However, trade with individual European countries remains strong since the US trade
embargo on Cuba leaves the market free from American rivals.[112]
In 2005, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel ended his visit to Cuba optimistic
that relations with the communist state will become stronger. The EU is Cuba's largest
trading partner. Cuba's imprisonment of 75 dissidents and the execution of three hijackers
have strained diplomatic relations. However, the EU commissioner was impressed with Fidel
Castro's willingness to discuss these concerns, although he received no commitments from
Castro. Cuba does not admit to holding political prisoners, seeing them rather as mercenaries
in the pay of the United States.[113]
Castro is seen as an icon by leaders of recent socialist governments in Latin America. Hugo
Chávez of Venezuela is a long-time admirer and reached agreements with Cuba to provide
subsidized petroleum in exchange for Cuban medical assistance. Evo Morales of Bolivia has
described him as "the grandfather of all Latin American revolutionaries".[114]
Religious beliefs
Castro was baptized and raised a Roman Catholic as a child but did not practice as one. In
Oliver Stone's documentary Comandante, Castro states "I have never been a believer", and
has total conviction that there is only one life.[115] Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro in
1962 after Castro suppressed Catholic institutions in Cuba.[116]
In 1992, Castro agreed to loosen restrictions on religion and even permitted church-going
Catholics to join the Cuban Communist Party. He began describing his country as "secular"
rather than "atheist".[117] Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, the first visit by a reigning
pontiff to the island. Castro and the Pope appeared side by side in public on several occasions
during the visit. Castro wore a dark blue business suit rather than fatigues in his public
meetings with the Pope and treated him with reverence and respect.[118] In December 1998,
Castro formally re-instated Christmas Day as the official celebration for the first time since
its abolition by the Communist Party in 1969.[119] Cubans were again allowed to mark
Christmas as a holiday and to openly hold religious processions. The Pope sent a telegram to
Castro thanking him for restoring Christmas as a public holiday.[120]
Castro attended a Roman Catholic convent blessing in 2003. The purpose of this
unprecedented event was to help bless the newly restored convent in Old Havana and to mark
the fifth anniversary of the Pope's visit to Cuba.[121]
The senior spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian faith arrived in Cuba in 2004, the first
time any Orthodox Patriarch has visited Latin America in the Church's history: Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I consecrated a cathedral in Havana and bestowed an honor on Fidel
Castro.[122] His aides said that he was responding to the decision of the Cuban Government to
build and donate to the Orthodox Christians a tiny Orthodox cathedral in the heart of old
Havana.[123]
After Pope John Paul II's death in April 2005, an emotional Castro attended a mass in his
honor in Havana's cathedral and signed the Pope's condolence book at the Vatican Embassy.
[124]
He had last visited the cathedral in 1959, 46 years earlier, for the wedding of one of his
sisters. Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino led the mass and welcomed Castro, who was
dressed in a black suit, expressing his gratitude for the "heartfelt way the death of our Holy
Father John Paul II was received (in Cuba)."[125]
Succession issues
According to Article 94 of the Cuban Constitution, the First Vice President of the Council of
State assumes presidential duties upon the illness or death of the president. Raúl Castro was
the person in that position for the last 32 years of Fidel Castro's presidency.
Speculation on illness 1998–2005
Due to the issue of presidential succession and Castro's longevity, there have long been
rumors, speculation and hoaxing about Castro's health and demise. In 1998 there were reports
that he had a serious brain disease, later discredited.[126] In June 2001, he apparently fainted
during a seven-hour speech under the Caribbean sun.[127] Later that day he finished the
speech, walking buoyantly into the television studios in his military fatigues, joking with
journalists.[128]
In January 2004, Luis Eduardo Garzón, the mayor of Bogotá, said that Castro "seemed very
sick to me" following a meeting with him during a vacation in Cuba.[129] In May 2004,
Castro's physician denied that his health was failing, and speculated that he would live to be
140 years old. Dr. Eugenio Selman Housein said that the "press is always speculating about
something, that he had a heart attack once, that he had cancer, some neurological problem",
but maintained that Castro was in good health.[130]
On October 20, 2004, Castro tripped and fell following a speech he gave at a rally, breaking
his kneecap and fracturing his right arm.[131] He was able to recover his ability to walk and
publicly demonstrated this two months later.[132]
In 2005, the CIA said it thought Castro had Parkinson's disease.[133][134] Castro denied such
allegations, while also citing the example of Pope John Paul II in saying that he would not
fear the disease.[135]
Transfer of duties, speculation on illness 2006–2007
See also: 2006 Cuban transfer of presidential duties
On July 31, 2006, Castro delegated his duties as President of the Council of state, President
of the Council of Ministers, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party and the post of
commander in chief of the armed forces to his brother Raúl Castro. This transfer of duties
was described at the time as temporary while Fidel recovered from surgery he underwent due
to an "acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding".[136] Fidel Castro was too ill to attend the
nationwide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Granma boat landing on December
2, 2006, which also became his belated 80th birthday celebrations. Castro's non-appearance
fueled reports that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and was refusing treatment,[137] but on
December 17, 2006 Cuban officials stated that Castro had no terminal illness and would
eventually return to his public duties.[138][139]
Castro in 2003.
However, on December 24, 2006, Spanish newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya reported
that Spanish surgeon José Luis García Sabrido had been flown to Cuba on a plane chartered
by the Cuban government. Dr. García Sabrido is an intestinal expert who further specializes
in the treatment of cancer. The plane that Dr. García Sabrido's traveled in also was reported
to be carrying a large quantity of advanced medical equipment.[140][141] On December 26, 2006,
shortly after returning to Madrid, Dr. García Sabrido held a news conference in which he
answered questions about Castro's health. He stated that "He does not have cancer, he has a
problem with his digestive system," and added, "His condition is stable. He is recovering
from a very serious operation. It is not planned that he will undergo another operation for the
moment."[142] Although most Cubans acknowledge that they are aware Castro is seriously ill,
most also seem worried about a future without Castro.[143]
On January 16, 2007, the Spanish newspaper, El País, citing two unnamed sources from the
Gregorio Marañón hospital —who employs Dr. García Sabrido— in Madrid, reported Castro
was in "very grave" condition, having trouble cicatrizing, after three failed operations and
complications from an intestinal infection caused by a severe case of diverticulitis. However,
Dr. García Sibrido told CNN that he was not the source of the report and that "any statement
that doesn't come directly from [Castro's] medical team is without foundation."[144] Also, a
Cuban diplomat in Madrid said the reports were lies and declined to comment, while White
House press secretary Tony Snow said the report appeared to be "just sort of a roundup of
previous health reports. We've got nothing new."[145][146][147] On January 30, 2007, Cuban
television and the paper Juventud Rebelde showed fresh video and photos from a meeting
between Castro and Hugo Chávez said to have taken place the previous day.[148][149]
In mid-February 2007, it was reported by the Associated Press that Acting President Raúl
Castro had said that Fidel Castro's health was improving and he was taking part in all
important issues facing the government. "He's consulted on the most important questions,"
Raúl Castro said of Fidel. "He doesn't interfere, but he knows about everything."[150] On
February 27, 2007, Reuters reported that Fidel Castro had called into Aló Presidente, a live
radio talk show hosted by Hugo Chávez, and chatted with him for thirty minutes during
which time he sounded "much healthier and more lucid" than he had on any of the audio and
video tapes released since his surgery in July. Castro reportedly told Chávez, "I am gaining
ground. I feel I have more energy, more strength, more time to study," adding with a chuckle,
"I have become a student again." Later in the conversation (transcript in Spanish; audio) , he
made reference to the fall of the world stock markets that had occurred earlier in the day and
remarked that it was proof of his contention that the world capitalist system is in crisis.[151]
Reports of improvements in his condition continued to circulate throughout March and early
April. On April 13, 2007, Chávez was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Castro
has "almost totally recovered" from his illness. That same day, Cuban Foreign Minister
Felipe Roque confirmed during a press conference in Vietnam that Castro had improved
steadily and had resumed some of his leadership responsibilities.[152] On April 21, 2007, the
official newspaper Granma reported that Castro had met for over an hour with Wu
Guanzheng, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party who was visiting
Havana. Photographs of their meeting showed the Cuban president looking healthier than he
had in any previously released since his surgery.[153]
As a comment on Castro’s recovery, U.S. President George W. Bush said: "One day the good
Lord will take Fidel Castro away," Hearing about this, Castro, who is an atheist, ironically
replied: "Now I understand why I survived Bush's plans and the plans of other presidents who
ordered my assassination: the good Lord protected me."[154]
In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns, his
failing health, and not to be disturbed by his future death.[155] At the same time pictures were
released of Castro's meeting with the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez on January 21,
2009.[156]
Retirement
Wikinews has related news: Fidel Castro resigns as Cuban president
"I'm really happy to reach 80. I never expected it, not least having a neighbor – the greatest
power in the world – trying to kill me every day."
— Fidel Castro, July 21, 2006[157]
In a letter dated February 18, 2008, Castro announced that he would not accept the positions
of president and commander in chief at the February 24, 2008 National Assembly meetings,
saying "I will not aspire nor accept—I repeat I will not aspire or accept—the post of
President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief,"[158] effectively announcing his
retirement from official public life.[159][160][161] The letter was published online by the official
Communist Party newspaper Granma. In it, Castro stated that his health was a primary reason
for his decision, stating that "It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that
requires mobility and total devotion, that I am not in a physical condition to offer".[162]

Fidel Castro's brother Raúl Castro and Dmitry Medvedev.

 Wikinews has related news: Raúl Castro chosen new President of Cuba

On February 24, 2008, the National Assembly of People's Power unanimously chose his
brother, Raúl Castro, as Fidel's successor as President of Cuba.[12] In his first speech as Fidel’s
successor, he proposed to the National Assembly of People's Power that Fidel continue to be
consulted on matters of great importance, such as defence, foreign policy and "the
socioeconomic development of the country". The proposal was immediately and unanimously
approved by the 597 members of the National Assembly. Raúl described Fidel as "not
substitutable".[163] Castro also remains the First Secretary of the Communist Party.[164]
Since his retirement, Castro has written a regular column in Granma called "Reflections", in
which he writes on world affairs, and has occasionally made pre-taped appearances on
television greeting visitors such as Hugo Chávez in his room. In July 2010, he made his first
public appearance greeting workers at a science centre and gave his most prominent
television interview since falling ill, on the Cuban program Mesa Redonda speaking for an
extended period about tensions between the United States, Iran and North Korea.[165]
On August 7, 2010, Castro gave his first speech to the Cuban National Assembly in four
years. He addressed the body for ten minutes on international affairs and then remained to
listen and respond to questions for a further 70 minutes. In his comments he urged the United
States not to go to war with Iran or North Korea and warning about the dangers of a nuclear
holocaust. When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government, Culture minister
Abel Prieto told the BBC, "I think that he has always been in Cuba's political life but he is not
in the government...He has been very careful about that. His big battle is international
affairs."[166][167][168][169]
In September 2010, The Atlantic began publishing a series of articles by Jeffrey Goldberg
based on extensive and wide-ranging interviews by Goldberg and Julia E. Sweig with Castro,
the first of which lasted five hours. Goldberg was contacted by Castro after he read one of
Goldberg's articles on whether Israel would launch an pre-emptive air strike on Iran should it
come close to acquiring nuclear weapons. While warning against the dangers of Western
confrontation with Iran in which inadvertently, "a gradual escalation could become a nuclear
war," Castro "unequivocally" defended Israel's right to exist and condemned antisemitism,
criticizing also some of the rhetoric on Israel by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of
Iran, under whom Iran–Israel relations have become increasingly hostile:
"I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the
Muslims. They have been slandered much more than the Muslims because they are blamed
and slandered for everything..[Iran must understand] Jews were expelled from their land,
persecuted and mistreated all over the world, as the ones who killed God..The Jews have
lived an existence that is much harder than ours. There is nothing that compares to the
Holocaust"
Asked by Goldberg if he would tell Ahmadinejad the same things, Castro responded, "I am
saying this so you can communicate it". Castro "criticized Ahmadinejad for denying the
Holocaust and explained why the Iranian government would better serve the cause of peace
by acknowledging the 'unique' history of anti-Semitism and trying to understand why Israelis
fear for their existence."[170]
Public image
By wearing military-style uniforms and leading mass demonstrations, Castro projected an
image of a perpetual revolutionary. He was mostly seen in military attire, but his personal
tailor, Merel Van 't Wout, convinced him to occasionally change to a business suit.[171] Castro
is often referred to as "Comandante", but is also nicknamed "El Caballo", meaning "The
Horse", a label that was first attributed to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré, who on hearing
Castro passing in the Havana night with his entourage, shouted out "Here comes the
horse!"[172]
During the revolutionary campaign, fellow rebels knew Castro as "The Giant".[173] Large
throngs of people gathered to cheer at Castro's fiery speeches, which typically lasted for
hours. Many details of Castro's private life, particularly involving his family members, are
scarce as the media is forbidden to mention them.[174] Castro's image appears frequently in
Cuban stores, classrooms, taxicabs, and national television.[175] Despite this, Castro has stated
that he does not promote a cult of personality.[176]
Family
By his first wife Mirta Díaz-Balart, whom he married on October 11, 1948, Castro has a son
named Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart, born on September 1, 1949. Díaz-Balart
and Castro were divorced in 1955, and she remarried Emilio Núñez Blanco. After a spell in
Madrid, Díaz-Balart reportedly returned to Havana to live with Fidelito and his family.[177]
Fidelito grew up in Cuba; for a time, he ran Cuba's atomic-energy commission before being
removed from the post by his father.[178] Díaz-Balart's nephews are Republican U.S.
Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, vocal critics of the Castro
government.
Fidel has five other sons by his second wife, Dalia Soto del Valle: Antonio, Alejandro,
Alexis, Alexander "Alex" and Ángel Castro Soto del Valle.[178]
While Fidel was married to Mirta, he had an affair with Natalia "Naty" Revuelta Clews, born
in Havana in 1925 and married to Orlando Fernández, resulting in a daughter named Alina
Fernández-Revuelta.[178] Alina left Cuba in 1993, disguised as a Spanish tourist,[179] and
sought asylum in the United States. She has been a vocal critic of her father's policies. Alina
was assisted by Elena Diaz-Verson Amos, wife of AFLAC founder John Amos. Alina lived
with Elena in Columbus, GA for several years.
By an unnamed woman he had another son, Jorge Ángel Castro. Fidel has another daughter,
Francisca Pupo (born 1953) the result of a one night affair. Pupo and her husband now live in
Miami.[180][181]
His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s. When she
went into exile, she said "I cannot longer remain indifferent to what is happening in my
country. My brothers Fidel and Raúl have made it an enormous prison surrounded by water.
The people are nailed to a cross of torment imposed by international Communism."[182]
Controversy and criticism
Human rights record
Main articles: Human rights in Cuba and Censorship in Cuba
Signs of protest in the 2010 Cuban Day Parade in Union City, New Jersey, a heavily Cuban-
American community.
Many observers refer to Castro as a dictator[183][184][185][186][187][188] and his rule was the longest
to-date in modern Latin American history.[185][186][187][188]
The Human Rights Watch organization has suggested that Castro constructed a "repressive
machinery" which "continues to deprive Cubans of their basic rights".[189]
Castro's 49-year regime remains one of the most controversial in the history of Latin
America. Scholar R J Rummel estimates the casualties of his regime to 73,000, with one
study estimating over 119,000 and several others suggesting significantly lower figures.[190]
Allegations of mismanagement
In their book, Corruption in Cuba, Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Jorge F. Pérez-López Servando
state that Castro "institutionalized" corruption and that "Castro's state-run monopolies,
cronyism, and lack of accountability have made Cuba one of the world's most corrupt states".
[191]
Servando Gonzalez, in The Secret Fidel Castro, calls Castro a "corrupt tyrant".[192]
In 1959, according to Gonzalez, Castro established "Fidel's checking account", from which
he could draw funds as he pleased. The "Comandante's reserves" were created in 1970, from
which Castro allegedly "provided gifts to many of his cronies, both home and abroad".
Gonzalez asserts that Comandante's reserves have been linked to counterfeiting business
empires and money laundering.[192]
As early as 1968, a once-close friend of Castro's wrote that Castro had huge accounts in
Swiss banks. Castro's secretary was allegedly seen using Zurich banks. Gonzalez believes
that Cuba's paucity of trade with Switzerland contrasts oddly with the National Office of
Cuba's relatively large office in Zurich.[192] Castro has denied having a bank account abroad
with even a dollar in it.[193]
Anti-Castro activist and poet Jorge Valls was on record stating that Castro never knew how to
love, and that "Fidel tried a respectable marriage, which failed; he tried respectable politics,
which failed".[28]
Allegations of wealth
A KGB officer, Alexei Novikov, stated that Castro's personal life, like the lives of the rest of
the Communist elite, is "shrouded under an impenetrable veil of secrecy". Among other
things, he asserted that Castro has a personal guard of more than 9,700 men and three
luxurious yachts.[192]
In 2005, American business and financial magazine Forbes listed Castro among the world's
richest people, with an estimated net worth of $550 million. The estimates, which the
magazine admitted were "more art than science",[194] claimed that the Cuban leader's personal
wealth was nearly double that of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, despite anecdotal evidence
from diplomats and businessmen that the Cuban leader's personal life was notably austere.[193]
This assessment was drawn by making economic estimates of the net worth of Cuba's state-
owned companies, and used the assumption that Castro had personal economic control.[195]
Forbes Magazine later increased the estimates to $900 million, adding rumors of large cash
stashes in Switzerland.[193] The magazine offered no proof of this information,[194] and
according to CBS news, Castro's entry on the rich list was notably brief compared to the
amount of information provided on other figures.[194] Castro, who had considered suing the
magazine, responded that the claims were "lies and slander", and that they were part of a US
campaign to discredit him.[193] He declared: "If they can prove that I have a bank account
abroad, with $900m, with $1m, $500,000, $100,000 or $1 in it, I will resign."[193] President of
Cuba's Central Bank, Francisco Soberón, called the claims a "grotesque slander", asserting
that money made from various state owned companies is pumped back into the island's
economy, "in sectors including health, education, science, internal security, national defense
and solidarity projects with other countries."[195]
Ancestry
[show]Ancestors of Fidel Castro[196][197]

Casimiro Felipe de Castro

Fernández
b. 1769, Lugo, Láncara, Galicia,
Spain

Pedro Juan de Castro

López
b. 1812, Lugo, Láncara,
Galicia, Spain

Maria López Mendez

Manuel de Castro Núñez

b. 1849, Lugo, Láncara, Galicia,
Spain

Ramon Núñez

Juana Núñez Pereira

 Manuela Pereira

Ángel Maria Bautista Castro

Argiz
b. 1875, Lugo, Láncara,
Galicia, Spain

Pedro Argiz

Antonia Argiz Fernández

b. 1857, Lugo, Láncara, Galicia,
Spain

Dominga Fernández

Fidel Alejandro
Castro Ruz
b. 1926, Holguín,
Birán, Cuba

Francisco Hipólito Ruz

 Acosta

Francisco Ruz Vázquez

b. ?,

Rafaela Vázquez Rivera

Lina Ruz González

b. 1903, Las Catalinas,
Camaguey, Cuba

Domingo González

Dominga González Ramos

b. ?

Isabel Ramos
Authored works
Fully or partially by Fidel Castro
• Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today, Ocean Press, 2000,
ISBN 1876175184
• Che: A Memoir, Ocean Press, 2005, ISBN 192088825X
• Cuba at the Crossroads, Ocean Press, 1997, ISBN 187528494X
• Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography, Scribner, 2008, ISBN 1416553282
• Fidel Castro Reader, Ocean Press, 2007, ISBN 1920888888
• Fidel My Early Years, Ocean Press, 2004, ISBN 1920888098
• Fidel & Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto on Marxism & Liberation Theology,
Ocean Press, 2006, ISBN 1920888454
• How Far We Slaves Have Come! South Africa and Cuba in Today's World, by Nelson
Mandela & Fidel Castro, Pathfinder Press, 1991, ISBN 087348729X
• Playa Giron: Bay of Pigs : Washington's First Military Defeat in the Americas,
Pathfinder Press, 2001, ISBN 087348925X
• Political Portraits: Fidel Castro reflects on famous figures in history, Ocean Press,
2008, ISBN 1920888942
• The Declarations of Havana, Verso, 2008, ISBN 1844671569
• The Prison Letters of Fidel Castro, Nation Books, 2007, ISBN 1560259833
• War, Racism and Economic Justice: The Global Ravages of Capitalism, Ocean Press,
2002, ISBN 1876175478
See also
Cuba portal In other media:
• 638 Ways to Kill Castro
Biography portal
• Comandante
Communism portal • Fidel (2001 documentary)
• Fidel (film)
• 2006–2008 Cuban • My Life (Fidel Castro autobiography)
transfer of
presidential duties • Call of Duty: Black Ops Castro's likeness appears
inboth the single player campaign and a "Zombie Mode"
• 26th of July Along with former U.S. Presidents JFK, and Richard M.
Movement Nixon as well as former Secretary of Defense Robert
• Agrarian Reform McNamara.[198]
Laws of Cuba
• Left-wing
nationalism
• Opposition to Fidel
Castro
• Politics of Cuba

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%3A//www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/01/14/castro.health.ap. Retrieved May
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130.^ "Fidel Castro can live to 140, doctor says". The Sydney Morning Herald.
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133.^ Nordqvist, Christian (November 2005). "Fidel Castro has Parkinson's Disease,
thinks the CIA". Medical News Today.
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says Fidel Castro". Medical News Today.
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2006.
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trepidation". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6215229.stm. Retrieved
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SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT. Retrieved January
16, 2007. [dead link]
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January 16 2007.
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avo/estado/Castro/elpepuint/20070116elpepiint_16/Tes. Retrieved January 16, 2007.
147.^ Boadle, Anthony (January 16 2007). "Castro had 3 failed surgeries, paper says".
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148.^ El tiempo Santiago de Cuba 20 °C (January 30, 2007). "Report from Juventud
Rebelde (in Spanish)". Juventudrebelde.cu.
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en-la-habana/. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16584601.htm. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
150.^ "Raul Castro Thinks Fidel Improving". Associated Press, February 10, 2007.
151.^ Pretel, Enrique Andres (February 28 2007). "Cuba's Castro says recovering,
sounds stronger". Reuters AlertNet.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27428997.htm. Retrieved February 28,
2007.
152.^ Pearson, Natalie Obiko (April 13 2007). "Venezuela: Ally Castro Recovering".
Associated Press. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?
id=D8OFU0O80&show_article=1. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
153.^ "Castro resumes official business". BBC News. April 21, 2007.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6578539.stm. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
154.^ "Bush wishes Cuba's Castro would disappear". Reuters. June 28 2007.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2834938420070629. Retrieved July 1,
2007.
155.^ Govan, Fiona (January 23, 2009). "Fidel Castro sends farewell message to his
people". London: The Daily Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/43
24128/Fidel-Castro-sends-farewell-message-to-his-people.html. Retrieved January 28,
2009.
156.^ "Fidel contemplates his mortality". BBC. January 23, 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7846670.stm. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
157.^ Fidel Castro, 20th Century Revolutionary by Anthony Boadle, Reuters, February
19, 2008
158.^ Castro, Fidel (February 18, 2008). "Message from the Commander in Chief".
Diario Granma (Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba). Archived from the
original on February 20, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080220100817/http
%3A//www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/02/19/nacional/artic10.html. Retrieved
February 19, 2008.
159.^ "Fidel Castro announces retirement". BBC News. February 18, 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7252109.stm. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
160.^ "Fidel Castro stepping down as Cuba's leader". Reuters. February 18, 2008.
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN929511.html. Retrieved February 18,
2008.
161.^ "Fidel Castro will step down after 50 years at Cuba's helm". miamiherald.com.
February 19, 2008. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/424291.html.
Retrieved February 19, 2008. [dead link]
162.^ "Fidel Castro announces retirement". BBC News. February 19, 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7252109.stm. Retrieved February 19,
2008.
163.^ "CUBA: Raúl Shares His Seat with Fidel". Ipsnews.net.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41321. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
164.^ "Raul Castro Chosen to Lead Cuba". Voice of America. February 24, 2008.
Archived from the original on February 26, 2008.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080226111529/http
%3A//www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-24-voa16.cfm. Retrieved February 24,
2008.
165.^ "Fidel Castro makes rare TV appearance", Globe and Mail, July 12, 2010
166.^ "Fidel Castro addresses parliament after four-year gap", BBC News, August 7,
2010
167.^ "Fidel Castro to attend session of Cuba parliament"[dead link]
168.^ ""Fidel Castro warns of nuclear risk in 1st speech to Cuban parliament in 4
years"". Washingtonpost.com. 2010-08-08. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/08/07/AR2010080702549.html. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
169.^ "Fidel Castro Addresses Parliament on Iran Issue"
170.^ "Fidel to Ahmadinejad: 'Stop Slandering the Jews'". Theatlantic.com. 2010-09-07.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/09/fidel-to-ahmadinejad-stop-
slandering-the-jews/62566/. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
171.^ 1995/01_5_m.html "In brief". Arizona Daily Wildcat. February 10, 1995.
http://secure-wildcat.arizona.edu//papers/old-wildcats/spring95/February/February10,
1995/01_5_m.html. Retrieved August 12, 2006. [dead link]
172.^ Richard Gott, Cuba : A new history. p. 175. Yale press.
173.^ Jon Lee Anderson. Che Guevara : A revolutionary life. p. 317.
174.^ Admservice (October 8, 2000). "Fidel Castro's Family". Latinamericanstudies.org.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/fidel/castro-family.htm. Retrieved January 13,
2010.
175.^ "Americas | Ailing Castro still dominates Cuba". BBC News. August 11, 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4779529.stm. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
176.^ "Fidel Castro" PBS Online Newshour February 12, 1985.
177.^ Ann Louise Bardach : Cuba Confidential. p. 67. "One knowledgable source claims
that Mirta returned to Cuba in early 2002 and is now living with Fidelito and his
family."
178.^ a b c Jon Lee Anderson, "Castro's Last Battle: Can the revolution outlive its leader?"
The New Yorker, July 31, 2006. 51.
179.^ Boadle, Anthony (August 8, 2006). "Cuba's first family not immune to political
rift". Reuters. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=2ef037b4-
5f82-4283-b1fb-2cc9e2442977. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
180.^ CANF.org[dead link]
181.^ Cuba confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana By Ann Louise
Bardach; Random House, Inc., 2002; ISBN 9780375504891
182.^ "The Bitter Family (page 1 of 2)". Time Magazine. July 10, 1964.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,871241-1,00.html. Retrieved
February 19, 2008.
183.^ Paul C. Sondrol (1991). "Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison
of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner". Journal of Latin American Studies 23 (03):
599–620. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00015868. http://www.jstor.org/pss/157386.
184.^ Jay Mallin. Covering Castro: rise and decline of Cuba's communist dictator.
Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781560001560.
185.^ a b D. H. Figueredo. The complete idiot's guide to Latino history and culture.
ISBN 0028643607.
186.^ a b "Farewell Fidel: The man who nearly started World War III". London: Daily
Mail. February 20, 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-516539/Farewell-
Fidel-The-man-nearly-started-World-War-III.html.
187.^ a b Catan, Thomas (February 20, 2008). "Fidel Castro bows to illness and age as he
quits centre stage after 50 years – Times Online". London: www.timesonline.co.uk.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3399819.ece.
Retrieved April 22, 2009.
188.^ a b "Fidel's fade-out". http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/24/fidels-
fade-out/.
189.^ "Cuba: Fidel Castro’s Abusive Machinery Remains Intact". Human Rights Watch.
February 18, 2008. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/02/18/cuba-fidel-castro-s-
abusive-machinery-remains-intact. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
190.^ "Twentieth Century Atlas - Death Tolls". Users.erols.com.
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat6.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
191.^ Sergio Diaz-Briquets, Jorge F. Pérez-López. Corruption in Cuba.
192.^ a b c d Servando Gonzalez. The Secret Fidel Castro. ISBN 0971139105.
193.^ a b c d e Castro denies huge fortune claim. BBC News.
 194.^ a b c Castro: I am not rich. CBS News. Assessed April 24, 2007.
195.^ a b Castro blasts Forbes over wealth report., Associated Press. Retrieved December
13. 2006.
196.^ "Ancestry of Fidel Castro". Wargs.com. http://www.wargs.com/other/castro.html.
Retrieved January 13, 2010.
197.^ Book: Todo el tiempo de los cedros: paisaje familiar de Fidel Castro Ruz
198.^ "Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies – JFK, Nixon, Castro and McNamara team up
to explode undead skulls". gamesradar.com.
http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/call-of-duty-black-ops/news/call-of-duty-black-
ops-zombies-jfk-nixon-castro-and-mcnamara-team-up-to-explode-undead-skulls/a-
201011019545485048/g-20100430155437473001. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
Further reading
by Castro
• Castro, Fidel; Deborah Shnookal, Pedro Alvarez Tabío (2005). Fidel: my early years.
Ocean Press. ISBN 1920888098. http://books.google.ca/books?
id=8RVaBPGRcUcC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel
%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Castro, Fidel; Ignacio Ramonet (2008). Fidel Castro: my life : a spoken
autobiography. Scribner Book Company. ISBN 1416553282.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=Z4H45OczqPYC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel
%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
by others
• Fuentes, Norberto; Anna Kushner (2010). The Autobiography of Fidel Castro. Norton
& Co. ISBN 9780393068993. http://books.google.ca/books?
id=Fazd9dOLUmUC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel
%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Geyer, Georgie Anne (2001). Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro.
Andrews McMeel. ISBN 0740720643. http://books.google.ca/books?
id=dRhJGLnJjugC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Halperin, Maurice (1972). The rise and decline of Fidel Castro: an essay in
contemporary history. University of California Press. ISBN 0520021827.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=_B9LOCZuDnQC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel
%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Leonard, Thomas M (2004). Fidel Castro: a biography. Greenwood Press.
ISBN 0313323011. http://books.google.ca/books?
id=63sFubdrEVcC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Marsico, Katie (2009). Fidel Castro: Cuban President & Revolutionary. ABDO Pub.
Co. ISBN 9781604535228. http://books.google.ca/books?id=XgP9n-
E7oTwC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
• Skierka, Volker (2006). Fidel Castro: a biography. Polity. ISBN 0745630065.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=x9-U3FWiW_UC&lpg=PP1&dq=Fidel
%20Castro&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
External links
Find more about Fidel Castro on Wikipedia's sister projects:
 Images and media from Commons

News stories from Wikinews

Quotations from Wikiquote

Source texts from Wikisource

By Fidel Castro
• Archive of Fidel Castro's speeches in 6 languages
• Fidel Castro History Archive at Marxists Internet Archive.
• Collection of Castro's speeches
• "We Don't Hope for Favors from the Worst of Empires"
• "Where Have All the Bees Gone?"
• "In Spite of Everything: Reflections on the Pan-American Games"
• "Time for an Alliance of Civlizations Against Empire"
• СССР TV: "Fidel Castro meets L.Brezhnev (USSR) (1974)" on Soviet TV portal (in
Russian)
• Fidel Castro in His Own Words
Images
• Castro: Early Years (1953–1961) – slideshow by Life magazine
• Fidel Castro: A Revolutionary Life – slideshow by Life magazine
• Fidel Castro: A Life in Pictures – slideshow by BBC News
• Fidel Castro's Five Decades in Power – slideshow by The Washington Post
• Fidel Castro Resigns as President – slideshow by New York Times
About Fidel Castro
• Fidel Castro: From Rebel to El Presidente – timeline by NPR
• Arthur Miller: A Visit With Castro by The Nation, December 24, 2003
• BBC Video: Fidel Castro Visits Boyhood Home of Che Guevara
• New York Times –- Interactive Feature: Three Days With Fidel
• PBS American Experience Interactive site on Fidel Castro with a teacher's guide
• Guide to the Cuban Revolution Collection, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale
University Library
• Deena Stryker Photographs of Cuba, 1963–1964, Duke University Libraries Digital
Collections
• NPR Audio: Cuba's Castro an Inspiration, Not a Role Model by Tom Gjelten,
September 15, 2006
• The Guardian: "The Fidel I Think I Know" by Gabriel García Márquez, August 12,
2006
• Washington Post: Fidel Castro Will Always Lead Cuba, Locals Say February 22,
2008
 Political offices

Preceded by Prime Minister of Cuba

Position abolished
José Miró Cardona 1959–1976

Preceded by President of Cuba Succeeded by

Incapacitated in 2006
Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado 1976–2008 Raúl Castro

Military offices

Commander-in-Chief of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces Succeeded by
New office
Incapacitated in 2006 Raúl Castro
1959–2008

Party political offices

First Secretary of the Communist

New office Party of Cuba Incumbent
1961–present

Diplomatic posts

Preceded by Secretary-General of the Non-

Succeeded by
Junius Richard Aligned Movement
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Jayewardene 1979–1983

Secretary-General of the Non-

Preceded by Succeeded by
Aligned Movement
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Raúl Castro
2005–2008

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 [show]v · d · eSecretaries-General of the Non-Aligned
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