Fidel Castro Castro in 1974 First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba In office October 3 1965  April 19 2011 Deputy Ral Castro Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Ral Castro President of Cuba In office December 2 1976  February 24 2008 Deputy Ral Castro Preceded by Osvaldo Dortics Torrado Succeeded by Ral Castro Prime Minister of Cuba In office February 16 1959  December 2 1976 President Manuel Urrutia Lle Osvaldo Dortics Torrado Preceded by Jos Mir Cardona Succeeded by Position abolished 7th and 23rd Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement In office September 16 2006  February 24 2008 Preceded by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Succeeded by Ral Castro In office September 10 1979  March 6 1983 Preceded by Junius Richard Jayawardene Succeeded by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Born August 13 1926 (1926-08-13) (age 84) Birn Cuba Political party Communist Party of Cuba Spouse(s) Mirta Diaz-Balart (19481955) Dalia Soto del Valle (1980present) Relations (siblings) Ral Castro Enma Castro Agustina Castro Ramon Castro Ruz Angelita Castro Children Fidel ngel Castro Diaz-Balart Alina Fernandez-Revuelta Alexis Castro-Soto Alejandro Castro-Soto Antonio Castro-Soto Angel Castro-Soto Alex Castro-Soto Jorge Angel Castro Francisca Pupo Alma mater University of Havana Profession Lawyer Religion None (Self-described as Secular; formerly Atheist) Signature *Acting presidential powers were transferred to Ral Castro from July 31 2006.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: fiel kastro; born August 13 1926) is a Cuban politician socialist revolutionary and former political leader of the country.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 the Council of Ministers of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008. He served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011. In 2006 he was succeeded by his younger brother Ral Castro who is the current President of the Councils of State and Ministers and who previously served under Fidel as Minister of Defence from 1959 to 2008.

While studying law at the University of Havana he began his political career and became a recognized figure in Cuban politics. 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.2 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 Mexico34 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-backed5 dictatorship of Batista6 and shortly thereafter became Prime Minister of Cuba.7 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 diverticulitis8 Castro transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President his younger brother Ral 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.910 On February 24 2008 the National Assembly elected Ral Castro to succeed him as the President of Cuba.11 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.12 Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Childhood and education: 19271945 1.2 University and political involvement: 1945-1947 1.3 Latin American rebellions and early career: 1947-1952 2 Cuban Revolution 2.1 Attack on Moncada Barracks 2.2 July 26 Movement 2.3 Operation Verano 2.4 Battle of Yaguajay 2.5 Collapse of the Batista regime 2.6 New government 2.7 Castro consolidates power 3 Years in power 3.1 Bay of Pigs Invasion 3.2 Reaction: the socialist state 3.3 Cuban Missile Crisis 3.4 Assassination attempts 3.5 United States embargo 3.6 Foreign relations 3.6.1 Soviet Union 3.6.2 Other countries 4 Religious beliefs 5 Succession issues 5.1 Speculation on illness 19982005 5.2 Transfer of duties speculation on illness 20062007 5.3 Retirement 6 Public image 7 Personal life 8 Controversy and criticism 8.1 Human rights record 8.2 Allegations of mismanagement 8.3 Allegations of wealth 9 Authored works 10 See also 11 References 11.1 Footnotes 11.2 Bibliography 12 Further reading 13 External links Early life Childhood and education: 19271945 A letter written by the 12-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."13

Fidel's father ngel Castro y Argiz (1875-1956) was a Spaniard born to a poor peasant family in rural Galicia north-west Spain. Working as a manual laborer on local farms in 1895 he was conscripted into the Spanish army to fight in the Cuban War of Independence against the Cuban forces who wished to cede from the Spanish Empire. The United States subsequently declared war on Spain leading to the Spanish-American War of 1898 in which the U.S. seized control of Cuba from Spain setting up their own American government on the island. In 1902 the Republic of Cuba was proclaimed however it remained only partially independent of the U.S. who remained economically and politically dominant over it. For a time Cuba enjoyed economic growth and ngel Castro decided to migrate there permanently in search of employment.141516 Doing so he undertook various jobs eventually earning enough money to set up his own business growing sugar cane on a farm in Birn near Mayar in Oriente Province.171516

ngel took a wife Mara Luisa Argota with whom he had two daughters but they separated after several years and he began a relationship with a household servant who was thirty years his junior.1819 This woman Lina Ruz Gonzlez (September 23 1903 August 6 1963)20 came from an impoverished Cuban family of Canarian descent but became ngel's domestic partner bearing him three sons and four daughters.182122

Fidel was Lina's third child being born at his father's farm on 13 August 1927182324 and was given his mother's surname of Ruz rather than his father's because he had been born out of wedlock something that carried a particular social stigma at the time.2526 Although he was from a prosperous background with his father's business proving ever more profitable his father ensured that he grew up alongside the children of the farm's workforce many of whom were Haitian economic migrants of African descent2719 something that Fidel would later relate prevented him from absorbing "bourgeois culture" at an early age.28 Aged six Fidel along with his elder siblings Ramn and Angela was sent to live with their teacher in Santiago de Cuba and it was here that the children dwelt in cramped conditions and in relative poverty often failing to have enough to eat because of their tutor's poor economic situation.2930 Aged eight Fidel was then baptized into the Roman Catholic Church (something usually performed soon after birth) although later gave up his faith in Christianity becoming an atheist.293132 Being baptized enabled Fidel to begin attending the La Salle boarding school in Santiago but here he often got into trouble with the school authorities for misbehavior and so he was instead sent to the privately-funded Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago.3334

In 1945 he transferred to the more prestigious Jesuit-run El Colegio de Beln in Havana although to get in he had to pretend to be a year older than he was; his father bribed an administrator to supply him with a fake birth certificate stating that he was born in 1926 rather than 1927.35 Although Fidel took an interest in history and debating at Beln he did not excel academically instead devoting much of his time to playing sport including swimming mountain climbing table tennis athletics basketball and baseball.3637 Meanwhile ngel Castro finally dissolved his first marriage when Fidel was fifteen allowing him to marry Fidel's mother; Fidel was formally recognized by his father when he was seventeen when his surname was legally changed from Ruz to Castro.2526 University and political involvement: 1945-1947 Grau and Batista two Cuban presidents whose administrations were marked by corruption and political repression. Castro protested against both of them as a student.

In late 1945 Castro began studying law at the University of Havana.3839 Here he became immediately embroiled in the student protest movement which in Cuba at that time was particularly volatile: under the regimes of centre-left Cuban Presidents Gerardo Machado (1925-1933) Fulgencio Batista (1933-1944) and Ramn Grau (1944-1948) there had been a government crackdown on student protesters with student leaders being killed or terrorized by violent gangs.404142 This led to a form of gangsterismo culture within the university that was dominated by a variety of violent and often armed student groups who spent much of their time fighting one another and running criminal enterprises rather than opposing the government.4344 Becoming surrounded by this gang culture Castro focused on political objectives unsuccessfully campaigning for the position of President of the Federation of University Students (FEU). To do so he put forward a platform of "honesty decency and justice" and emphasized his opposition to political corruption something that he increasingly associated with the involvement of the U.S. government in Cuban politics.45 He became passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing American intervention in the Caribbean joining the University Committee for the Independence of Puerto Rico and the Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic.46 He was in contact with members of several different student leftist groups at the time including the Cuban Communist Party the Socialist Revolutionary Movement (MAR) and the Insurrectional Revolutionary Union (UIR) although did not adopt the Marxist or communist ideas of the former and mistrusted some of MAR's connections to the Grau government. Castro himself had become highly critical of the corruption and violence of Grau's regime delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that earned him a place on the front page of several newspapers. Instead it was to the UIR that he grew closest to although whether he ever became a member or not has remained unknown.47 In 1947 Castro joined a newly founded socialist party the Partido Ortodoxo which had been formed by veteran politician Eduardo Chibs. A charismatic figure Chibs attracted many Cubans with his message of social justice honest government and political freedom. The Partido Ortodoxo publicly exposed corruption and demanded governmental and social reform. Though Chibs lost the election Castro considering Chibs his mentor remained committed to his cause working fervently on his behalf.48495051 In 1951 while running for president again Chibs shot himself in the stomach during a radio broadcast in an attempt to issue a "last wake-up call" to the Cuban people. Castro was present and accompanied him to the hospital where he died.5253 Meanwhile the student gang violence had escalated after Grau had employed several prominent gang leaders including members of the MAR as officers in the police force and Castro soon received a threat urging him to either leave the university and its political arena or be killed. He did not give in to the threat instead going around with a gun and surrounded himself with friends who were similarly armed.5455 Various accusations would arise in later years alleging that Castro carried out gang-related assassination attempts at this time including of prominent UIR member Lionel Gmez MSR leader Manolo Castro and university policeman Oscar Fernandez but these are supported by "scant evidence" and remain unproven.565758 Latin American rebellions and early career: 1947-1952 In June 1947 Castro learned of a planned international expedition to invade the Dominican Republic and overthrow its right-wing president Rafael Trujillo a military general widely seen as a dictator who had overseen a system of "repressive brutality" through the use of a violent secret police which routinely murdered and tortured opponents.59 An ally of the United States Trujillo angered many across the world when he ordered the Parsley Massacre that killed 20000-30000 impoverished Haitian migrants.60 Castro had become a heavy critic of Trujillo's regime rising to the presidency of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic and decided to join the military expedition which was led by General Juan Rodrguez a Dominican exile and supported by Grau's Cuban government which feared Trujillo's militaristic behavior.6162 The invasion was carried out on 29 July 1947 by around 1200 men most of whom were exiled Dominicans and Cubans with others from elsewhere in Latin America. However both Dominican and U.S. intelligence had gained foreknowledge of the event and it was soon quashed by the Dominican army and the Cuban government who had been pressured by the U.S. to cease their support for it. Whilst Grau's government immediately arrested many of those involved Castro managed to escape the police by swimming away from his ship.63 "I joined the people; I grabbed a rifle in a police station that collapsed when it was rushed by a crowd. I witnessed the spectacle of a totally spontaneous revolution... That experience led me to identify myself even more with the cause of the people. My still incipient Marxist ideas had nothing to do with our conduct - it was a spontaneous reaction on our part as young people with Mart-an anti-imperialist anti-colonialist and pro-democratic ideas." Fidel Castro on the Bogotazo 2009.64 After a quick visit to Venezuela and Panama in April 1948 Castro traveled to the city of Bogot in Colombia with a number of other Cuban students. Once there the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Elicer Gaitn Ayala led to widespread rioting that came to be known as the Bogotazo. Leaving thousands dead the riots revolved around clashes between rightist Conservatives who then controlled the country's government and leftist Liberals who were supported by a number of Colombian socialist groups. Castro along with his fellow Cuban visitors joined in in support of the Liberal cause by stealing guns from police officers but subsequent police investigations came to the conclusion that neither Castro nor any of the other Cubans had been involved in the killings.6566 In 1948 Castro married Mirta Daz Balart a student from a wealthy Cuban family through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. The relationship was a love match and was disapproved of by both of their families. Mirta's father gave them tens of thousands of dollars to spend in a three-month honeymoon in New York City and the couple also received a US $1000 wedding gift from former president Batista a friend of Mirta's family.67 Castro graduated from university in September 1950.68 In March 1952 Batista seized power from President Pro who fled to Mexico. Subsequently declaring himself to be president Batista canceled the planned presidential elections and described his new system as "disciplined democracy" but Castro like many others instead saw it as the establishment of a one-man dictatorship.52 Although in his earlier democratic terms as president Batista had taken a centre-left stance he now moved to the right and went on to solidify his ties with the United States severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and persecuting socialist groups in Cuba.52 Intent on opposing the Batista administration Castro decided to run as an independent candidate for the position of representative of Havana Province in Congress.69 Cuban Revolution Main article: Cuban Revolution Attack on Moncada Barracks Main article: Moncada Barracks Fidel Castro under arrest in July 1953 after the Moncada attack. As discontent over the Batista coup grew Castro abandoned his law practice and formed an underground organization of supporters including his brother Ral 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 Cspedes garrison in Bayamo was also attacked as a diversion.3 The action proved disastrous; more than 60 of the 135 attackers were killed. Castro and other surviving members of his group managed to escape to a part of the rugged Sierra Maestra70 mountains east of Santiago but were eventually discovered and captured. Although there is disagreement over why Castro and his brother Ral 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 ignored the unofficial order to execute the leader.3 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 autobiography71 Castro says that his car which was second in the convoy of 'ten or twelve' cars encountered a foot patrol near 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 Me72 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.3 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.4 July 26 Movement Main article: July 26 Movement "I would honestly love to revolutionize this country from one end to the other! I am sure this would bring happiness to the Cuban people. I would not be stopped by the hatred and ill will of a few thousand people including some of my relatives half the people I know two-thirds of my fellow professionals and four-fifths of my ex-schoolmates." Fidel Castro 1954.73 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 supply74 they decided to go to the United States to gather personnel and funds from Cubans living there including Carlos Pro Socarrs the elected Cuban president deposed by Batista in 1952. Back in Mexico the group trained under a Spanish Civil War Veteran Cuban-born Alberto Bayo72 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.75 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.75 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.76 The group of survivors included Fidel Castro Che Guevara Ral 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 Pas.7778 In the summer of 1957 Pass 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.7980 Castro and Matthews were followed by the TV crew of Andrew Saint George said to be a CIA contact person.81 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 Maestra82 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.83 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.848586 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 (Alarcn Ramrez1997). 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 Ral 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 Garca in the 18951898 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 Andrs Rivero Agero) 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 US$300000000 that he acquired through "graft and payoffs."87 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.88 The rebel forces of Fidel Castro moved swiftly to seize power throughout the island.88 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 Havana89 and would shortly thereafter declare that "power does not interest me and I will not take it."90 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.88 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. Law professor Jos Mir Cardona created a new government with himself as prime minister and Manuel Urrutia Lle as president on January 5. The United States officially recognized the new government two days later.91 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. Senate92 Fidel Castro sought to oust liberals and democrats such as Jos Mir Cardona and Manuel Urrutia Lle. In February professor Jos Mir Cardona had to resign because of Castro's attacks. On February 16 1959 Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.7 Professor Mir 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 Lle wanted to restore elections but Castro opposed free elections.93 Castro's slogan was "Revolution first elections later".94 During this period Castro repeatedly denied being a communist.9596979899 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."100 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.101 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.89 On May 17 1959 Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform which limited landholdings to 993 acres (4 km) per owner and forbade foreign land ownership.102103 Castro started to organize attacks on President Manuel Urrutia Lle. 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 Dortics as the new president.104 Years in power As early as July 1959 Castro's intelligence chief Ramiro Valds contacted the KGB in Mexico City.74 Subsequently the USSR sent over one hundred mostly Spanish speaking advisors including Enrique Lster Forjn 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 7000000 tons and in response Cuba nationalized some US$850 million worth of U.S. property and businesses. Health care105 was 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.106 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.107 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.107 Moderates teachers and professors were purged.107 He was accused of keeping about 20000 dissidents held captive and tortured under inhuman prison conditions every year.107 Groups such as homosexuals were locked up in concentration camps in the 1960s where they were subject to medical-political "re-education".108 Castro's admiring description of rural life in Cuba ("in the country there are no homosexuals"109) reflected the idea of homosexuality as bourgeois decadence and he denounced "maricones" (faggots) as "agents of imperialism".110 Castro stated that "homosexuals should not be allowed in positions where they are able to exert influence upon young people".111 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."112 Loyalty to Castro became the primary criteria for all appointments on the island.113 The Communist Party strengthened its one-party rule with Castro as the Prime Minister.107 In the 1961 New Year's Day parade Castro exhibited Soviet tanks and other weapons.113 The Soviet Union awarded him the Lenin Peace Prize later that year. Bay of Pigs Invasion Main article: Bay of Pigs Invasion Che Guevara (left) and Castro photographed by Alberto Korda in 1961. The Bay of Pigs Invasion (known as La Batalla de Girn or Playa Girn 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.114 Critics noted that Castro feared elections would eject him from power.114 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.115 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.116 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 Ral 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 Directorate117 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.118 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. 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.119 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.120 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.121 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 US$150000 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.122123124 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 US$10000 in expenses and US$1000 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.122123124 United States embargo Main article: United States embargo against Cuba Castro arriving at the MATS Terminal in Washington D.C in 1959 Jos Mara 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.125 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.126 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.127 The U.S. authorized the shipment of food in 2001 the first since the embargo was imposed.128 During 2004 Castro shut down 118 factories including steel plants sugar mills and paper processors to compensate for the crisis due to fuel shortages129 and in 2005 directed thousands of Cuban doctors to Venezuela in exchange for oil imports.130 Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Cuba Soviet Union "The greatest threat presented by Castros Cuba is as an example to other Latin American states which are beset by poverty corruption feudalism and plutocratic exploitation ... his influence in Latin America might be overwhelming and irresistible if with Soviet help he could establish in Cuba a Communist utopia." Walter Lippmann Newsweek April 27 1964131 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. Cuba's relations with the Soviet Union became strained when Cuba continued to recognise Israel as an independent state; the Soviet Union and it's satellite states in the Eastern Bloc (with the exception of the Socialist Republic of Romania) had broken of diplomatic ties with Israel the earlier year. Relations became even more sour when Alexei Kosygin the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers visited Cuba in the aftermath of the 1967 Glassboro Summit Conference. During the visit Kosygin pressured Castro to end diplomatic relations with Cubaclarification needed Castro responded by demanding that the Soviet Union end diplomatic relations with the United States.132 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."133 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.134 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.135 The subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 had an immediate and devastating effect on Cuba. Other countries "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 2002136 Castro in 1974 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."137 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 Cuba138 that an estimated 14000 Cubans were killed in Cuban military actions abroad.139 Castro never disclosed the amount of casualties in Soviet African wars but one estimate is 14000 a high number for the small country.140 Juan Antonio Rodrguez 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".141 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 197576 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.141 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.142 Cuba once shunned by many of its Latin American neighbours now has full diplomatic relations with all but Costa Rica and El Salvador.142 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.143 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.144 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.145 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.146 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.147 North Korea has granted Castro "the Golden Medal (Hammer and Sickle) and the First Class Order of the National Flag".148 Libyan de facto leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has granted Castro a "Libyan human rights prize".149 On a visit to South Africa in 1998 he was warmly received by President Nelson Mandela.150 President Mandela gave Castro South Africa's highest civilian award for foreigners the Order of Good Hope.151 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/AIDS152 In Harlem Castro is seen as an icon because of his historic visit with Malcolm X in 1960 at the Hotel Theresa.153 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 Chrtien 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 1976.154 The European Union accuses the Castro regime of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms".155 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.156 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.157 Castro is seen as an icon by leaders of recent socialist governments in Latin America. Hugo Chvez 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".158 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. Castro contacted Goldberg 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 while criticizing some of the rhetoric on Israel by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the President of Iran under whom IranIsrael 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 antisemitism and trying to understand why Israelis fear for their existence."159 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.160 Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro in 1962 after Castro suppressed Catholic institutions in Cuba.161 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".162 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.163 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 1969.164 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.165 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.166 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.167 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.168 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.169 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)."170 Castro has publicly criticised what he sees as elements of the Bible that have been used to justify the opression of both women and people of African descent throughout history.171 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. Ral Castro was the person in that position for the last 32 years of Fidel Castro's presidency. Speculation on illness 19982005 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.172 In June 2001 he apparently fainted during a seven-hour speech under the Caribbean sun.173 Later that day he finished the speech walking buoyantly into the television studios in his military fatigues joking with journalists.174 In January 2004 Luis Eduardo Garzn the mayor of Bogot said that Castro "seemed very sick to me" following a meeting with him during a vacation in Cuba.175 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.176 On October 20 2004 Castro tripped and fell following a speech he gave at a rally breaking his kneecap and fracturing his right arm.177 He was able to recover his ability to walk and publicly demonstrated this two months later.178 In 2005 the CIA said it thought Castro had Parkinson's disease.179180 Castro denied such allegations while also citing the example of Pope John Paul II in saying that he would not fear the disease.181 Transfer of duties speculation on illness 20062007 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 Ral 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".182 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 treatment183 but on December 17 2006 Cuban officials stated that Castro had no terminal illness and would eventually return to his public duties.184185 Castro in 2003 However on December 24 2006 Spanish newspaper El Peridico de Catalunya reported that Spanish surgeon Jos Luis Garca Sabrido had been flown to Cuba on a plane chartered by the Cuban government. Dr. Garca Sabrido is an intestinal expert who further specializes in the treatment of cancer. The plane that Dr. Garca Sabrido's traveled in also was reported to be carrying a large quantity of advanced medical equipment.186187 On December 26 2006 shortly after returning to Madrid Dr. Garca 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."188 Although most Cubans acknowledge that they are aware Castro is seriously ill most also seem worried about a future without Castro.189 On January 16 2007 the Spanish newspaper El Pas citing two unnamed sources from the Gregorio Maran hospital who employs Dr. Garca Sabrido in Madrid reported Castro was in "very grave" condition having trouble wound healing after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection caused by a severe case of diverticulitis. However Dr. Garca 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."190 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."191192193 On January 30 2007 Cuban television and the paper Juventud Rebelde showed fresh video and photos from a meeting between Castro and Hugo Chvez said to have taken place the previous day.194195 In mid-February 2007 it was reported by the Associated Press that Acting President Ral 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" Ral Castro said of Fidel. "He doesn't interfere but he knows about everything."196 On February 27 2007 Reuters reported that Fidel Castro had called into Al Presidente a live radio talk show hosted by Hugo Chvez 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 Chvez "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.197 Reports of improvements in his condition continued to circulate throughout March and early April. On April 13 2007 Chvez 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.198 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.199 As a comment on Castros recovery U.S. President George W. Bush said: "One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away" Hearing about this Castro who is thought to be 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."200 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.201 At the same time pictures were released of Castro's meeting with the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez on January 21 2009.202 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 2006203 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 to nor acceptI repeat I will not aspire to or acceptthe post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief"204 effectively announcing his retirement from official public life.205206207 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".208 Fidel Castro's brother Ral Castro and Dmitry Medvedev. Wikinews has related news: Ral Castro chosen new President of Cuba On February 24 2008 the National Assembly of People's Power unanimously chose his brother Ral Castro as Fidel's successor as President of Cuba.11 In his first speech as Fidels 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. Ral described his brother as "not substitutable".209 Castro had already given up the post of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba on July 31 2006.210211 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 Chvez 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.212 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."213214215216 On April 19 2011 Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee217 thus stepping down as leader of the party. Ral Castro was selected as his successor.218 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.219 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 Mor who on hearing Castro passing in the Havana night with his entourage shouted out "Here comes the horse!"220 During the revolutionary campaign fellow rebels knew Castro as "The Giant".221 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.222 Castro's image appears frequently in Cuban stores classrooms taxicabs and national television.223 Despite this Castro has stated that he does not promote a cult of personality.224 Personal life One of Castro's biographers the Briton Leycester Coltman (2003) described Castro as being "fiercely hard-working dedicated loyal... generous and magnanimous" but also noted that he could also be "vindicative and unforgiving" at times. He went on to note that Castro "always had a keen sense of humour and could laugh at himself" but could equally be "a bad loser" who would act with "ferocious rage if he thought that he was being humiliated."225 In her study of the Cold War in the Caribbean the British historian Alex Von Tunzelmann (2011) commented that "though ruthless Castro was a patriot a man with a profound sense that it was his mission to save the Cuban people" contrasting him strongly to his Haitian contemporary Franois Duvalier.226 By his first wife Mirta Daz-Balart whom he married on October 11 1948 Castro has a son named Fidel ngel "Fidelito" Castro Daz-Balart born on September 1 1949. Daz-Balart and Castro were divorced in 1955 and she remarried Emilio Nez Blanco. After a spell in Madrid Daz-Balart reportedly returned to Havana to live with Fidelito and his family.227 Fidelito grew up in Cuba; for a time he ran Cuba's atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father.228 Daz-Balart's nephews are Republican U.S. Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart vocal critics of the Castro government.citation needed Fidel has five other sons by his second wife Dalia Soto del Valle: Antonio Alejandro Alexis Alexander "Alex" and ngel Castro Soto del Valle.228 While Fidel was married to Mirta he had an affair with Natalia "Naty" Revuelta Clews born in Havana in 1925 and married to Orlando Fernndez resulting in a daughter named Alina Fernndez-Revuelta.228 Alina left Cuba in 1993 disguised as a Spanish tourist229 and sought asylum in the United States. She has been a vocal critic of her father's policies.citation needed Alina was assisted by Elena Diaz-Verson Amos wife of AFLAC founder John Amos. Alina lived with Elena in Columbus Georgia for several years. By an unnamed woman he had another son Jorge ngel Castro. Fidel has another daughter Francisca Pupo (born 1953) the result of a one night affair. Pupo and her husband now live in Miami.230231 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 Ral have made it an enormous prison surrounded by water. The people are nailed to a cross of torment imposed by international Communism."232 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 dictator233234235236237238 and his rule was the longest to-date in modern Latin American history.235236237238 The Human Rights Watch organization has suggested that Castro constructed a "repressive machinery" which "continues to deprive Cubans of their basic rights".239 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 73000 with one study estimating over 119000 and several others suggesting significantly lower figures.240 Allegations of mismanagement In their book Corruption in Cuba Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Jorge F. Prez-Lpez 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".241 Servando Gonzalez in The Secret Fidel Castro calls Castro a "corrupt tyrant".242 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.242 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 wrote that Cuba's paucity of trade with Switzerland contrasts oddly with the National Office of Cuba's relatively large office in Zurich.242 Castro has denied having a bank account abroad with even a dollar in it.243 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 9700 men and three luxurious yachts.242 In 2005 American business and financial magazine Forbes listed Castro among the world's richest people with an estimated net worth of US$550 million. The estimates which the magazine admitted were "more art than science"244 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.243 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.245 Forbes later increased the estimates to US$900 million adding rumors of large cash stashes in Switzerland.243 The magazine offered no proof of this information244 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.244 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.243 He declared: "If they can prove that I have a bank account abroad with US$900m with US$1m US$500000 US$100000 or US$1 in it I will resign."243 President of Cuba's Central Bank Francisco Sobern 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."245 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 20062008 Cuban transfer of presidential duties July 26 Movement Cuban dissident movement Left-wing nationalism Politics of Cuba In other media: 638 Ways to Kill Castro Comandante Fidel (2001 documentary) Fidel (film) My Life (Fidel Castro autobiography) References Footnotes Fidel Castro resigns as president of Cuba. Telegraph (February 19 2008). Retrieved on August 8 2010. DePalma Anthony (2006). The Man Who Invented Fidel. 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Retrieved May 14 2006.  "Castro has Parkinson's says CIA". BBC News. November 17 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4444454.stm. Retrieved May 16 2006.  Nordqvist Christian (November 2005). "Parkinson's disease a CIA fabrication says Fidel Castro". Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.phpnewsid33746. Retrieved May 14 2006.  News.Yahoo.comdead link "Casto in Cancer Battle". Sky News. December 8 2006. http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/030200-124343200.html.  "Castro has no terminal illness officials tell congressman". CNN. December 17 2006. dead link "U.S. lawmakers told Castro not dying no cancer". Reuters. December 17 2006. dead link "Surgeon 'flew in to treat Castro'". BBC. December 25 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6208451.stm. Retrieved January 4 2010.  "Spanish Doctor is Said to Be Aiding Castro". The New York Times. December 25 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/world/americas/25cuba.htmlrefamericas.  "Castro does not have cancer says Spanish doctor". London: Times Online. December 26 2006. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/011069-251937200.html. Retrieved December 26 2006.  Gonzalez-Torres Fernan (January 25 2007). "Cubans look to future with trepidation". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6215229.stm. Retrieved January 1 2007.  "Spanish newspaper: Castro prognosis 'very grave'". CNN. January 16 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/01/15/castro.condition/index.html. Retrieved January 16 2007.  Roman Mar (January 16 2007). "Castro reportedly in 'grave' condition". Associated Press. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPAINCUBACASTROSITEFLROC&SECTIONHOME&TEMPLATEDEFAULT. Retrieved January 16 2007. dead link "Una cadena de actuaciones mdicas fallidas agrav el estado de Castro". El Pais. January 16 2007. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/cadena/actuaciones/medicas/fallidas/agravo/estado/Castro/elpepuint/20070116elpepiint16/Tes. Retrieved January 16 2007.  Boadle Anthony (January 16 2007). "Castro had 3 failed surgeries paper says". Reuters. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070116/wlnm/cubacastromondaydc5. Retrieved January 16 2007. dead link El tiempo Santiago de Cuba 20 C (January 30 2007). "Report from Juventud Rebelde (in Spanish)". Juventudrebelde.cu. http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2007-01-30/fidel-y-chavez-se-abrazan-de-nuevo-en-la-habana/. Retrieved January 13 2010.  "Miami Herald Weak Castro in new video". Miami.com. Archived from the original on February 18 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070218131440/http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16584601.htm. Retrieved January 13 2010.  "Raul Castro Thinks Fidel Improving". Associated Press February 10 2007. 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.  Pearson Natalie Obiko (April 13 2007). "Venezuela: Ally Castro Recovering". Associated Press. http://www.breitbart.com/article.phpidD8OFU0O80&showarticle1. Retrieved April 13 2007.  "Castro resumes official business". BBC News. April 21 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6578539.stm. Retrieved April 21 2007.  "Bush wishes Cuba's Castro would disappear". Reuters. June 28 2007. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2834938420070629. Retrieved July 1 2007.  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/4324128/Fidel-Castro-sends-farewell-message-to-his-people.html. Retrieved January 28 2009.  "Fidel contemplates his mortality". BBC. January 23 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7846670.stm. Retrieved January 28 2009.  Fidel Castro 20th Century Revolutionary by Anthony Boadle Reuters February 19 2008 Castro Fidel (February 18 2008). "Message from the Commander in Chief". Diario Granma (Comit Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba). http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2008/esp/f180208e.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011. (Spanish) "Fidel Castro announces retirement". BBC News. February 18 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7252109.stm. Retrieved February 18 2008.  "Fidel Castro stepping down as Cuba's leader". Reuters. February 18 2008. http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN929511.html. Retrieved February 18 2008. dead link "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 "Fidel Castro announces retirement". BBC News. February 19 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7252109.stm. Retrieved February 19 2008.  "CUBA: Ral Shares His Seat with Fidel". Ipsnews.net. http://ipsnews.net/news.aspidnews41321. Retrieved 2011-03-16.  Castro Fidel (March 22 2011). "My Shoes Are Too Tight". Juventud Rebelde. http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/cuba/2011-03-22/my-shoes-are-too-tight/. Retrieved 2011-04-14.  "Castro says he resigned as Communist Party chief 5 years ago". CNN. March 22 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-22/world/cuba.castro.party1raul-castro-cuban-people-cuba-planssPM:WORLD. Retrieved 2011-04-14.  "Fidel Castro makes rare TV appearance" Globe and Mail July 12 2010 "Fidel Castro addresses parliament after four-year gap" BBC News August 7 2010 "Fidel Castro to attend session of Cuba parliament"dead link ""Fidel Castro warns of nuclear risk in 1st speech to Cuban parliament in 4 years"". Washingtonpost.com. August 8 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/07/AR2010080702549.html. Retrieved 2011-03-16.  "Fidel Castro Addresses Parliament on Iran Issue" "Fidel quits Communist Party leadership as Cuba looks to reform". Euronews.net. April 19 2011. http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/19/fidel-quits-communist-party-leadership-as-cuba-looks-to-reform/. Retrieved 2011-04-19.  "Cuban communists opt for old guard to lead reforms". Reuters.com. April 19 2011. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/uk-cuba-congress-idUKTRE73I3GQ20110419. Retrieved 2011-04-20.  1995/015m.html "In brief". Arizona Daily Wildcat. February 10 1995. http://secure-wildcat.arizona.edu//papers/old-wildcats/spring95/February/February10 1995/015m.html. Retrieved August 12 2006. dead link Richard Gott Cuba : A new history. p. 175. Yale press. Jon Lee Anderson. Che Guevara : A revolutionary life. p. 317. Admservice (October 8 2000). "Fidel Castro's Family". Latinamericanstudies.org. http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/fidel/castro-family.htm. Retrieved January 13 2010.  "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.  "Fidel Castro" PBS Online Newshour February 12 1985. Coltman 2003. p. 14. Von Tunzelmann 2011. p. 94. 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." a b c Jon Lee Anderson "Castro's Last Battle: Can the revolution outlive its leader" The New Yorker July 31 2006. 51. Boadle Anthony (August 8 2006). "Cuba's first family not immune to political rift". Reuters. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.htmlid2ef037b4-5f82-4283-b1fb-2cc9e2442977. Retrieved August 10 2006.  CANF.orgdead link Cuba confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana By Ann Louise Bardach; Random House Inc. 2002; ISBN 9780375504891 "The Bitter Family (page 1 of 2)". Time Magazine. July 10 1964. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/09171871241-100.html. Retrieved February 19 2008.  Paul C. Sondrol (1991). "Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner". Journal of Latin American Studies 23 (03): 599620. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00015868. JSTOR 157386.  Jay Mallin. Covering Castro: rise and decline of Cuba's communist dictator. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781560001560.  a b D. H. Figueredo. The complete idiot's guide to Latino history and culture. ISBN 0028643607.  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.  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/usandamericas/article3399819.ece. Retrieved April 22 2009.  a b "Fidel's fade-out". http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/24/fidels-fade-out/.  "Cuba: Fidel Castros 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.  "Twentieth Century Atlas Death Tolls". Users.erols.com. http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat6.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-16.  Sergio Diaz-Briquets Jorge F. Prez-Lpez. Corruption in Cuba.  a b c d Servando Gonzalez. The Secret Fidel Castro. ISBN 0971139105.  a b c d e Castro denies huge fortune claim. BBC News. a b c Castro: I am not rich. CBS News. Assessed April 24 2007. a b Castro blasts Forbes over wealth report. Associated Press. Retrieved December 13. 2006. Bibliography Academic and Popular Books Bohning Don (2005). The Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations Against Cuba 1959-1965. Washington D.C.: Potomac Books Inc.  Bourne Peter G. (1986). Fidel: A Biography of Fidel Castro. New York: Dodd Mead & Company.  Castro Fidel; Elliot Jeffrey M. and Dymally Mervyn M. (interviewers) (1986). Nothing Can Stop the Course of History. New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 0873486617.  Castro Fidel; Ramonet Ignacio (interviewer) (2009). My Life: A Spoken Autobiography. New York: Scribner. ISBN 9781416562337.  Coltman Leycester (2003). The Real Fidel Castro. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300107609.  Von Tunzelmann Alex (2011). Red Heat: Conspiracy Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780805090673.  Further reading by Castro Castro Fidel; Deborah Shnookal Pedro Alvarez Tabo (2005). Fidel: my early years. Ocean Press. ISBN 1920888098. http://books.google.ca/booksid8RVaBPGRcUcC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  Castro Fidel; Ignacio Ramonet (2008). Fidel Castro: my life : a spoken autobiography. Scribner Book Company. ISBN 1416553282. http://books.google.ca/booksidZ4H45OczqPYC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  by others Fuentes Norberto; Anna Kushner (2010). The Autobiography of Fidel Castro. Norton & Co. ISBN 9780393068993. http://books.google.ca/booksidFazd9dOLUmUC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  Geyer Georgie Anne (2001). Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro. Andrews McMeel. ISBN 0740720643. http://books.google.ca/booksiddRhJGLnJjugC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  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/booksidB9LOCZuDnQC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  Leonard Thomas M (2004). Fidel Castro: a biography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313323011. http://books.google.ca/booksid63sFubdrEVcC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  Marsico Katie (2009). Fidel Castro: Cuban President & Revolutionary. ABDO Pub. Co. ISBN 9781604535228. http://books.google.ca/booksidXgP9n-E7oTwC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  Skierka Volker (2006). Fidel Castro: a biography. Polity. ISBN 0745630065. http://books.google.ca/booksidx9-U3FWiWUC&lpgPP1&dqFidel%20Castro&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue  External links Cuba portal Biography portal Communism portal 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" TV: "Fidel Castro meets L.Brezhnev (USSR) (1974)" on Soviet TV portal (in Russian) Fidel Castro in His Own Words Images Castro: Early Years (19531961) 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 19631964 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 Garca Mrquez August 12 2006 Washington Post: Fidel Castro Will Always Lead Cuba Locals Say February 22 2008 Political offices Preceded by Jos Mir Cardona Prime Minister of Cuba 19591976 Position abolished Preceded by Osvaldo Dortics Torrado President of Cuba Incapacitated in 2006 19762008 Succeeded by Ral Castro Military offices New office Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Incapacitated in 2006 19592008 Succeeded by Ral Castro Party political offices New office First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Incapacitated in 2006 19612011 Succeeded by Ral Castro Diplomatic posts Preceded by Junius Richard Jayewardene Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement 19791983 Succeeded by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Preceded by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement Incapacitated in 2006 20052008 Succeeded by Ral Castro v d e Cold War Participants and notable figures  ANZUS  NATO  Non-Aligned Movement  SEATO  Warsaw Pact 1940s Yalta Conference  Operation Unthinkable  Potsdam Conference  Gouzenko Affair  War in Vietnam (19451946)  Iran crisis of 1946  Greek Civil War  Corfu Channel Incident  Restatement of Policy on Germany  First Indochina War  Truman Doctrine  Asian Relations Conference  Marshall Plan  Czechoslovak coup d'tat of 1948  TitoStalin split  Berlin Blockade  Western betrayal  Iron Curtain  Eastern Bloc  Chinese Civil War (Second round) 1950s Korean War  1953 Iranian coup d'tat  Uprising of 1953 in East Germany  1954 Guatemalan coup d'tat  Partition of Vietnam  First Taiwan Strait Crisis  Geneva Summit (1955)  Pozna 1956 protests  Hungarian Revolution of 1956  Suez Crisis  Sputnik crisis  Second 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CambodianVietnamese War  Sino-Vietnamese War  Iranian Revolution  Operation Condor  Bangladesh Liberation War   Korean Air Lines Flight 902 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan  IranIraq War   1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts  Solidarity (Soviet reaction)  Contras  Central American crisis  RYAN  Korean Air Lines Flight 007  Able Archer 83  Star Wars  Invasion of Grenada  People Power Revolution  Tiananmen Square protests of 1989  United States invasion of Panama  Fall of the Berlin Wall  Revolutions of 1989  Glasnost  Perestroika 1990s Democratic Revolution in Mongolia  Breakup of Yugoslavia  Dissolution of the Soviet Union  Dissolution of Czechoslovakia Foreign policy Truman Doctrine  Marshall Plan  Containment  Eisenhower Doctrine  Domino theory  Kennedy Doctrine  Peaceful coexistence  Ostpolitik  Johnson Doctrine  Brezhnev Doctrine  Nixon Doctrine  Ulbricht Doctrine  Carter Doctrine  Reagan Doctrine  Rollback Ideologies Capitalism (Chicago school  Keynesianism  Monetarism  Neoclassical economics  Supply-side economics  Thatcherism  Reaganomics)  Communism (MarxismLeninism  Castroism  Eurocommunism  Guevarism  Juche  Left communism  Maoism  Stalinism  Titoism  Trotskyism)  Liberal democracy  Social democracy Organizations ASEAN  CIA  Comecon  EEC  KGB  MI6  Stasi Propaganda Active measures  Izvestia  Pravda  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty  Red Scare  TASS  Voice of America  Voice of Russia Races Arms race  Nuclear arms race  Space Race See also Brinkmanship  NATORussia relations  Soviet and Russian espionage in U.S.  Soviet Union  United States relations  USSoviet summits  World War III Category  Portal  Timeline v d e Notable figures of the Cold War Soviet Union Joseph Stalin  Vyacheslav Molotov  Andrei Gromyko  Nikita Khrushchev  Anatoly Dobrynin  Leonid Brezhnev  Alexei Kosygin  Yuri Andropov  Konstantin Chernenko  Mikhail Gorbachev  Nikolai Ryzhkov  Eduard Shevardnadze  Gennady Yanayev  Boris Yeltsin United States Harry S. 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Gmez  Garca  Zayas  Machado  Herrera (provisional)  Cspedes  Pentarchy of 1933  Grau  Hevia*  Mrquez Sterling*  Mendieta*  Barnet*  M. Gmez  Laredo  Batista  Grau  Pro  Batista  Alliegro*  Piedra*  Urrutia  Dortics  F. Castro  R. Castro * interim Domingo acted as president during part of this term. v d ePrime Ministers of Cuba 1940-1976 Saladrigas Zayas  Zaydn  Alliegro  Lancs Snchez  Pro Socarrs  Lpez del Castillo  de Varona  Lancs Snchez  Gans  Batista  Garca Montes  Rivero Agero  Nez Portuondo  Gell  Mir Cardona  Castro v d eRevolutions of 1989 Communism  Liberalization and Democratization  Criticism of communism Internal conditions Brezhnev stagnation  Cultural Revolution  Eastern Bloc  Eastern Bloc economies  Eastern Bloc politics  Eastern Bloc information dissemination  Eastern Bloc emigration and defection  KGB  Nomenklatura  Samizdat  Shortage economy  Totalitarianism International relations Active measures  Cold War  List of socialist countries  Predictions of Soviet collapse  Reagan Doctrine  Soviet Empire  Terrorism and the Soviet Union   Vatican opposition Reforms of socialism Socialism with Chinese characteristics  Perestroika  Glasnost  Democratisation  Sinatra Doctrine  Uskoreniye Events by country Eastern Bloc countries: Albania  Bulgaria  Czechoslovakia  East Germany  Hungary  Poland  Romania  Soviet Union  Yugoslavia Former Soviet Republics: Armenia  Azerbaijan  Belarus  Estonia  Georgia  Latvia  Lithuania  Kazakhstan  Kirghistan  Moldova  Russia  Tajikstan  Turkmenistan  Ukraine  Uzbekistan Other countries: Afghanistan  Angola  Benin   Burma  Cambodia  China  People's Republic of the Congo  Ethiopia  Mongolia  Mozambique  Nicaragua  Somalia  South Yemen Communist leaders Ramiz Alia  Heydar Aliyev  Yuri Andropov  Aung San  Siad Barre  Fidel Castro  Nicolae Ceauescu  Konstantin Chernenko  Mikhail Gorbachev  Kroly Grsz  Hua Guofeng  Erich Honecker  Enver Hoxha  Jnos Kdr  Kim Il-sung  Milou Jake  Wojciech Jaruzelski  Mathieu Krkou  Mengistu Haile Mariam  Slobodan Miloevi  Denis Sassou Nguesso  Saparmurat Niyazov  Daniel Ortega  Kaysone Phomvihane  Pol Pot  Tn c Thng  Phoumi Vongvichit  Ne Win  Deng Xiaoping  Todor Zhivkov Democratization leaders Corazon Aquino  Sali Berisha  Vladimir Bukovsky  Violeta Chamorro  Chiang Ching-kuo  Viacheslav Chornovil  Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj  Vclav Havel   Tom Kahn  Lane Kirkland  Helmut Kohl  Vytautas Landsbergis  Pope John Paul II  Zianon Pazniak  Ronald Reagan  Lee Teng-hui  Margaret Thatcher  Lech Wasa  Boris Yeltsin  Zhelyu Zhelev Democracy movements Chinese democracy movement  Civic Forum  Democratic Russia  Sjdis  Rukh  Solidarity  Popular Front of Latvia  Popular Front of Estonia  Public Against Violence  Belarusian Popular Front  National League for Democracy  National Opposition Union  United Nationalist Democratic Organization  National Salvation Front  Union of Democratic Forces Events People Power Revolution  Revolutions of 1989  April 9 tragedy  Black January  Baltic Way  1988 Polish strikes  Tiananmen Square protests of 1989  Removal of Hungary's border fence  Polish Round Table Talks  Hungarian Round Table Talks  Pan-European Picnic  Monday demonstrations in East Germany  Fall of the Berlin Wall  Malta Summit  German reunification  January 1991 events in Lithuania  January 1991 events in Latvia  1991 Soviet coup d'tat attempt  Yemeni unification Post-collapse Colour revolution  Decommunization  Democratization  Economic liberalization  Economic reforms after the collapse of socialism  Neo-Stalinism  North Korean famine  Oslo Accords  Post-Communism  Putinism  Special Period  Yugoslav Wars v d eSecretaries-General of the Non-Aligned Movement Tito  Nasser  Kaunda  Boumdienne  Gopallawa  Jayewardene  F. Castro  Reddy  Singh  Mugabe  Drnovek  Jovi  Mesi  Kosti  osi  Suharto  Samper  Pastrana  Mandela  Mbeki  Mahathir  Abdullah  F. Castro  R. Castro  Mubarak Persondata Name Castro Fidel Alternative names Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz Short description President of Cuba Date of birth August 13 1926 Place of birth Birn Holgun Province Cuba Date of death Place of death