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Former Cuban Leader Dies On Black Friday

On Friday night, the Cuban exile community in Miami received long awaited news. The former dictator and tyrant Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. For two consecutive nights, there have been street parties in Little Havana, Hialeah, and Westchester. Although he outlived many of the victims of the Cuban Revolution, sons and daughters, and grandchildren paraded through Miami for the day they’ve always spoken about since they were kids.

While failing communist states such as Russia, China, and Vietnam have had to adapt capitalist measures to survive, Fidel Castro kept a purely communist one-party rule in Cuba. The Caribbean island looks as if it has been stuck in a time vacuum since the 1950’s with no progress. Decades of firing squads, theft of businesses and private properties, separation of families, and lack of freedom of speech are the legacy of Fidel Castro.

Early Beginnings Of The Cuban Oppressor

Fidel Castro was born out of wedlock to a wealthy Spanish farmer who had migrated from Galicia, Spain. His father had gained his wealth from his sugar cane farms in Biran, Cuba. After the collapse of his first marriage, he impregnated the immigrant household servant and Fidel Castro was born. As a kid with behavior problems, his father enrolled him in the best Jesuit schools of the area to whip his son into shape.

By 1945, he began to study law at the University of Havana. Here he became passionate about anti-imperialist views and against U.S. intervention in the Carribean. Influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin, he would participate in attempts to overthrow the right-wing governments of The Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Moncada Barracks Attack & July 26th Movement

On July 26th, 1953, Fidel Castro had gathered 165 men to attack the Moncada Barracks. Most of his men were poor cane cutters and only four of the men had received a University education. As Fidel carefully avoided recruiting intellectuals that may challenge his ideas. The group of rebels led a 16 car convoy to the barracks for a surprise attack. Three of the cars were lost prior to the attack, including the one containing the heavy weapons for the rebels. As they approached the barracks, the alarm rang and the attack began before they could infiltrate the barracks.

As they were losing the firefight, Fidel ordered a retreat. Some of the men ended up taking over the nearby Civil hospital that housed many wounded soldiers. The rebels would eventually end up stabbing multiple sleeping soldiers to death before they were captured by the Cuban army forces. This event will mark the very beginning of the Cuban revolution. After being incarcerated for his actions, politicians convinced President Batista that Fidel Castro posed no threat and it would be good publicity to grant amnesty. In 1955, Fidel Castro was released from prison and he was able to return to Havana, Cuba.

Overthrowing President Batista

After violence and bombings in the capital city, Fidel and his brother Raul escaped Cuba to Mexico in order to evade arrest. While in Mexico, Raul Castro befriended Ernesto “Che” Guerra which was then introduced to Fidel. El Che was the one responsible for further pushing Fidel’s ideals even more to the left. This dangerous combination of murderers and criminals proved to be capable in recruiting for their cause. In December of 1956, Fidel returned from Mexico in a Yacht named “Granma” with 81 other revolutionaries. Now met with a growing number of poor farmers in Eastern Cuba, the July 26th Movement headed towards the mountainous terrain of Oriente’s Sierra Maestra. During 1957 the group led multiple successful guerrilla warfare raids on Army Outposts to gain weapons.

With growing popularity, Fidel hid his communist views and radical views so he wouldn’t scare off new recruits that were uncertain of the movement. By then it was well known that Raul Castro and Che Guerra were communist, but Fidel didn’t unveil his extreme nature just yet. During 1958, the rebels were able to successfully march from Eastern Cuba all the way to Havana. On December 31th, 1958, President Batista escaped the island of Cuba. On January 1st, 1959, the July 26th movement paraded into the streets of Havana as the new rulers of the Caribbean island.

The Early Days Of The Castro Regime

By February of 1959, Fidel Castro was swore in as the Prime Minister of Cuba, a title he would hold until 1976 (from 1976 until 2008, he renamed his title to President). The early days of the Castro regime were absolutely brutal and a huge violation of human rights. Batista supporters were routinely rounded up and executed by firing squads. State media would be extremely censored. Private corporations were seized by the government. Private properties removed from families and given to high ranking members of Castro’s military. Many lost their fortunes, companies, homes, and had no freedom of speech to complain. Any doubts that Fidel Castro had intended for a communist state was removed. Thousands of political opponents would be jailed and tortured for extended periods of time. It is estimated that up to 100,000 Cubans were murdered by the Castro regime in order to secure the communist government. Below is a video of Colonel Cornelio Rojas, the Chief of Police in Santa Clara, being executed by firing squad. This was broadcasted on television as his family watched in horror as he was killed.

Firing squads and prison camps were the norm of 1960’s Cuba. The bloodthirsty assassin, Che Guerra, once was quoted saying “To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary. These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution. And a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.” Kangaroo courts would sentence men to their death within 24 hours without a fair trail. Castro had a crackdown on anything he deemed Western or Imperial. Banned were records of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, or any such ban. Hearing these records could get you arrested. Anyone accused of being a spy or disloyal to the revolution would be sent to Castro’s famous prison camps. Many minorities, including homosexuals, were persecuted and sent to these camps. At these camps, many would be tortured for extended periods of time as political prisoners.

By the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Fidel Castro arrested up to 100,000 individuals he believed would join the CIA-backed invaders. After President John F. Kennedy pulled military support from the Brigade 2506 after the CIA trained dissidents landed on the island. This short-sighted move would end up being a major embarrassment for the United States and solidified Fidel’s claim as the ruler of Cuba. After exchanging some of the prisoners of war for medical supplies and financial aid, Fidel would continue to challenge the USA. In 1962, after declaring an alliance with the Soviet Union, he would allow the Russians to install nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba. This led to the Cuban Missle Crisis of October that nearly led to World War 3.

Decades Of Corruption & Tyranny Destroy The People’s Morale

After Fidel Castro was left out of talks between the USA and Soviet Union, it was agreed Cuba would remove the missiles if the USA promised never to invade Cuba. This agreement would result in the doom of the Cuban people and the downfall of the Carribean nation that prior to 1959, was considered the gem of Latin America. Fidel Castro would run the next few decades with an iron fist over the people. With no freedom of press, freedom of speech, or the possibility of getting ahead in life with an education, the Cuban people would fall into despair and hopelessness. In 1980, he would allow the Mariel boatlift in which he promised anyone who didn’t want to be there, could leave. Over 125,000 people took boats to Florida to escape the communist regime. Fidel used this opportunity to empty out his prisons and psych wards of criminals and insane people.

Havana was once the envy of Latin America, where Western tourists would travel to during the winter. It is now a crumbling city that resembles that of a third world country. A promise unfulfilled, the Castro regime did not help the Cuban people prosper. Instead, everyone shared in the misery of poverty. Hundreds of thousands of families suffered dislocation, as many left the island nation. Thousands more have lost their lives at sea trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean in rafts in search of freedom. The exile communities in Miami, Tampa, and New Jersey settled in their new homes to find the freedom that Cuba has lacked for nearly 6 decades. If there is ever any doubt of the potential of Cubans, just look at what Cuban Americans have been able to achieve in the right system in the United States. Miami is a thriving mega city that consisted of mostly Cubans after the 1960s and 1980s mass migrations. It is a shame to think of the thousands jailed, tortured, and murdered for not sharing in the ideology of a mad man with communist views of grandeur. How many have suffered under the Dictatorship of Fidel Castro. We all dream that one day Cuba will be free. Here’s to “Una Cuba Libre”. Hopefully, Fidel’s death brings us one step closer.