1960-61: Forges closealliance with Soviet Union,led by Nikita Khrushchev.
U.S. breaks offdiplomatic relationsand imposescommercialembargo afterCastro nationalizesall U.S. interests
1961: U.S. sponsorsabortive invasion by1,300 CIA-trainedCuban exiles atBay of Pigs –misjudgingsupportin Cubafor Castro
1975-1989: Castrosends troops to supportCommunistforces inAngola,Ethiopiaand Yemen
1976: Communist Party of Cubaapproves new socialist constitution –Castro elected president
1998: Castro welcomesPope John Paul IIin first visit bypontiff to Cuba
1991: Collapse of Soviet Unionleads to crippling financial hardship.To boost economy, Castro allowssome economic liberalization andfree-market activities whileretaining tight political control
1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castroallows exodus of 125,000 Cubansto U.S. via port of Mariel
2002: Castroblasts U.S. fordetaining prisonersin “concentrationcamp” at Guantanamo Bay
2003: Black Spring crackdown ondissidents draws international outcry
2008: Ill healthforces Castroto stand downas presidentat age of 81.Power handed tobrother Raúl, 76
2015: The U.S. and Cuba restorediplomatic ties after 54 years, pavingway for visitby PresidentBarack Obama
Nov 25, 2016:Commanderof the Cubanrevolution,Fidel CastroRuz, dies at ageof 90
1962: Presence ofSoviet missiles in
Cuba brings world tobrink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisisonly resolved when Soviets
remove weapons after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy secretly agrees to
withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey
Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebelsland in Cuba from yacht Granma,but are ambushed. 12 survivors– including Raúl and Ernesto“Che” Guevara – take toSierra Maestra mountainsto wage guerrilla war
1959: Castro leads9,000-strong guerrillaarmy into Havana,
forcingBatistato flee
Aug 13, 1926:Fidel AlejandroCastro Ruz bornto wealthy sugarplanter and maid
1945-50: Becomesinvolved in revolutionarypolitics while studying lawat University of Havana
1952: Candidate for Congress,but election is cancelled after coupled by General Fulgencio Batista
1953: Castro leads unsuccessfulrevolt in July 26 attack on MoncadaBarracks in Santiago de Cuba.Castro and younger brother Raúltaken prisoner – released two yearslater as part of general amnesty
1955: Relocates to Mexico toreorganize 26th of July Movementinto disciplined guerrilla force
1960-61: Forges closealliance with Soviet Union,led by Nikita Khrushchev.
U.S. breaks offdiplomatic relationsand imposescommercialembargo afterCastro nationalizesall U.S. interests
1961: U.S. sponsorsabortive invasion by1,300 CIA-trainedCuban exiles atBay of Pigs –misjudgingsupportin Cubafor Castro
1975-1989: Castrosends troops to supportCommunistforces inAngola,Ethiopiaand Yemen
1976: Communist Party of Cubaapproves new socialist constitution –Castro elected president
1998: Castro welcomesPope John Paul IIin first visit bypontiff to Cuba
1991: Collapse of Soviet Unionleads to crippling financial hardship.To boost economy, Castro allowssome economic liberalization andfree-market activities whileretaining tight political control
1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castroallows exodus of 125,000 Cubansto U.S. via port of Mariel
2002: Castroblasts U.S. fordetaining prisonersin “concentrationcamp” at Guantanamo Bay
2003: Black Spring crackdown ondissidents draws international outcry
2008: Ill healthforces Castroto stand downas presidentat age of 81.Power handed tobrother Raúl, 76
2015: The U.S. and Cuba restorediplomatic ties after 54 years, pavingway for visitby PresidentBarack Obama
Nov 25, 2016:Commanderof the Cubanrevolution,Fidel CastroRuz, dies at ageof 90
1962: Presence ofSoviet missiles in
Cuba brings world tobrink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisisonly resolved when Soviets
remove weapons after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy secretly agrees to
withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey
Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebelsland in Cuba from yacht Granma,but are ambushed. 12 survivors– including Raúl and Ernesto“Che” Guevara – take toSierra Maestra mountainsto wage guerrilla war
1959: Castro leads9,000-strong guerrillaarmy into Havana,
forcingBatistato flee
Aug 13, 1926:Fidel AlejandroCastro Ruz bornto wealthy sugarplanter and maid
1945-50: Becomesinvolved in revolutionarypolitics while studying lawat University of Havana
1952: Candidate for Congress,but election is cancelled after coupled by General Fulgencio Batista
1953: Castro leads unsuccessfulrevolt in July 26 attack on MoncadaBarracks in Santiago de Cuba.Castro and younger brother Raúltaken prisoner – released two yearslater as part of general amnesty
1955: Relocates to Mexico toreorganize 26th of July Movementinto disciplined guerrilla force
1960-61: Forges closealliance with Soviet Union,led by Nikita Khrushchev.
U.S. breaks offdiplomatic relationsand imposescommercialembargo afterCastro nationalizesall U.S. interests
1961: U.S. sponsorsabortive invasion by1,300 CIA-trainedCuban exiles atBay of Pigs –misjudgingsupportin Cubafor Castro
1975-1989: Castrosends troops to supportCommunistforces inAngola,Ethiopiaand Yemen
1976: Communist Party of Cubaapproves new socialist constitution –Castro elected president
1998: Castro welcomesPope John Paul IIin first visit bypontiff to Cuba
1991: Collapse of Soviet Unionleads to crippling financial hardship.To boost economy, Castro allowssome economic liberalization andfree-market activities whileretaining tight political control
1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castroallows exodus of 125,000 Cubansto U.S. via port of Mariel
2002: Castroblasts U.S. fordetaining prisonersin “concentrationcamp” at Guantanamo Bay
2003: Black Spring crackdown ondissidents draws international outcry
2008: Ill healthforces Castroto stand downas presidentat age of 81.Power handed tobrother Raúl, 76
2015: The U.S. and Cuba restorediplomatic ties after 54 years, pavingway for visitby PresidentBarack Obama
Nov 25, 2016:Commanderof the Cubanrevolution,Fidel CastroRuz, dies at ageof 90
1962: Presence ofSoviet missiles in
Cuba brings world tobrink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisisonly resolved when Soviets
remove weapons after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy secretly agrees to
withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey
Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebelsland in Cuba from yacht Granma,but are ambushed. 12 survivors– including Raúl and Ernesto“Che” Guevara – take toSierra Maestra mountainsto wage guerrilla war
1959: Castro leads9,000-strong guerrillaarmy into Havana,
forcingBatistato flee
Aug 13, 1926:Fidel AlejandroCastro Ruz bornto wealthy sugarplanter and maid
1945-50: Becomesinvolved in revolutionarypolitics while studying lawat University of Havana
1952: Candidate for Congress,but election is cancelled after coupled by General Fulgencio Batista
1953: Castro leads unsuccessfulrevolt in July 26 attack on MoncadaBarracks in Santiago de Cuba.Castro and younger brother Raúltaken prisoner – released two yearslater as part of general amnesty
1955: Relocates to Mexico toreorganize 26th of July Movementinto disciplined guerrilla force
1960-61: Forges closealliance with Soviet Union,led by Nikita Khrushchev.
U.S. breaks offdiplomatic relationsand imposescommercialembargo afterCastro nationalizesall U.S. interests
1961: U.S. sponsorsabortive invasion by1,300 CIA-trainedCuban exiles atBay of Pigs –misjudgingsupportin Cubafor Castro
1975-1989: Castrosends troops to supportCommunistforces inAngola,Ethiopiaand Yemen
1976: Communist Party of Cubaapproves new socialist constitution –Castro elected president
1998: Castro welcomesPope John Paul IIin first visit bypontiff to Cuba
1991: Collapse of Soviet Unionleads to crippling financial hardship.To boost economy, Castro allowssome economic liberalization andfree-market activities whileretaining tight political control
1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castroallows exodus of 125,000 Cubansto U.S. via port of Mariel
2002: Castroblasts U.S. fordetaining prisonersin “concentrationcamp” at Guantanamo Bay
2003: Black Spring crackdown ondissidents draws international outcry
2008: Ill healthforces Castroto stand downas presidentat age of 81.Power handed tobrother Raúl, 76
2015: The U.S. and Cuba restorediplomatic ties after 54 years, pavingway for visitby PresidentBarack Obama
Nov 25, 2016:Commanderof the Cubanrevolution,Fidel CastroRuz, dies at ageof 90
1962: Presence ofSoviet missiles in
Cuba brings world tobrink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisisonly resolved when Soviets
remove weapons after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy secretly agrees to
withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey
Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebelsland in Cuba from yacht Granma,but are ambushed. 12 survivors– including Raúl and Ernesto“Che” Guevara – take toSierra Maestra mountainsto wage guerrilla war
1959: Castro leads9,000-strong guerrillaarmy into Havana,
forcingBatistato flee
Aug 13, 1926:Fidel AlejandroCastro Ruz bornto wealthy sugarplanter and maid
1945-50: Becomesinvolved in revolutionarypolitics while studying lawat University of Havana
1952: Candidate for Congress,but election is cancelled after coupled by General Fulgencio Batista
1953: Castro leads unsuccessfulrevolt in July 26 attack on MoncadaBarracks in Santiago de Cuba.Castro and younger brother Raúltaken prisoner – released two yearslater as part of general amnesty
1955: Relocates to Mexico toreorganize 26th of July Movementinto disciplined guerrilla force
FLORIDA(U.S.)
S t r a i t so f F l o r i d a
C U B A100km
62 miles
C A R I B B E A NS E A
Miami
Mariel
Havana
Santiagode Cuba
SantaClara
Camaguey
Pinardel Río
GuantanamoBay (U.S.)
Bay of Pigs
SierraMaestra
Cuba
Fidel Castro in his own words
Sept 1991
“ I will never retire from politics,the revolution or my ideas.Power is slavery and I am its slave.”
March 6, 2003
“ Now I understand it was not mydestiny to rest at the end of my life.”
Sept 8, 2010
“ The Cuban model doesn’t evenwork for us any more.”
Oct 1953
“ Condemn me. It is of no importance.History will absolve me.”At his trial for the assault on the Moncada barracks
March 5, 1960
“Homeland or death!”Fidel’s first use of the phrase
June 1961
“ Within the Revolution, everything;against the Revolution, nothing
During the Cuban missile crisis6th re-election as president
Jan 1963
“ The imperialists say that for thereto be peace we must stop beingrevolutionaries but we will neverstop being revolutionaries. We will never lower our flag.”
On the warming of relations with the US
Jan 26, 2015
“ I don’t trust the politics of theUnited States, not have I exchangeda word with them but this doesnot mean I reject a pacific solutionto the conflicts.”
Cuban mass exodus (Mariel boatlift)
May 1, 1980
“ Those who don’t have the courage,those who don’t want to adaptto the effort and heroism of the revolution, let them go. We don’tcare for them, we don’t need them.”
Fidel Castro in his own words
Sept 1991
“ I will never retire from politics,the revolution or my ideas.Power is slavery and I am its slave.”
March 6, 2003
“ Now I understand it was not mydestiny to rest at the end of my life.”
Sept 8, 2010
“ The Cuban model doesn’t evenwork for us any more.”
Oct 1953
“ Condemn me. It is of no importance.History will absolve me.”At his trial for the assault on the Moncada barracks
March 5, 1960
“Homeland or death!”Fidel’s first use of the phrase
June 1961
“ Within the Revolution, everything;against the Revolution, nothing
During the Cuban missile crisis6th re-election as president
Jan 1963
“ The imperialists say that for thereto be peace we must stop beingrevolutionaries but we will neverstop being revolutionaries. We will never lower our flag.”
On the warming of relations with the US
Jan 26, 2015
“ I don’t trust the politics of theUnited States, not have I exchangeda word with them but this doesnot mean I reject a pacific solutionto the conflicts.”
Cuban mass exodus (Mariel boatlift)
May 1, 1980
“ Those who don’t have the courage,those who don’t want to adaptto the effort and heroism of the revolution, let them go. We don’tcare for them, we don’t need them.”
Fidel Castro in his own words
Sept 1991
“ I will never retire from politics,the revolution or my ideas.Power is slavery and I am its slave.”
March 6, 2003
“ Now I understand it was not mydestiny to rest at the end of my life.”
Sept 8, 2010
“ The Cuban model doesn’t evenwork for us any more.”
Oct 1953
“ Condemn me. It is of no importance.History will absolve me.”At his trial for the assault on the Moncada barracks
March 5, 1960
“Homeland or death!”Fidel’s first use of the phrase
June 1961
“ Within the Revolution, everything;against the Revolution, nothing
During the Cuban missile crisis6th re-election as president
Jan 1963
“ The imperialists say that for thereto be peace we must stop beingrevolutionaries but we will neverstop being revolutionaries. We will never lower our flag.”
On the warming of relations with the US
Jan 26, 2015
“ I don’t trust the politics of theUnited States, not have I exchangeda word with them but this doesnot mean I reject a pacific solutionto the conflicts.”
Cuban mass exodus (Mariel boatlift)
May 1, 1980
“ Those who don’t have the courage,those who don’t want to adaptto the effort and heroism of the revolution, let them go. We don’tcare for them, we don’t need them.”
Fidel Castro in his own words
Sept 1991
“ I will never retire from politics,the revolution or my ideas.Power is slavery and I am its slave.”
March 6, 2003
“ Now I understand it was not mydestiny to rest at the end of my life.”
Sept 8, 2010
“ The Cuban model doesn’t evenwork for us any more.”
Oct 1953
“ Condemn me. It is of no importance.History will absolve me.”At his trial for the assault on the Moncada barracks
March 5, 1960
“Homeland or death!”Fidel’s first use of the phrase
June 1961
“ Within the Revolution, everything;against the Revolution, nothing
During the Cuban missile crisis6th re-election as president
Jan 1963
“ The imperialists say that for thereto be peace we must stop beingrevolutionaries but we will neverstop being revolutionaries. We will never lower our flag.”
On the warming of relations with the US
Jan 26, 2015
“ I don’t trust the politics of theUnited States, not have I exchangeda word with them but this doesnot mean I reject a pacific solutionto the conflicts.”
Cuban mass exodus (Mariel boatlift)
May 1, 1980
“ Those who don’t have the courage,those who don’t want to adaptto the effort and heroism of the revolution, let them go. We don’tcare for them, we don’t need them.”
Fidel Castro in his own words
Sept 1991
“ I will never retire from politics,the revolution or my ideas.Power is slavery and I am its slave.”
March 6, 2003
“ Now I understand it was not mydestiny to rest at the end of my life.”
Sept 8, 2010
“ The Cuban model doesn’t evenwork for us any more.”
Oct 1953
“ Condemn me. It is of no importance.History will absolve me.”At his trial for the assault on the Moncada barracks
March 5, 1960
“Homeland or death!”Fidel’s first use of the phrase
June 1961
“ Within the Revolution, everything;against the Revolution, nothing
During the Cuban missile crisis6th re-election as president
Jan 1963
“ The imperialists say that for thereto be peace we must stop beingrevolutionaries but we will neverstop being revolutionaries. We will never lower our flag.”
On the warming of relations with the US
Jan 26, 2015
“ I don’t trust the politics of theUnited States, not have I exchangeda word with them but this doesnot mean I reject a pacific solutionto the conflicts.”
Cuban mass exodus (Mariel boatlift)
May 1, 1980
“ Those who don’t have the courage,those who don’t want to adaptto the effort and heroism of the revolution, let them go. We don’tcare for them, we don’t need them.”
