BATISTA FLEES CUBA AS CASTRO'S REVOLUTION SUCCEEDS
Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) On January 1, 1959, Fulgencio Batista* fled Cuba as a revolution led by Fidel Castro proved successful. Batista had been supported by the government of the United States because of Castro's leftest ideology and potential threat to American investments and property on the island.
Batista had a cozy relationship with American mobsters Meyer Lansky** and Lucky Luciano***. Under his regime, Cuba was dubbed the "Latin Las Vegas." According to Jerry A. Sierra, Batista's government matched dollar for dollar any hotel investment in Cuba over $1 million.
Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. wrote...
"The corruption of the (Batista) government...is an open invitation to revolution."
JFK+50 NOTE:
Senator John F. Kennedy said that by January 1959, American businesses owned 40% of Cuba's sugar lands, 90% of the mines, 80% of the utilities, most of the oil supply and supplied two-thirds of Cuban imports.
*Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973) was born in Banes, Cuba & educated at an American Quaker school. He was president of Cuba 1940-1944 & 1952-1959 & served in the Cuban senate 1948-1952.
**Meyer Lansky (1902-1983) was born in Grodno, Belarus & became instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.
***Charles "Lucky" Luciano (1897-1962) was born in Lercara Friddi, Italy & is considered to be the "father of modern organized crime."
SOURCE
"Batista," by Jerry A. Sierra, www.historyofcuba.com/
