"DEAL NEGOTIATED BY ATTORNEY JAMES B. DONOVAN"

CASTRO RELEASES POWS IN RETURN FOR FOOD, MEDICINE & CASH

Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) On December 23, 1962, Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba released prisoners captured during the failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961.  The invading force was made up of Cuban exiles secretly sponsored and trained by the United States and authorized by President John F. Kennedy.

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy had sent New York attorney James B. Donovan* to meet with Castro in late August 1962 to negotiate the release of the POWS.

The Premier accepted an offer of $52 million in food and medicine along with $2.9 million in cash. 

*James B. Donovan (1916-1970) was a graduate of Harvard University & served as legal counsel for the Office of Strategic Services during WWI.  JBD was assistant legal counsel at the Nuremberg, Germany war crimes trial.

JFK+50 NOTE

The planned invasion was initiated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower after Fidel Castro's government aligned with the Soviet Union.  The plan was presented to newly elected President John F. Kennedy and with assurances of its success from the CIA and Joint Chiefs of Staff, JFK signed on.

JFK, however, sought to keep U.S. fingerprints off the invasion as much as possible. He cancelled a second air strike which contributed to the operation's failure.  Afterwards, the President accepted full responsibility for the fiasco.

JFK reportedly said afterwards, "How could I have been so stupid?"

Airplanes carrying the released prisoners arrived at Miami International Airport on Christmas Eve, 1962.

SOURCES

"Bay of Pigs POWs Released," JFK+50, December 23, 2014, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's doomed invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner & Schuster Inc, New York, 2011.

www.jamesbdonovan.com/

 

 

Bay of Pigs POWS

www.latinamericanstudies.org/

 

"JUST LIKE IKE, WORSE I DO MORE POPULAR I GET"

IKE PEPPERS JFK WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT ILL-FATED BAY OF PIGS INVASION

Camp David, Maryland (JFK+50) On April 22, 1961, President John F. Kennedy met with former president Dwight D. Eisenhower here at Camp David* to discuss the recent failed Bay of Pigs invasion in which CIA-trained Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Jim Rasenberger writes that while JFK might have expected sympathy, Ike "peppered" him with questions.  Such as...

Were all opposing views aired in pre-invasion meetings?  

Were changes made to initial plans approved by the Joint Chiefs?

Ike left Camp David with the impression that President Kennedy was "bewildered."  Never-the-less, by the following month, JFK's approval rating soared to 82%. 

President Kennedy said...

"It's just like Eisenhower, the worse I do, the more popular I get."

*Camp David is a country retreat for the POTUS located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, Frederick County, MD.  Completed in 1938 by WPA, FDR named it Shangri-La.  President Eisenhower re-named it after his father & grandson in 1953.

15 POTUS have occupied the retreat.  The presidential cabin is called "Aspen Lodge."  Camp David is only a 30 minute helicopter ride from the White House.

SOURCES

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011. 

"Welcome to Camp David," www.whitehouse.gov1.info/

 

 

 

Presidents Kennedy & Eisenhower

Camp David, Maryland

April 22 1961

Photo by Robert Knudsen

JFK Library

 

"PEOPLE OF U.S. ADMIRE CUBAN PATRIOTS, JFK SAYS"

KHRUSHCHEV WARNS JFK BAY OF PIGS INVASION MIGHT RESULT IN AN "INCOMPARABLE CONFLAGRATION"

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 18, 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent a message to President John F. Kennedy warning that his "little war" against Cuba* might result in an "incomparable conflagration** between the United States and Soviet Union."

President Kennedy responded with this message...

"I trust that this does not mean the Soviet government, using the situation in Cuba as a pretext, is planning to inflame other areas of the world."

 JFK continued...

"The people of the United States do not conceal their admiration for Cuban patriots who wish to see a democratic system in Cuba."

Mr. Kennedy affirmed, however, that the government of the United States was not involved directly in the Cuban invasion. 

*The invasion of Castro's Cuba by American CIA trained Cuban freedom fighters was launched on April 17, 1961.  It ended in disaster for the United States and earned JFK a spot in "The Failures of the Presidents." 

**conflagration is defined as a conflict or war 

 

 

JFK Accepts Brigade 2506 Flag

Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Photo by Cecil Stoughton 

Dec 1962

JFK Library  

"IN RETURN FOR $53 MILLION IN FOOD & MEDICINE"

FIRST GROUP OF CUBAN POWS FREED BY CASTRO

Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) On December 23, 1962, Cuba's Premier Fidel Castro released the first group of prisoners captured during the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961.

According to the BBC, 107 freedom fighters boarded a Pan American DC6 airliner at "a military airbase near Havana."  By the end of the following day, 1,113 POWS had been returned safely to the United States.

Arriving in Miami by several flights over a two day period, the released prisoners were greeted by 10,000 Cuban exiles.

Their release had been gained through negotiations with $53 million in food and medicines, provided by companies in the United States, to be sent to the Cuban government.

The CIA plan to overthrow Castro was approved by both Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

SOURCE

"1962:  Bay of Pigs prisoners fly to freedom," On This Day: 24 December, www.bbc.co.uk/ 

 

 

 CIA Cover Report

Bay of Pigs Operation

Top Secret Document

Released 1998 

"IKE PEPPERED JFK WITH QUESTIONS"

JFK MEETS WITH IKE AFTER BAY OF PIGS FAILURE

Camp David, Maryland (JFK+50) On April 22, 1961, President John F. Kennedy conferred with former president Dwight D. Eisenhower here at Camp David.  The meeting took place just days after the ill-fated invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.

According to Jim Rasenberger, Ike "peppered Kennedy with questions."

Were all opposing views aired in pre-invasion meetings?

Were changes made to the initial plans and if so, why?

Did the Joint Chiefs approve of the changes?

When President Kennedy expressed the necessity of keeping the role of the United States in the invasion secret, Mr. Eisenhower responded...

"How could you expect the world to believe that we had nothing to do with it?"

SOURCE

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

 

 

JFK & Eisenhower Meeting

Camp David, MD

April 22 1961

Photo by Robert Knudsen

JFK Library Image

"BUT DEFEAT IS AN ORPHAN"

JFK TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR BAY OF PIGS FIASCO

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50)  On April 21, 1961, President John F. Kennedy took "full personal responsibility" for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion sponsored by the United States.

At his morning news conference, the President quoted the Chinese proverb, "Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan."  

JFK added...

"I am the responsible officer of this government."

The President, however, did not wish to take questions on the fiasco.  He said...

"I don't think any useful national purpose would be served by my going further into the Cuban question this morning."

President Kennedy would appoint an investigating committee on the Bay of Pigs affair to be led by General Maxwell Taylor.

SOURCE

"The American Presidency Project, Presidential News Conferences," John F. Kennedy, April 21, 1961, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

\

 

Counterattack by Cuban Forces

Playa Giron

April 19, 1961

Rumlin (2008) 

www.wikimedia.org/

"IT WAS JFK'S FIRST SERIOUS DEFEAT!"

CIA TRAINED INVASION FORCE STRIKES AT THE BAY OF PIGS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50)  On April 17, 1961, a force of 1400 anti-Castro Cubans, trained and supported by the Central Intelligence Agency under the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, landed at the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba.

Two days earlier, eight B-26 bombers piloted by American trained Cuban exiles made strikes on Fidel Castro's air bases.  The strikes, however, only took out 5 of 40 planes.  In addition, two U.S. bombers attempting a napalm attack were shot down.

With Castro's air force virtually intact, the invasion ended in failure.  114 of the attacking force were killed and 1,189 were captured.  It was the first "serious defeat" not only of JFK's presidency, but of his career.

President Kennedy said...

"In eleven weeks I went from senator to president, and in that short space of time I inherited Laos, Cuba, Berlin, the nuclear threat, and all the rest."

SOURCE

"John Kennedy Handbook:  The Bay of Pigs invasion--defeat and revenge," by Gareth Jenkins, MQ Publications, Ltd., 2006.

 

 

Map of Cuba

by NordNordWest

US National Imagery

and Mapping Agency data

"I THINK ABOUT IT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE"

FREEDOM FIGHTERS RENDEZVOUS NEAR CUBA

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 16, 1961, a force of anti-Castro Cubans trained by the Central Intelligence Agency made rendezvous 40 miles from the southern coast of Cuba.  The force had set sail on five freighters from Nicaragua.

The Freedom Fighters' destination was the Bay of Pigs.  The objective was the overthrow of Fidel Castro.  The plan had its beginning in the Eisenhower administration. 

President John F. Kennedy, with less than three months experience as Commander-n-chief, gave his approval of the operation.

When Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. asked the President what he thought about the plan, JFK answered...

"I think about it as little as possible." 

 

 

 Bahia de Cochinos, 1961

by PeterWD, 2011

www.wikimedia.org/ 

"AYUDA! AYUDA! AYUDA! KENNEDY! KENNEDY! KENNEDY!"

BAY OF PIGS AN AMERICAN FAILURE

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On April 20, 1961, Americans awoke to newspaper headlines detailing the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion that had ended the previous day.

  

The Miami Herald's morning edition described a rally held at Bayfront Park. The anti-Castro rally sported 15,000 Cuban exiles chanting "Ayuda! Ayuda! Ayuda! (Help! Help! Help!)---"Kennedy! Kennedy! Kennedy!"

Despite President John F. Kennedy's effort to keep America out of it, everyone now knew, writes Jim Rasenberger, that the invasion "had been an American effort and an American failure."  C.L. Sulzberger of the New York Times wrote..."We look like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest."

The President found it hard to explain it to himself.  He was raised to believe that nothing less than victory was acceptable.  He was humiliated by the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion and so was the nation he loved.  It was not to be a pleasant day at the White House.

JFK was, however, able to escape the grim atmosphere in the West Wing by going to give a long-scheduled afternoon speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler-Hilton Hotel. 

In the speech, the President said...

"We intend to profit from this lesson.  We intend to reexamine and reorient our forces of all kinds...We intend to intensify our efforts for a struggle in many ways more difficult than war."

SOURCE

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

Bay of Pigs Memorial

Miami, Florida (2007)

Photo by Infrogmation

www.wikimedia.org/

"DESTINY KNOCKS AT THE PRESIDENT'S DOOR. IT IS HIS DOOR; BUT IT IS OUR HOUSE"

KHRUSHCHEV SENDS JFK MESSAGE OF WARNING

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 18, 1961,  Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent a message to President John F. Kennedy warning that his "little war" against Cuba might result in an..."incomparable conflagration* between the US and Soviet Union."

The message followed the U.S. backed invasion of Cuba which began on April 17th.  President Kennedy denied any direct involvement by U.S. forces and responded... "I trust that this does not mean the Soviet government, using the situation in Cuba as a pretext, is planning to inflame other areas of the world."

JFK went on in his reply to say that while the US was not involved directly in the invasion..."the people of the United States do not conceal their admiration for Cuban patriots who wish to see a democratic system in an independent Cuba. The United States government can take no action to stifle the spirit of liberty."

In the first 24 hours of the invasion, Fidel Castro ordered 20,000 Cuban troops to the beach at the Bay of Pigs while the Cuban Air Force took control of the sky.  When the fighting ended, more than a hundred exiles were dead and the rest captured.

The Dallas Morning News published this editorial comment...

"The President is our leader, our spokesman.  Destiny knocks at his door.  It is his door; but it is our house."

*conflagration (Noun) a large and destructive fire that threatens human & animal life, health and/or property.

SOURCE

"The Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011. 

JFK Accepts Brigade's Flag in Miami 

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

    December 1962

    JFK Library

"IT DOESN'T TAKE PRICE WATERHOUSE TO FIGURE OUT 1500 CUBANS AREN'T AS GOOD AS 25,000"

ANTI-CASTRO BRIGADE HEADS TOWARD CUBA

Miami Beach, Florida (JFK+50) On April 16, 1961, a brigade consisting of 1400 anti-Castro Cubans* sailed aboard five freighters toward the southern coast of Cuba.  The destination was Baja de Cochinos or Bay of Pigs.

The invasion's purpose was to overthrow communist dictator Fidel Castro.  The United States government, led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, had been concerned about Castro's attacks on American business interests on the island, his anti-American rhetoric, and alliance with the Soviet Union.

In 1960, President Eisenhower ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to train and equip anti-Castro Cubans to invade Cuba with the intention of  overthrowing the communist regime.

Upon his inauguration as President on January 20, 1961, JFK inherited the invasion plans and reluctantly gave his approval.  Jim Rasenberger writes that after CIA Director Allen Dulles briefed him on the plans of the invasion, President Kennedy was concerned that this was too small a force to go against Castro's army.  He wanted the Joint Chiefs to do "a careful evaluation" of the operation.

The evaluation, presented on January 31st, was favorable to going ahead with the operation.  Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson**, however, thought the plan "idiotic."  Acheson said...

"It doesn't take Price Waterhouse^ to figure out that 1500 Cubans aren't as good as 25,000."

^Price Waterhouse (Coopers) is a multi-national professional services network headquarted in London, U.K. 

*After Castro came to power, many Cubans fled to the United States, primarily to Miami, where they formed a variety of anti-Castro organizations.  Sources vary on the number that made up the invasion at the Bay of Pigs.  Figures range from 1200 to 1600.  At least one source has Castro's army consisting of 30,000.

*Dean Gooderham Acheson (1893-1971) was born in Sandy Springs, MD & educated at Harvard & Yale Universities.  DGA served as Secretary of State under President Harry S Truman 1949-1953. 

SOURCES

"The Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

"This Day In History, April 17:  The Bay of Pigs Invasion Begins, www.history.com/ 

      JFK Gets Update on Invasion of Cuba

"THE HUMAN DESIRE FOR FREEDOM IS ESSENTIALLY UNCONQUERABLE"

KENNEDYS WELCOME RELEASED BAY OF PIGS POWS IN MIAMI

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On December 29, 1962, President John F. Kennedy, accompanied by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy,  welcomed the released prisoners of the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion to the United States.

The brigade of anti-Castro Cuban exiles hit the beach at Cuba's Bahia de Cochinos on April 17, 1961.  They had been secretly trained and supported by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

At a ceremony held at the Orange Bowl, President Kennedy was presented the flag of Brigade 2506 by Erneido Oliva.

The President accepted the flag, and off-script said..."I can assure you that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana."

JFK continued...

"On behalf of my government and my country, I welcome you to the United States.  I bring you my nation's respect for your courage and belief in your cause.  Your small brigade is a tangible reaffirmation that the human desire for freedom...is essentially unconquerable."

JFK Accepts Flag of Brigade 2506

Miami, Florida

December 29, 1962

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

JFK Library Image

            

"WE LOOK LIKE FOOLS TO OUR FRIENDS & RASCALS TO OUR ENEMIES"

JFK HUMILIATED BY BAY OF PIGS FAILURE

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On April 20, 1961, Americans awoke to newspaper headlines detailing the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion that had ended the previous day.

  

The Miami Herald's morning edition described a rally held at Bayfront Park. The anti-Castro rally sported 15,000 Cuban exiles chanting "Ayuda! Ayuda! Ayuda! (Help! Help! Help!)---"Kennedy! Kennedy! Kennedy!"

Despite President John F. Kennedy's effort to keep America out of it, everyone now knew, writes Jim Rasenberger, that the invasion "had been an American effort and an American failure."  C.L. Sulzberger of the New York Times wrote..."We look like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest."

The President found it hard to explain it to himself.  He was raised to believe that nothing less than victory was acceptable.  He was humiliated by the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion and so was the nation he loved.  It was not to be a pleasant day at the White House.

JFK was, however, able to escape the grim atmosphere in the West Wing by going to give a long-scheduled afternoon speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler-Hilton Hotel. 

In the speech, the President said...

"We intend to profit from this lesson.  We intend to reexamine and reorient our forces of all kinds...We intend to intensify our efforts for a struggle in many ways more difficult than war."

SOURCE

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

Bay of Pigs Memorial

Miami, Florida (2007)

Photo by Infrogmation

www.wikimedia.org/

"I THINK ABOUT IT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE"

ANTI-CASTRO BRIGADE SAILS FOR CUBA

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50)On April 16, 1961, a force of 1400 anti-Castro Cubans,  trained and equipped by the Central Intelligence Agency, sailed aboard five freighters toward the southern coast of Cuba.  Their destination was the Bay of Pigs*.

The clandestine invasion to overthrow the communist dictator Fidel Castro was planned during the Eisenhower administration and final approval was given by President John F. Kennedy.

When Presidential assistant Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.asked Mr. Kennedy what he thought about the operation, JFK responded... "I think about it as little as possible."

*Bay of Pigs (Bahia de Cochinos) is an inlet on the Gulf of Cazones on the Southern coast of Cuba.  The area is known for diving & abundance of marine fauna.  In Cuban Spanish, Cochinos may refer to the queen triggerfish that inhabit coral reefs.

SOURCE

"The Brilliant Disaster, JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

Map of Cuba

by User: Zleitzen

www.wikimedia.org/

"THIS FLAG WILL BE RETURNED TO THIS BRIGADE IN A FREE HAVANA"

RELEASED CUBAN EXILES PRESENT BRIGADE FLAG TO JFK

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On December 29, 1962, President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy welcomed the released prisoners of the Bay of Pigs invasion here in Miami.

The brigade of anti-Castro Cuban exiles, trained and supported by the Central Intelligence Agency, attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro on April 17, 1961.  

In a ceremony held at the Orange Bowl, President Kennedy was presented with the flag of Brigade 2506 by Erneido Oliva*.

The President said...

"I can assure you that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana.  You are here following an historic road.  You come to us from behind prison walls.  But you leave behind more than 6 million countrymen who are also, in a very real sense, in a prison.  On behalf of my government and my country, I welcome you to the United States."

*Erneido Oliva was born in Havana in 1932 & graduated from the Cuban Military Academy.  EO was the Deputy Commander of Brigade 2506.  LBJ terminated the Special Army Training of Cuban exiles 2 months after JFK's death.  EO was promoted to Captain in the US Army in 1965.

JFK and Mrs. Kennedy in Miami

December 29, 1962

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

JFK Library Image

AN AMERICAN EFFORT & AN AMERICAN FAILURE

AYUDA, AYUDA, AYUDA...KENNEDY, KENNEDY, KENNEDY!

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On April 20, 1961, Americans awoke to newspaper headlines detailing the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion that had ended the previous day.
  
The Miami Herald's morning edition described a rally held at Bayfront Park. The anti-Castro rally sported 15,000 Cuban exiles chanting "Ayuda! Ayuda! Ayuda! (Help! Help! Help!)---"Kennedy! Kennedy! Kennedy!"

Despite President John F. Kennedy's effort to keep America out of it, everyone now knew, writes Jim Rasenberger, that the invasion "had been an American effort and an American failure."

C.L. Sulzberger of the New York Times wrote..."We look like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest."

The President found it hard to explain it to himself.  He was raised to believe nothing less was acceptable but victory.  He was humiliated and so was the nation he loved.  It was not to be a very pleasant day at the White House.

JFK was, however, able to escape the "grim" atmosphere in the West Wing by going to give a long-scheduled afternoon speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler-Hilton Hotel. 

The President said...

"We intend to profit from this lesson.  We intend to reexamine and reorient our forces of all kinds...We intend to intensify our efforts for a struggle in many ways more difficult than war."

The presidency has been called "the loneliest office in the world," and the next morning JFK said to reporters...

"There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan."

SOURCE

"Brilliant Disaster:  JFK, Castro and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.

Bay of Pigs Memorial

Miami, Florida (2007)

Photo by Infrogmation

www.wikimedia.org/

I WELCOME YOU TO THE UNITED STATES

RELEASED POWS GREETED BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On December 29, 1962, President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy welcomed the released prisoners of the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion.

The brigade of anti-Castro Cuban exiles, trained and supported by the CIA,  hit the beach at Cuba's Bahia de Cochinos on April 17, 1961.   The President was presented with the flag of Brigade 2506 by Erneido Oliva*.

The President said...

"I can assure you that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana.  You are here following an historic road.  You come to us from behind prison walls.  But you leave behind more than 6 million countrymen who are also, in a very real sense, in a prison.  On behalf of my government and my country, I welcome you to the United States."

*Erneido Oliva was born in Havana in 1932 & graduated from the Cuban Military Academy.  EO was the Deputy Commander of Brigade 2506.  LBJ terminated the Special Army Training of Cuban exiles 2 months after JFK's death.  EO was promoted to Captain in the US Army in 1965.

JFK and Mrs. Kennedy in Miami

December 29, 1962

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

JFK Library Image

CASTRO DEAD AT AGE OF 90

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2141

FIDEL'S OBSESSION WITH US & OUR OBSESSION WITH HIM SHAPED CASTRO'S RULE

Havana (JFK+50) When Fidel Castro* came to power in 1959, the United States officially recognized his government but when he established a cozy relationship with the Soviet Union and expropriated American oil refineries on the island, the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba. 

President John F. Kennedy gave his approval for an invasion at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961 carried out by Cuban refugees trained by the United States.  The failure of the invasion put a black mark on the promising new presidential administration.

After the United States placed economic sanctions on Cuba and the resolution of the subsequent Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Organization of American States also broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Anthony DePalma of the New York Times writes that "it was (Castro's) obsession with the United States, and America's obsession with him, that shaped his rule."  Fidel "bedeviled 11...presidents" in the process and despite Washington's efforts to depose him,  Castro "held onto power longer than any other national leader except Queen Elizabeth II."

The death of Fidel Castro was announced early this morning by Cuba's state television.  He had stepped down in deference to his brother Raul in 2006 and resigned as president in 2008, but Fidel's attitude toward the United States did not mellow.  

When President Barack Obama's administration moved to open diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba, Castro said that his country was the only one in the world that DID NOT need to trade with the United States.


*Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born in Biran, Cuba.  His father had fought in the Cuban War for Independence on the side of Spain and in the Spanish-American War.  Castro, who was raised in wealth, studied law at the University of Havana.

In the late 1940s, Castro moved politically to the left as he supported the views of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.

Fidel Castro, who led in the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, served as prime minister (1959-1976), president (1976-2008), and 1st secretary of the Communist Party (1961-2011).


SOURCES

"Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S. Dies at 90," by Anthony DePalma, November 26, 2016, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/

"Fidel Castro," www.biography.com/

Fidel Castro

Havana, Cuba

Photo by Ricardo Stuckert (2003)

Agencia Brasil Image