Gourt > Regional > Caribbean > Cuba > Society and Culture > Politics > People > Castro, Fidel
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba. He held the title of Prime Minister from 1959 , after commanding the revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista, until 1976 when he became president of the Council of State as well as the Council of Ministers. Castro became first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965, and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic.
Castro first attracted attention in Cuban political life through his nationalist critiques of Batista and United States corporate and political influence in Cuba. He gained an ardent, but limited, following and also drew the attention of the authorities. He eventually led the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which he was captured, tried, incarcerated and later released. He then travelled to Mexico to organize and train for the guerrilla invasion of Cuba that took place in December 1956. Since his assumption of power in 1959 he has invoked both praise and condemnation (at home and internationally).
Outside of Cuba, Castro has been defined by his relationship with both the United States and with the former Soviet Union. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 by the United States, his government has had an openly antagonistic relationship with the US, and a simultaneous closeness with the Soviet bloc. This was true until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which his priorities shifted from supporting foreign interventions to partnering with regional socialist figures such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.
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Revolution :: Cuba
Communism :: Marxism
2008 Hurricane Season
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:48:53 -0000
A flight over Haiti and other stories as the 2008 hurricane season picks up pace.
BBC Caribbean news in brief
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:56:01 -0000
UN helicopters rescue stranded Haitians, the "to-do" list of Antigua's acting police commissioner & other stories.
Your hurricane memories
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:44:34 -0000
As tropical storms leave scores of people dead in the Caribbean, we ask for your hurricane memories.
Beijing 2008
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:21:13 -0000
Usain Bolt wins his third gold medal as Jamaica breaks the men's 4 x 100m relay record. Trinidad takes a second silver.
Bolt breaks 200m record
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:10:05 -0000
Jamaica notches up a gold double as Bolt breaks the 200m record and Walker takes the women's 400m hurdles gold.
Where medalists are moulded
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/caribbean/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:52:00 -0000
A look at Jamaica's Champs programme and how it nurtures home-grown champions.
'We began with a revolutionary people' - Fidel Castro's 1961 speech made after the defeat of the US backed Bay of Pigs invasion.
American Experience - PBS documentary provides maps, timeline, and teachers guide. [English/Spanish]
Meta Description: [ Fidel Castro: Fidel Castro's face, with its trademark beard, has become an iconic image worldwide, yet the man himself remains an enigma to all but a few. An intimate and revealing documentary portrait of the most resilient of leaders. ]
Castro Speech Database - Contains the full text of many speeches by Fidel Castro, from 1959 to the present.
Castro, Fidel: The Rise to Power - Brief history through early 1960's, by Shannon Maxwell Eldridge
Meta Description: [ The Historical Text Archive publishes high quality articles, books, essays, documents, historical photos, and links, screened for content, for a broad range of historical subjects. The HTA is a collection of primary and secondary materials and links to other resources relating to history and cult... ]
Comandante - Canadian Broadcasting Company resources on Oliver Stone's documentary, including excerpts from the interview, a brief biography, and background on making the film.
Meta Description: [ CBC's the Passionate Eye Sunday Showcase airs Comandante a fascinating portrait of Fidel Castro by Oliver Stone. ]
Fidel Castro Archive - Documents and speeches by the socialist revolutionary Fidel Castro.
Meta Description: [ The Speeches and Writings of Fidel Castro ]
Fidel Castro: Year One - The first few months of the Castro regime are outlined.
History House: Stories: The CIA tries to kill Fidel Castro - What exactly did Castro do to make the US attempt to kill him with exploding clams?
Meta Description: [ What exactly did Castro do to make the CIA attempt to kill him with exploding clams? ]
The Castro Collection -- Workers' Web Online Reader - A collection of articles and speeches by Cuban President Fidel Castro.
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