Castro’s Early Life
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was born near Birán, Cuba on August 13, 1926. Castro was the third of six children with two brothers, Raul and Ramon and three sisters Angelita, Emma, and Augustina. His father Angel, was a wealthy sugar plantation owner originally from Spain. His mother Lina Ruz Gonzalez, had been a maid to Angel’s first wife. Educated in private Jesuit boarding schools Castro grew up in wealthy circumstances amid the poverty of Cuba’s people. He was intellectually …show more content…
He traveled to the dominican republic to join an expedition attempting the overthrow of the dictator Rafael Trujillo. The coup failed before it got started, but the incident didn’t dampen Castro’s passion for reform. After Castro’s return to the university in Havana, Castro joined the Partido Ortodoxo, an anti communist political party founded to reform government corruption in Cuba. Its goals were economic independence, nationalism, and social reforms. Castro along with fellow members of the Partido Ortodoxo organized an insurrection. On July 26, 1953 Castro and approximately 150 supporters attacked the Moncada military barracks in an attempt to overthrow corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista. The attack failed and Castro was tried convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in …show more content…
Castro then fled to Mexico with his brother Raul Castro where he met with Argentine Marxist-Leninist Che Guevara and together they put together a small revolutionary force intent on overthrowing Batista. In November 1956, Castro and 81 revolutionaries sailed from Mexico aboard the Granma, “crash landing near to Los Cayuelos.”(Wiki) Attacked by Batista’s forces, they fled to the Sierra Maestra mountain range where the 19 survivors set up an encampment from which they waged guerrilla war against the Batista’s army. Boosted by new recruits that increased the guerrillas army numbers up to 200, they coordinated their attacks with the actions of other revolutionaries across Cuba, and Castro became an international celebrity after being interviewed by the New York Times. In 1958, Batista launched a counter offensive called Operation Verano, but his army’s use of conventional warfare was overwhelmed by Castro’s guerrilla tactics. Castro eventually pushed out of the Sierra Maestra and took control of most of Oriente and Las Villas. Recognizing that he was losing the war Batista fled to the Dominican Republic while military leader Eulogio Cantillo took control of the country. With revolutionary forces controlling most of the country, Castro ordered Cantillos arrest, “before establishing a provisional government with Manuel Urrutia Lleó as president and José Miró Cardona as prime