Batista was the dictator of
Cuba. He was very
Anti-commuinist and so
was supported by the
American government.
He did not treat his
people fairly and was
very corrupt.
He siezed power through the use of a military coup
The Cuban Revolution
The revolution was led by Fidel Castro.
Castro
Castro was raised in Cuba, to a middle
class family. He had a good education
and became a student activist,
because he hated the way his people
were treated. He was arrested.
He returned from prison and started a
military strike against Batista with
cuban revoloutionaries. He eventually
overthrew Batista and became the new
leader of Cuba.
Castro was very
charismatic, strong and
benevolent leader
They used guerilla warfare and won over the
peasent farmers who were most hit by the
cruel dictatorship
It started in 1959
and ended in
1962.
Many opposers to Castro were either exiled, executed or
imprisoned.
Castro's liberation didnt go over so well in America...
The USA
The US at first decided to acknowledge Castro
as the new leader but relations quickly became
worse.
This was because the Cuban
exiles pressured America,
demanding something was
done...
...as well as Castros
nationalizing of American owned
buisness and giving them to his
peasent farmer supporters.
The CIA
under Eisenhower, the CIA tried many
attempts at killing or humiliating Castro
such as..,
Making an explosive cigar to kill him.
Placing hair removal cream on his beard to
make him appear weak
Poisoning a conch cell so
that Castro would die when
sea diving (it was a hobby of
his)
Spraying aerosol LSD to make it appear that
Castro had lost his mind and thus end up in his
removal
America decided they didnt like Castro
and so cut off Cuba from Amertican trade.
In 1996 John F. Kennedy cut off diplomatic
relations Cuba and plans were made to invade
Cuba.