Timesuck with Dan Cummins - 370 - The Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's Communist Tranformation

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, he deposed a dictator. And then the man who promised democracy turned into a dictator himself, and turned Cuba communist. Did he also make Cuba better than it was before? Or worse? Today we dig into the Cuba Revolution, and also go over the centuries of foreign subjugation and internal chaos and corruption that preceded it. Cuba has been struggling since long before Castro took it over. We meet a few interesting players in addition to going over the history, including infamous revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Hail Nimrod! CLICK HERE TO WATCH MY NEW SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE! Trying to Get BetterGet tour tickets at dancummins.tv Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bjjrj7r9UHMMerch: https://www.badmagicmerch.comTimesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch related questions/problems: [e-mail] (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard?  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcastSign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits

You may condemn me. History will absolve me. Those were the words of Fidel Castro when he went to trial for starting the Cuban Revolution. On July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro and a group of supporters attempted to raid military barracks controlled by the Cuban army, and their attack was a failure. Several were killed, more were arrested, including Castro, but thanks to Castro and others being freed after being imprisoned, instead of being executed, this failure marked the start of what they called the movement, which became known as the successful Cuban Revolution. Castro was a young lawyer when it all began.

In 1952, he ran for the Cuban Congress, but the elections were suspended when former president Fulgencio Batista took over the government. Batista had been well liked during his first term, but things had changed and he was not coming even close to win in reelection when he shocked the country and transitioned from a reform-focused anti-corruption leader into a dictator. Outrage Castro and other like-minded revolutionaries gathered together to plan to overthrow him. Although his original plan failed, Castro fled to Mexico after being released from prison, where he organized another rebellion. Returning to Cuba in 1956, Castro and most of his group were immediately attacked by Batista's forces. A small band of survivors

fled into the mountains and launched a persistent guerilla war campaign against the much larger Cuban army. They steadily gained widespread support from the public and were able to steal a good portion of Cuba's limited supply of arms for themselves. On January 1, 1959, Fulgansio Pateesta was forced to flee the country, submitting to the rebels. Fidel Castro had successfully pulled off a revolution, and the people rejoiced. But then, oh, Castro would reveal that his stated revolutionary goals was a bunch of bullshit. It was quite the bait and switch while Castro and his band of revolutionary rebels had originally promoted ideas of freedom and democracy. Castro would eventually establish a communist government and he would replace Batista's

dictatorship with his own. Castro installed members of his inner circle and he queued his most prominent government positions, also had around 500 Batista supporters executed and rapidly placed very strict limits on freedom of speech and freedom of the press as he transformed Cuba into a totalitarian communist nation. He did make some reforms that improved Cuba's quality of life for many, at least initially, such as increased access to health care and education, but many Cubans would also starve and face intense social unrest during great times of extreme economic trouble. Fidel Castro

remained in power from 1959 all the way to 2008. He dealt with multiple US presidents and world leaders, allied himself with the once powerful Soviet Union, and at one point helped make the world terrified of what seemed to be an impending nuclear disaster. Castro was a symbol of socialist revolution to many, but at the same time, hated by many Cubans. And considered a ruthless dictator who made life worse than it was before him. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the country to escape his regime in the first few years. Millions would leave before his rule was over.

Thousands and thousands were tortured and killed. It's been almost seven years since Castro died. We can now ask the question, how has history judged him? Was the progress he helped usher in worth the cost of human life and liberty paid? How much a Cuba actually progressed under Castro? And how did decades of the Castro regime shape Cuba and its relationships with other countries. All this and more on another cold war, historical fucking Russia! Communist to Tolitarian Edition of TimeSuck. This is Michael McDonald and you're listening to TimeSuck. Happy Monday, meet sex. Welcome or welcome back to the cold to curious. Dan

Cummins, always the master suckers. Sometimes a cause plays shamer. Other times a cause play and joyer, Hilosov all of that. Get into the show faster. Hill, Nimrod, Hill, Lucifina, Praiseville, Jango's Glory B to Triple M. Quick thanks to those who came out to my Vermont shows in Burlington. So fun. Not many dates left. I got Buffalo, New York, then Chicago at the Vic, Providence, Lexington, Virginia Beach,

Honolulu in January, and then nothing. I just decided to go back to the New York City Hall, and I was just going to get, then Chicago at the Vic, Providence, Lexington, Virginia Beach, Honolulu in January, and then nothing. I just decided to cancel a 2024 theater tour before tickets go on sale. Why? Exhaustion. A bit off more than I could chew a few years ago and finally got too tired to keep tuner all.

Need to rest. Recharge. Keep this core content going. Make it fresh. The core content being time suck it fresh, the core content being time suck and scared to death, approach this very awesome job. You let me do every week with the passion, you just can't fucking fake if you're too tired. So you know, taking steps to avoid that.

I had a lot of people in my regular life who found out I canceled the tour asking me if I'm okay, I am, just fighting some burnout. I think pretty natural to get there. When you work seven days a week, most weeks, for the past seven years, I can't run the engine in the red forever and still put out good shows and just be a regular human being.

So this is a very good thing. Thankful to be able to make choices like this Hail Nimrod. It makes me very excited for the future of Bad Magic. So thank you to all of you who listen, who review, who rate this show, who support us on Patreon so we can keep a staff employed. Very grateful. Not bummed out about, you know, pushing pause on standup. I can come back to it. Grateful that I can

do that. Love standup too much to want to start dreading touring. Also feeling grateful to the Are You Garbage Podcast guys? Holy shit. Had a blast on their awesome show last week. There's,'s guys a class X. They are not garbage in the real sense at all. Awesome of what they do. Great show. I hope to come back. Also had a blast with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts

and Ron Bennington over on Series XM and with the folks at the AV Club, Ralph and the crew on the Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll podcast and Greg Simmons of Fitststock Radio. Great dude. I'm going to be touring a more podcast next month. Gotta keep putting the word out about Mad Magic and last thing, thanks to those of you who have been doing that or just did that with the recent Bad Magic Sticker Street team, congrats to Lauren Moody for winning and to so many others for posting in the most ridiculous

creative places. Nimrod is very pleased. And now let's talk about some communism. So how are we setting all this up? Well, Bojangl says there's no need to lay out any history. He thinks I should just say that Fidel Castro was a terrible inhumane power hungry Kami hypocrite psychopath That is remains should be dug up pissed on shit on and burned and then I should title this episode Castro the only good Kami is a dead Kami And the episode shouldn't be longer than two minutes because quote that motherfucker ain't worth the oxygen needed to talk about him for longer than that

And while I always appreciate bojangles input I do think we should probably give this topic a much more thorough examination. And I don't think Castro can be viewed so simplistically and negatively. While he didn't really leave Cuba any better off than when he took it over, as I'll go over today, he also in many ways didn't necessarily make it worse. It's not like he inherited a thriving nation. He toppled an incredibly corrupt regime. And that regime, before they were in power, there was so much corruption going back so far. Unfortunately, no, you could argue he replaced the corrupt regime with one that was even worse.

Turns out Cuba has long been troubled. And as people long exploited or oppressed or both, we will go over a lot of that history today First we'll introduce Cuba's origins followed by the events that took place in the century before the revolution So important to do that today because Castro would have never been able to take over Cuba if life had just been fucking great Just peachy before him just just just peach milk with darling if the majority of the Cuban people were living fulfilled happy prosperous lives prior to Castro taking power There would of course be no revolution because the people would not have supported The fuck you do not hear the mountains with guns talking about overthrowing the government for now life is good Government's doing great. Please don't fuck this up for us

But that was of course not the case Please don't fuck this up for us. That was of course not the case. After that, we'll cover a full timeline of the Cuban Revolution and the decades of Castro ruled it followed, meeting key figures along the way, and ending with US Cuba relations after Castro's death. So let's get started. The blood of the imperialists, foreign capitalists, overlords

will fill the streets, and then their blood will be then soon replaced by your blood. Didn't anyone tell you that that's how you overthrow a nation of regime by replacing the oppressor with more oppression, Patrick Omwechtet, Vence Ramos. Jerry Geno vibes there. Jerry is in Gerald Dodon, aka Mario Parenty Ramos, aka the leader of the pathetic U.S. Communist cult we covered in the natal fed episode.

I still think about that weirdo. Anyway, Cuba to European colonizers, Cuba was part of the West Indies when the new world was discovered a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BCE by various Neolithic cultures we don't know shit about, such as the Kyle Radondo and Guayabbo Blanco cultures. The Ciboni people, possibly members of the Tino culture or a culture adjacent to the Tino people, showed up at some point in the centuries preceding Spanish arrival.

showed up at some point in the centuries preceding Spanish arrival. A smaller group of people, the Guana Jatabe, a group of people who often lived in caves, who, again, know almost nothing about, were displaced by the Siboni and Taino people. Language and culture of the Guana Jatabe people did not survive long after the Spanish conquest, and then Taino were displaced and almost totally annihilated by the Spaniards when they first landed on the island in 1492. Some dude named Christopher Columbus brought him. I never heard of that guy. Wonder what his deal was.

Of course, I've heard of him. The Tyno culture on the island would be almost completely erased through murder, exploitation, disease, and intermarriage. It was actually long thought to be totally erased, but small pockets of indigenous people living in remote mountain jungle areas of the island, not accessible by road until 1964, they did keep it just barely alive. Cuba was quickly prized by Spain after being discovered

and ultimately became the Spanish Empire's most important source of raw sugar. Cuba's sugar economy is still its principal agricultural economy. Prior to the Soviet Union, Castro's biggest sugar buyer, dissolving in 1991, sugar production was by far the biggest piece of Cuba's economy, going all the way back to imperialist Spain. In 1511, Diego Velasquez led the conquest of the island and acted as the first governor, and hot damn did the

Tino people fucking suffer under his rule and under the rule of those who followed almost the entire indigenous population of Cuba dead within a hundred years of Spain's arrival it was brutal Columbus wrote of the Tino with 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. Columbus and his men did such heinous shit to the Tino that when I first read about the accounts, I thought I was just clickbait nonsense. And then I found more, you know, credible sources like National Geographic sharing a lot of the same exact info.

And 1500 Columbus wrote to an acquaintance that there are many dealers who go about looking for girls. Those from nine to 10 are now in demand. Yeah, nine year olds being kidnapped and sexually trafficked, just openly. Columbus also ordered all Tino people 14 and older on one of his voyages to deliver a certain amount of gold dust every three months. And if they didn't, their hands would be cut off. A fort full of hundreds of Spaniards was set up on the island and they ended up going full evil on the Tyno. They literally hunted them for sport, burned them alive for being heathens, cut their heads

off just for some sore practice, tested out new forms of torture just for a sadistic curiosity, so much rape torture and murder. Men worked to death in the mines, young mothers enslaved and forced to work so hard given so little food That their bodies weren't able to produce enough milk for their babies to survive and their babies starved Horrors stacked upon horse the Spaniards truly saw these people as subhuman and you know people with no rights whatsoever Interestingly Castro's government will promote the idea many many years years later that the Tino people were 100% extinct. Why would he do that? Short answer is because he was a propaganda, propagandizing asshole.

The not quite as short answer is he discouraged racial identification because everyone under his regime was to simply identify as being Cuban. One culture, one people, one group of worker bees dedicated to the Communist hive. Studies conducted in 2013 show that the average percentage of indigenous ancestry in Cubans is 8%, up to 15% in the rural eastern provinces. So the bloodline not totally wiped out.

Spain opened Cuba's ports for international trade in 1818 after a few centuries of hoarding, Cuba's agricultural resources, sugar, other crops, copper, other precious minerals and metals for themselves. All of the mines and plantations built on slave labor. Slaves were either descendants of local indigenous people or were people brought over from Africa

or brought over from another island in the Caribbean after people brought over from Africa or brought over from another island in the Caribbean after being brought over from Africa. Once supports were opened, the US quickly became one of Cuba's main trading partners as the island's only 103 miles off the Florida coast. Yeah, not far just over 100 miles. And Florida was on its way to become a US territory in 1819. Cuba's so close, many people in the US, including many politicians, have wanted to acquire it over the years and make a part of America. In 1854, the Ostend manifesto, a secret plan for the US to purchase Cuba for $130 million, failed because anti-slavery campaigners exposed it to the public. While many wealthy plantation owners in southern states saw Cuba as a perfect asset, a place where more slavery back plantation money

could be made. Most northerners objected did not want Cuba to be a colony, territory, state, any belonging of the U.S. But rather its own nation and a trading partner. There was a lot of political and cultural debate in the mid 19th century regarding what kind of nation America should be. A Western imperial power that subjugated nations around the world, turning them into colonies, part of a global empire, or a North American nation that promoted international democracy and freedom and encouraged allies to govern themselves. The let them govern themselves. Do we really want to have to deal with running all that shit crowd? The let them govern themselves, do we really want to have to deal with running all that shit crowd? One out for the most part. If it hadn't, Cuba might be a state or at least some sort of territory like Puerto Rico right now.

Cuba not surprisingly also wanted to govern itself and they waged war against the Spanish crown to try and do so. From 1868 to 1878, Spain and Cuba engaged in the 10 years war a fight for Cuban independence one of many Uh, the first of three liberation wars fought against Spain by Cubans for their independence The 10 years war marked the start of the Cuban independence movement a big nationalist uprising against the Spanish The US government stayed neutral during the conflict But US sympathizers did send people money and weapons to Cuba. So kind of neutral. And US opportunistic investors purchased large plots of land on the cheap, their price lowered by the conflict. These land grabs will later fuel anti-American sentiment

and lead to Castro's Cuban revolution. Thousands of Cubans also moved to the US during the war, the start of an exodus that really has never stopped. Cubans living in the Eastern provinces, unhappy with corruption and Cuba's Spanish government joined forces with the wealthy planter named Carlos Manuel de Sespedes. Sespedes issued a declaration of independence in October of 1868 that marked the start of this first liberation war. Sespedes had a support of two groups of people, wealthy landowners who wanted economic and political independence, and poor farmers and laborers who wanted to abolish

slavery and have more political power. After years of skirmishes, finally in 1876, Spain sent General Arsenio Hall. No, General Arsenio Martinez Compos to end the revolution. I'd like to picture Arsenio Hall as a General though, fighting in this war. The rebels agreed to an armistice in February of 1878 called the Pact of San Cone, which promised amnesty and political reform. Second uprising called La Guerra Chiquita, the little war led by Cuban general Calixto Garcia, started in August of 1879. Garcia, a bad man, in a good way. Garcia, it fought, started at the age of 18 for the first five years of the 10 years war before being Garcia bad man. In a good way. Garcia thought started the age of 18. For the first five years, the 10 years war before being captured and imprisoned.

In those five years, he established himself as a leader, became a general, also established himself as one, do not fuck with me motherfucker. Like, hello, my name is Nigio Montoya. You killed my father, prepared to die. Princess Bride, anyone? While I lead him to his capture, he and a small detail of soldiers had become separated

from the rest of his troops. After a gun battle left the rest of his men dead, or dying, around him, Garcia in an attempt to avoid giving his menace the satisfaction of seizing him, shot himself in the head. Specifically, shot himself under the chin with a 45 caliber pistol. The bullet entered his mouth, exited out of his forehead, knocked him unconscious, but he lived. Too tough to die. My name is a Negro, Maktoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. The one left a great scar, gave him headaches for the rest of his life. He would live until 58, so lots of headaches.

After waking up with two bullet holes in his head, entrance and exit wound, he recovered, stayed in prison until the pact of San Cone. Then he traveled to Paris, New York City, where he, oh my gosh, schemed to fight again against the Spanish, writing a manifesto called for Cuban independence. And he'd be back by mid 1879 to lead Cuba's little war.

Sorry, I got hung up on scheme. There's uprising would last only about a year. The rebels achieved a few small victories, but lacked enough properly trained soldiers and weapons to put up much of a fight. And then Spanish forces defeated the rebels in the fall of 1880. Colleagues though, survived this war as well. Didn't even end up getting car straight or shoot himself in the face again.

He would still keep pushing for Cuban independence. After years of more political unrest, Cuban's angry over Spanish governmental corruption, Spain gave Cuba representation and parliament and then abolished slavery in 1886. But not enough. Didn't do enough to quell talks of uprisings. 1894 Spain canceled a trade pact between Cuba and the US due to tension between the US

and Spain, and this caused a lot of Cuban plantation owners, a lot of money, and hurt the overall economy of Cuba. Following year in 1895, excuse me, the government imposed new taxes and trade restrictions on an already struggling Cuba, and this leads directly to the Cuban war of independence. Push people far enough that they feel like they don't have anything to lose by fighting. Push them to the point that they're worried about dying from starvation or they can't see a way out other than fighting or get out of a life not worth living other than fighting. And they're probably going to rebel.

Poet and journalist Jose Julien Marti, E Perez, and ex-oz spokesman of the revolution now lived in the US, created plans for the invasion of Cuba. The War of 185, aka the Cuban War of Independence is on. Colleagues though, will be the second highest ranking military leader for Cuba in this war and win a string of big battles. My name is Enigua Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die. And then he would die of pneumonia right after the Cubans were victorious

in 1898. And his portrait is now on the 50 Cuban Paiso banknote. Backing up a bit invasion planner, Marti would be killed in battle one month after the start of the invasion, April 11, 1895, rebels used guerrilla tactics to take control of Eastern Cuba. Then in September of 1895, they declared their newly acquired territory to be the Republic of Cuba and sent forces to now Western Cuba. By January of 1896, the rebels controlled most of the island. The Spanish replaced General Arsenio Hall, General Arsenio Martinez Compos with General Valeriano Wailer, a man who would serve as the Spanish governor of Cuba. And he would become known to Cubans and two Americans via the American press as the butcher.

Not the only butcher we'll cover today. In order to win Cuba back for Spain, Wailer felt he would have to separate the rebels from the civilians by confining the latter to towns and forts, protected by loyal Spanish troops. By the end of 1897, General Wailer had divided the Long Island and Cuba into different sectors and forced more than 300,000 men, women and children into areas nearby cities. By emptying the land of a sympathetic population and then burning all their crops, preventing their replanting and even driving away livestock, the Spanish military made the countryside

inhospitable to the insurgents. Also completely fucked over hundreds of thousands of families who made their living farming and ranching there. All these farmers and ranchers separated from their livelihoods in the countryside were then poorly housed in unsanitary camps that historians consider the world's first concentration camps. The Nazis would actually study these camps when it came to their final solution. Cubans in these camps suffered immensely from starvation and disease, from mistreatment. Death toll estimates range from 150,000 to 400,000 people. This is how General Whaler started to become known as the butcher.

US press coverage of this atrocity also helped push America towards war with Spain. In 1897, mainly due to international anger over what was Spain was doing to Cubans. Thanks to that press coverage, Spain recalled Whaler and offered home rule to Cuba. Right? We're going to let you govern yourselves. All right. Get excited. I mean, I kind of, uh, you're going to be our puppet. We're still going to kind of sort of own you, but you can do your own thing. Whatever that happens to be, you can do whatever you want. As long as what you want happens to also be exactly what we want you to do. That policy, of course, does not end guerrilla fighting. Cuba still wants to actually truly be free. The next year,

Spain orders an end to their reconcentrado policy to appease rebels, defuse international tensions, still not enough for the rebels. They want the freedom to govern themselves. Rebel forces still control the countryside and have the support of the majority of Cubans. The next conflict that leads to Cuban independence from Spain is the Spanish-American war. An 1898 conflict between the US and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in US acquisition of territories in the Western Pacific and Latin America. The sinking of the USS Maine, a battleship sent to Havana to protect U.S. citizens and property in Cuba would be the catalyst for true military intervention and involvement.

Thanks to all the press around the Butchers actions and Spanish policies in Cuba, the war had the support of the majority of the American public. On February 15th, 1898, the USS Maine exploded in the Havana Harbor killing 260 people. The press immediately blamed Spain. Headlines proclaimed Spanish treachery and destruction of the warship Maine was the work of an enemy. A naval court ruled that the ship was blown up by a mine, but did not officially place blame on Spain. However, most of Congress in the public called for a declaration of war in response to the tragedy because they thought Spain was responsible.

Decades later, in 1976, a team of naval investigators concluded the explosion was actually likely not caused by mine, but instead by a fire that ignited ammunition stocks. Whoops, sorry, Spain. A fire that could have very easily been the result of an accident, or a crew member just, you know, mistake. Spanish almost certainly had nothing to do with the explosion, but blaming them is what rated the US to declare war on Spain. Something the explosion of the USS Maine was a false flag operation,

and that some Americans working in secret, perhaps on behalf of the US government, intentionally blew up the ship to give Congress a solid reason to declare war. To be clear, zero hard evidence for that. Just something out there. I'm transitioning back to the conflict. April 9th, 1898, less than two months after the explosion. Spain announces an armistice and starts a program that will grant Cuba more self-government powers.

Still not enough, you ruthless conquisted or mother fuckers. My name is a Nigu Montoya. You kill my father, prepare to die. US Congress meanwhile now issues resolutions that declare Cuba's right to independence, and the US demands the withdrawal of Spanish forces. President William McKinley authorized use of force to accomplish that if necessary. Uncle Sam now fucking around with Spain now. April 24th Spain declares war in the US. Next day, US declares war in Spain. History.com sums up the conflict is the ensuing war was pathetically one sided since Spain had readyed neither its army nor its navy for a distant war with the formidable power of the United States.

The US would suffer 4,019 casualties in this conflict. Spain would suffer 56,456,600 casualties. Spanish forces surrender on July 17th, and the Treaty of Paris is signed on December 10th, 1898, and Ol Calixto literally dies the next day, December 11th. Lived held on just long enough to see his beloved Cuba free from Spain. My name is the Nigu Montoya and I can die happy now. Spain ends up announcing its claim to Cuba, also sees Guam and Puerto Rico to the US.

Spain also transferred sovereignty of the Philippines to the US for 20 million bucks. And now Cuba goes from being governed by Spain to kind of being America's bitch. and bucks. And now Cuba goes from being governed by Spain to kind of being America's bitch. A US occupation for us will remain in Cuba following the war for the next three years, leaving after the Republic of Cuba establishes a constitution and incorporates provisions

from the US plat amendment, a writer to a US appropriations bill that specified conditions for American withdrawal from Cuba. Now the US is telling Cuba that it is free to rule itself as it sees fit. Do whatever you want. As long as what you want lines up very specifically with America's vision for Cuban rule. It's almost the same shit, right? It's a different

imperial power. Still a slave, just a different master. And here are America's conditions for Cuban quote independence. Cuba had to guarantee not to transfer its land to any foreign power other than the US. The Platinum Amendment also put diplomatic limits on Cuba's negotiations with other countries. I don't fucking talk to anyone. We don't want you to talk to Cuba. I know we're going to open relationship and shit and we agree that you can date other people but don't fuck anybody that I don't know about. The US also debated a naval base in Cuba. When we still have today, Juan Tónimo Bay, aka Gitmo, oldest continuously operated overseas US naval base in the world right now.

Finding the Platon Amendment gave the US the right to intervene to preserve Cuban independence. Keep Cuba free, free to do what is good for Cuba. If that's also good for America, free to do what is good for America, even when that's, you know, not good for Cuba. Overall, Cuba's relationship with America did seem to benefit Cubans more than the previous relationship with Spain, at the very least. During these subsequent years of US occupation, more Cubans filled public offices than ever before. There was a massive upgrade, slash increase in public works, sanitation, education, yellow fever, was eradicated. So that's, that's pretty nice. Like if everything else is staying the same, but before you had yellow fever, and now you don't have yellow fever, right?

Bifus, bifus better. That's a win. From November 5th, 1900 to February 21st, 1901, a constitutional convention met in Havana, organized a new Cuban government. The new constitution adopted, of course, provisions in the Platte Amendment. And it was approved by Cuba with Uncle Sam peaking over everyone's shoulder, who's signed and shit, making sure it's just so on June 12th, 1901. Republican Cuba established May 20th, 1902. Tomas Estrada Palma was the first president. Estrada Palma, part of the conservative party, had a progressive administration. During

this time, some Cubans and many Americans became fantastically wealthy thanks to a reciprocal trade treaty. Passed in 1903 with the US that allowed more sugar to enter the US with reduced tariffs. This treaty accelerated the growth of an already rising tide of American investors buying a plan for pennies on the dollar in war-torn Cuba. Unemployed or struggling Cuban landowners sold their farms to put food on the table to American investors who then built mega plantations that often then employed the same damn people who sold their land and paid them next to nothing.

Some Cubans, those already wealthy or close to wealthy, also cast in on this new system. But for most, a life of poverty continued. So after their hard fought independence, more of the same old shit in many ways, for the overwhelming majority of Cubans. Plantation owners, you know, got richer, owners who were American instead of Spanish, and at least their workers, you know, weren't slaves. That was abolishing Cuba in 1886, but now the workers were often former slaves or descendants of slaves being paid so little that they still didn't have much freedom at the end of the day. The conservatives won the elections again in December of 1905, and now the Liberal Party

accuses them of voting fraud. The fraud allegations as well as some pension fraud and failure to complete promised reforms, bunch of corruption thanks to opportunist politicians taking advantage of the chaos of governmental organization to line their pockets with money at the expense of their fellow Cuban citizens leads to yet another revolution in July of 1906. It hasn't been a decade. Strata Palma requested US intervention, but the mediation efforts failed. And then Palma resigns as president. So from November 29th, 1906, US Secretary of War, future president, William Howard Taft, now named

provisional governor of Cuba. Right? Right back where they were Spain, foreign rule. Taft promised to lead a provisional government long enough to restore order and peace and public confidence. After just a few weeks, the US government establishes Charles Edward McGoon as Cuba's second American provisional governor, Tav has other shit to do. McGoon is a pretty silly name.

Sounds a lot like buffoon. A little over two years later, January 28th, 1909, buffoon McGoon transfers power, I don't know if 1909, buffooned McGoon, transfers power, I don't know if he's a buffoon actually. McGoon transfers power back to a Cuban, to liberal president, Jose Miguel Gomez. Fucking nailed McGel! No McGuile this week.

US administration was officially over and soldiers were withdrawn on April 1st. Chiba was renegorated as a republic, but one still under some American oversight. And one with a lot of corruption. The three presidents in charge of Cuba from 1909 to 1925 ruled with little distinction and much corruption, according to a few sources. During the Gomez administration, the government was full of corruption and financial issues. Gomez's nickname became the shark.

And two of his biggest achievements were legalizing cock fighting and establishing a national lottery. Seriously, legalizing cock fighting. Being one of the biggest parts of your legacy. I think that says quite a bit about use of politician. My Gomez was incredible. Before him, we had to fight our cocks and back alleys and stuff. Now we can fight those cocks out on the open.

Hurray Gomez, hurray cocks. Mazzarati Bouguet is spaghetti. Mazzarati Bouguet is spaghetti. Mazzarati Bouguet is spaghetti. Luigi pizza pie. If you know, you know. Gomez made himself rich during his run as president. Some called him the ruined planter

who made himself a millionaire from night to morning and Not by the sweat of his brow According to history of Cuba.com his presidency brought back the old Cuban tradition that government existed for the benefit of office holders This seems to be very true with Cuba's history He immediately more than double the proceeding budget for Cuban leadership and seems like a lot of that extra budget when it right into his pocket. 1912, the year before his presidency was over, the US government warned him that we would intervene militarily if he didn't quell some writing going on, you know, people pissed that he's being so fucking corrupt.

In this corruption, threatening Americans, lives and business interests. At this time, sugar accounted for four fifths of Cuba's export earnings. Their economy is almost entirely based on sugar. Cuba also made money from tourists, tainted hotels, or visiting brothels and casinos, and Havana, especially a bit later during prohibition. So many brothels. Up to 200 legal brothels in Havana alone in the early 20th century. No hail Lucifer for that.

This wasn't about sexual liberation. It was about economic desperation. Wives and mothers, many of them, women whose families had lost their farms and the Cuban Revolution and years of American exploitation have followed. You know, now worked at government sanctioned brothels to put food on the table. And the government didn't sanction these brothels to protect sex workers in any way. Rather bureaucrats now worked as essentially pimps. By the end of the 1950s, Cuba will have one of the strongest economies in Latin America.

For example, Cuba's annual per capita income in 1958 would be $353, which was very good for Latin America. But that per capita shit is so often very misleading. It reminds me of like unemployment numbers. It's like, okay, there's not that much unemployment, but like for the employed people, how many of them actually have good jobs? To talk about how per capita numbers can be misleading for easy numbers, say the population of a place is just 10 people. And one of those people earns a million dollars a year. The other nine earn only a hundred dollars a year each. The per capita income for all 10 people collectively, making one million, nine hundred dollars a year

is a hundred thousand, ninety bucks a year per person. If I only told you that the per capita income of a place was a hundred thousand, ninety bucks a year, I imagine you might think like I would. What a great place. Oh man, people are killing it there. And not necessarily a very small percentage of people might be killing it and the rest might be really struggling.

And that was the case with Cuba, prior to Castro's revolution. Also, even with the wealth disparity, Cuba still wasn't killing it compared to America. Again, in 1958, the per capita income, $353 in Cuba, in the US, same year, close to $2,200. A lot more. A rural workers in Cuba earned on average about a fourth of that, 353 per year.

Most Cubans not only lived in poverty, but also dealt with a lack of public services and unemployment. US and other foreign investors, but mostly US foreign investors, thanks to the US not allowing investors from many other nations to touch Cuba, controlled about 75% of Cuba's land, 75%. Also controlled about 90% of essential services and 40% of sugar production, some independence and the 60% of sugar production not controlled by Americans, well, who are they selling it to?

Two Americans largely, and for prices that made American companies buying the sugar much wealthier than the Cubans selling to them. Backing up now to the Gomez administration, Cuba's new government is accused of giving very few offices to Afro Cubans and instead favoring those of Spanish descent. And also those who supported the Spanish during the war for independence. So you know, not a good look, more social unrest. Afro-Cubans

soon lead a massive protest against a new law prohibiting political organization by race or religion, which causes a crackdown that leads to thousands of people being butchered, and led to the end of the corrupt Gomez administration. In 1913, Mario Garcia-Menecal took-he takes his turn as present, and quickly becomes known as a shill for American and Cuban corporations. Strongly assumed he took a lot of bribe money. Cubans revolted against him in February of 1917 after he won a second term through fraud and violent voter intimidation.

Those rebellion against him hoped for U.S. intervention and deposing him, but the U.S. military, a little too busy in the world world, were one at the time and menacal is able to squash the Cuban rebellion against him. Just a few years later, 1920, Cuba faces an economic crisis called the Dance of the Millions. Numerous banks and other businesses go bankrupt. This crisis was caused by a speculative boom in world sugar prices. Everything's sugar with Cuba. The collapse shortly after US banks gave large loans to Cuban sugar producers.

The banks then took over the defaulting Cuban sugar producers. So fuck, money and even fewer hands now, more property, more assets and foreign hands. Then by the time that I call leaves office in 1921, he supposedly spent $800 million during his eight years running the country and a lot of those millions allegedly ended up in private bank accounts overseas He left Cuba with the floating debt of 40 million To keep the government from collapsing US later gives Cuba a 50 million dollar loan in January of 1923

During the four-year term of Alfredo desayez e Alfonso Considered by far the best Cuban leader of this era He was a vocal critic of the US, wanted to be free of US governmental oversight. He started the political process of giving women the right to vote. He negotiated the return of Cuban sovereignty over the Isle of Pines, the second biggest island in Cuba, which have been occupied by the US since 1898. And he gave the Cuban press true freedom to express their opinions for the first time. Previous Cuban leaders had limited the press's ability to criticize their governments. But his political critics painted him as being a just as corrupt as his predecessors, right? It's the mudslinging game they play and the public grew to hate him.

Rather than run again, Ziya's made a pact with liberal candidate Gerardo Machado Imorales against Mario Garcia Menacal in the 1924 election, and Machado won. Assuming office May 20, 1925, and then he becomes Cuba's first dictator. I'll share more about Machado in the timeline. Now that we have reached the point in Cuban history, just before Fidel Castro was born, and showcase an ever-ending political turmoil, excuse me, foreign subjugation and a tradition of the poor constantly being fucked over by somebody leading up to a dictator who will make life even worse for the average Cuban.

Let's now begin a timeline of Castro's life and the Cuban Revolution right after today's mid-show sponsor break. Hope you enjoyed those sponsors, got some good deals. Always hoping to get some sponsors you guys enjoy. And thank you for listening and supporting the sponsors that support this show. And now we get into today's Time Suck timeline. down a time, time, time line. Fidel Al-Handro Castro Ruse, born August 13th, 1926 in Baran, a village in the province of Holgan.

Fidel Castro's father was Angel Castro, a wealthy, is going to blow your mind, big surprise, sugar cane farmer. Everyone is in the fucking sugar game in Cuba. He owned a 23,000 acre plantation, owned up to 500 Haitian slaves at one time, angel worked with the US-owned United Fruit Company as well. You might recall that name, might remember them from the 1928 Banana Massacre episode.

The creator of numerous Banana Republics, ruthless exploiter of numerous Latin nations, making billions of banana bucks off the backs of grossly underpaid workers all around Latin America. Bribing local governments working with the US government to install, you know, US military to install puppet regimes to keep those banana bucks flowing in. Angel was born in Spain. Spaniard would father the man who would dedicate his life to keeping Cuba free from foreign

imperialism. A slave and plantation owner would father a communist revolutionary. That's a little funny to me. The United Fruit Company he worked with had become a symbol of American dominance in Latin America by the time Castro was born. Fidel's mother was Lena Ruz Gonzalez, a domestic servant who worked for Angel's wife. Fidel was born out of wedlock as were numerous siblings of his. Lena and Angel will have seven kids together,

and he'll have more kids with the woman who worked as his cook. Then he did with his wife, we had five kids with. The most important Castro sibling is Raul Castro, born on June 3rd, 1941. Raul would serve as his older brother, second in command for most of his life, and would be a key figure in the revolution When Fidel was 15 angel dissolved his first marriage and married Lena at age 17 Fidel officially recognized by angel

And changed his name from ruse to Castro strange childhood Which we knew more details about it right 12 kids one of, two different moms, one mom technically working for the other mom for a good part of many of these kids's childhood. Fidel, a little awkward, little tense in the household possibly. Fidel attended private Jesuit schools growing up, wondered what they thought of his one dad, two mom situation and reportedly showed great athletic ability in addition to solid academic skills.

He participated in track and field, baseball, basketball, and most importantly, table tennis. Nothing prepares you for winning a revolution and becoming a dictator like some ping pong. The only way we will remove the yoke of the imperialist foreign capitalist overlords from our next is to make sure our ping pong game is flawless. We cannot rely only on smashing the occasional easy lob. We have to put proper English on each and every serve.

Our backhand volleys must be equally powerful to our forehand topspin strokes, blocks, brushes, chops and counters. There can be no ping pong blunders as we bring the table tennis thunder to the Americans Patriomoracte Vensaremos You know something like that In 1943 1944 school year Fidel was named Havana's outstanding schoolboy sportsman Good grades getting good strokes on the table tennis table So good so good ping pong in the studies

While studying and ping pong in it Castro will grow up witnessing more conflict and corruption in Cuba's government. Let's now transition back to Gerardo Machado's presidency, one of the key events in setting the stage for the later Cuban Revolution, as mentioned earlier, Machado transitions from being president to being dictator. In 1928, at the beginning of the second term, many in Cuba were angry at the war hero from Cuba's war of independence from Spain.

He had promised to serve only one term right when he was first elected also promised to cut Cuba free from US oversight. Get rid of that fucking plat amendment bullshit. Instead, he had the US threw some money at him and he changed his mind. US investment in Cuba and US control of Cuba's economy increases under his leadership. He always did a lot of good things like expanding the University of Havana of Havana, expanding the country's medical facilities, authorizing the instruction of the new elegant home of the Cuban Congress, El Capitolio.

But overall, people not have you about his winning reelection and soon riots and unrest and soot. Yeah, I thought I said, unrest. Unrests. Gerardo Machado enacted a martial law to shut that shit down, suspends freedom of speech, press and assembly. And a lot of people actually supported this, right?

They had known nothing but turmoil for their whole lives. And they were desperate. Desperate times often call for desperate measures and desperate times too often leave right to dictators. Also during the second term, Cuba is affected by the Great Depression of the early 1930s. The government could not stabilize the pricey sugar, still the main component of the economy, a public works program provides no relief, and that doesn't help much other people's popularity.

And you did a lot of murder. There were numerous murders and assassinations committed by the police and army under Meshado's administration. And your odds of being murdered went way up, not surprisingly, if you were a political rival or critical of his administration in any way. A lot of unsolved homicides that various US government officials were very concerned about. Because of all this, Meshado faced increase in opposition, which led to more murder, false arrest and imprisonments, etc.

And that led to more opposition, protests, general civil unrest, also led to several assassination attempts on Machado. Pretty soon look like another revolution is brewing in Cuba, which was not in the interest of all the American sugar plantation investors living down the making those sugar sheckles. So the US offered to mediate in the conflict. Constitutional and political reforms were promised, but this would not come to fruition because Machado was now forced out of office in 1933 by his own military led by future Cuban President and another dictator, Fulgencio Patista, an incident known as the 1933 Revolt of the Sargent's,

where most of Cuba's military leadership and many soldiers aligned with student protesters to have Machado deposed, and they staged a coup. All of that overseen by the US ambassador to Cuba, Sumner Wells. Machado, flees the country, flies on a private jet to the Bahamas, the day he leaves office, and he would end up dying in Florida six years later at the age of 69. Oh, fuck you, bro. Now for more turmoil, Fulgenshiopatista born on 16th, 1901, backing up a bit, with now at the age of 32, appoint himself to chief of the armed forces with the rank of Colonel, and he would control a new five member, Pentarki, the executive commission of the

provisional government of Cuba, five men who would oversee a new provisional government. The Pentarki formed after two very temporary temporary presidents kind of led things for a few minutes Almost not kidding there one guy ran Cuba for a whole two days He was US ambassador wells's choice But then the rebels under Batista like now and I like him. So he's gone He's replaced by a guy who will run Cuba for an entire three weeks And then the rebels are like now and I like him either So then Batista's Pantarki takes over and they run things for a whopping six fucking days.

So much turmoil. There were protests and enough concerns about a revolt that Ambassador Wells wrote FDR's cabinet, asking for military support to calm things down, but he doesn't get it. One of the Pantarki, Raymond Grouw, is now appointed president and he'll run the shit show for a whole four months. And he actually did get a lot done during that time. He established an eight hour work day instead of 10, 12 or more hours. He increased minimum wage, he nationalized the Cuban electric company, allowed the University of Havana to have autonomy regarding how they taught students. He required employers to have at least half their workforce be people born in Cuba and did a bunch more.

required employers to have at least half their workforce be people born in Cuba and did a bunch more. Very progressive and huge support of the working man as opposed to corporations, as opposed to foreign leadership. Because of that attitude, US government failed to recognize his authority in Cuba. So, just so much insanity, so much chaos. Grown wanted to put the quality of the lives of his own people over the interests of foreign i.e. US investors and because of that uncle Sam was like fuck what? Nah bro. Now you're not real. Hey, you're not really president. You literally can't see you bro. You're invisible

People who aren't real are invisible and invisible people can be president. So you ain't running shit But Tista who was allied with the US now forces forces this guy's resignation on January 15th, 1934. And he succeeded by a guy who would run Cuba for just under three days now. This is some clown town shit. The South of Cloudgar, we got ourselves a presidential palace. How are you present to be stuffin' here?

We don't even know. They just keep poor enough. Imagine if this was happening here in the US. Like I know that politics in the US has been, you know, especially contentious, polarized, and frankly just disappointing the past decade or so for many if not most Americans. But what if we had like Obama's president,

then he gets overthrown, Biden, his VP is president, and then a few days later, he gets overthrown, Mitch McConnell is now president. Few weeks later, Hillary Clinton stages a coup. She's present. Then Trump stages a coup, and then he's present for a few weeks. Then the next day, like, five random rebels are in control, kind of. Some military general is really running things in the shadows. Everybody knows it. Then Putin or some other foreign leader puts some obvious puppet in charge and then on and on and on. After Machado stepped down, there were six different leaders,

but really 11 leaders, since one group was five leaders, and then a leader would come from that group, all another leader, really ran things in the background. Just dear Lord, and that's all in one year. And then over the next three years, three more leaders. And then another guy, Federico, Laredo, Brue will run things for almost four years. But really, Batista is in the background this entire time,

leading the military and pulling the strings. And that's not just me speculating that Batista was a puppet master from 1933 to 1940 when he became president. That's everyone I can find who's an expert on Cuban history saying that. So now let me walk you through Batista's rise since Batista will be the dictator Castro will overthrow in a bit more detail. Jump back to 1933.

Machado forced into exile August 12th of that year. A provisional government set up with an American oversight, Batista, not a fan. Following months of September of 1933, he plots to overthrow Cuba's provisional government, in the coup known as the Sargent's revolt I mentioned. After Machado, Cuba installs Carlos Manuel de Céspedez, and Casada's president. Céspedez Y Casada had members of the ABC and his cabinet, a political organization founded in opposition to Machado. Fulgancio Batista was a member. Suspadez Yikasada faced heavy criticism because many thought he was not taking action against Machado supporters in the military for stage NICU.

Those who opposed Machado, but were not in the ABC, disliked the provisional government because they thought it represented US interventionism, which it for sure did On August 24th Cuba student directory a student activist organization Issues a manifesto program to announcing the ABC and demanding a new government The Cuban military reluctant reluctant to intervene in the social unrest because they didn't want to look like they were supporting the old regime of Machado And killing protesters, especially student protesters. Did I mention it sure seems like Machado did use the military and police to kill a bunch of student protesters or make them disappear?

Because that also happened. A group of sergeants, including Fugancio Batista, starts meeting up, forms the Columbia Military Union, later become known as the junta of eight. In August of 1933, Batista gives a passionate speech at the funeral of a sergeant who had been captured, tortured, and killed by Machado's government back in May. Group of sergeants led by Batista now create a manifesto asking for dignity, respect, benefits for soldiers, Batista asked the ABC to publicize the manifesto, but they refuse.

So but he's to others now leave that organization. Meanwhile, other military factions are plotting rebellion against the government. There are multiple rebel factions at this time. They all meet under the pretense of planning projects to improve the quality of life for military members, but really talk, they're talking about a revolution. September 3rd and 4th, 1933, lower ranking officers at the Columbia barracks speak with senior officers about back pay and promotions. So, September 4th, Captain Mario Torres, Manier, appears at a meeting at Camp Columbia in Havana.

Soldiers make their complaints, but not to him, because he withdrew from the meeting to consult superior officers. And a second meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. While the soldiers wait for the second meeting, the leaders of the coup rally their support. At the 8 p.m. second meeting, Batista gives a speech on stage, his fucking eight mile moment, and puts him on a path of Cuban dominance. Saying, from this moment forward, do not obey anyone's orders but mine. First sergeants must immediately take control of their respective military units. If there is no first sergeant, or if he refuses to take command, the senior sergeant must do so. If there is no sergeant, a corporal, if there is no willing corporal, then a soldier, and if not, then a recruit. The units must

have someone in command, and he must be an enlisted man. What his call to arms does not fall on deaf ears. He's a charismatic leader and his countrymen rally around him. The sergeants take over the Columbia barracks, begin communicating with sympathizers and other cities. Members of Columbia's student directory, including future president Carlos Prioso-Carras, join up with the army. Céspedez, a Cassada, was out of the city surveying hurricane damage during this coup. The rebels use this advantage to force government officers in Havana to leave their posts, then issue a proclamation announcing their fucking run in the show. When Céspedez, Akisada returns on September 5th, he is told that he is no longer in charge. And immediately, he vacates the presidential palace.

I doubt he was told that he was no longer in charge in like a calm and respectful manner. I bet it was less of a, excuse me, Mr. President, Mr. Céspedez, Acasada, would you be so kind as to empty your offices of all your things? Your services, all very much appreciated, are just no longer needed. I bet it was more of a, hey motherfucker, you have five fucking minutes to get your stupid

ass out of this building. If you're still in Havana, come sunrise, there's gonna be blood, you dumb son of a bitch, and then him just like, hurry and his ass out of the fucking building. Patista was the man behind the curtain for Cuba's next few presence as I went over earlier and then Fugincio Patista elected president himself you know openly in 1940. Britannicus summarized his term as follows while greatly enriching himself excuse me I love that that's the start while greatly enriching himself, excuse me, I love that that's the start, while

greatly enriching himself, he also governed the country most effectively, expanding the educational system, sponsoring a huge program on public works, and fostering the growth of the economy. I think the most important part of the description though is while greatly enriching himself, while stealing millions from the people of Cuba. During World War II, Cuba fights with the Allies, also establishes diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, little common handulator. Batista's term ends in 1944.

He loses an election to Ramon Grouse and Martin, then divorces his wife, marries a new woman, and moves to Daytona Beach, Florida. Seti left because he was afraid for his life, if he stayed. Two of his four kids will be born in America. He spends the time in the States bouncing back and forth between Daytona Beach and New York City, becomes a frequent guest at the Waldorf Historia Hotel, rubbing shoulders with other Cuban expats, politicians, socialites, have a nice cocktails, probably talking quite a

bit about another upcoming Cuban revolution. He remains popular with many back home in Cuba and is actually voted to the Senate in absentia or an, excuse me, absentia in 1948. For the eight years, he spends large in the US. Cuba is ruled by the corrupt partito, autentico, the Cuban Revolutionary Party, more to come from Batista, much more in a bit. Right now, let's check back in with Fidel Castro. Castro graduated from university in late 1945 and began law school at the University of Havana, where he was exposed

to socialist and nationalist ideas. In a 1981 interview, Castro will admit that while he was in college, he explored communism, but did not join the party at that time, saying, I had entered into contact with Marxist literature. At that time, there were some communist students at the University of Havana, and I had friendly relations with them, but I was not in the socialist youth. I was not a militant in the Communist Party.

He noted, I was then acquiring a revolutionary conscience. I was active, I struggled, but let us say I was an independent fighter. This was likely when Castro started to develop stronger anti-American sentiments. Studying Cuba's history, he began to blame the US for many of Cuba's failures. Right? And he wasn't totally wrong.

The US had helped tremendously in freeing Cuba from Spain as we went over, but at the cost of now being forever indebted to America and its corporate interests. As we also went over, one imperialist power exploits Cuba for its sugar shackles and then is overthrown by another imperialist power, also exploiting Cuba for its sugar shackles. 1947, now 21 year old Castro travels to the Dominican Republic to join an expedition to overthrow dictator Raphael Trujillo. So getting a little revolutionary test run here. Jorgeo was a butcher who ruled for a total of 31 years. Some elected, some as a dictator. Hey, security forces were held responsible later for some 50,000 murders. Also ordered assassinations, many of them successful outside of the Dominican Republic, in the

US, and other various Latin American nations, and then he was assassinated himself in 1961. So much chaos, so much violence in this part of the world for so long. The coup attempt in 1947 failed before it even really began, but it fueled Castro's passion for reform and Cuba. He proved himself. He was willing to go to war, willing to risk his life for his ideals. Back home, interestingly, Castro will join the anti-communist reform party now, the Partito, uh, Orta Doxo, aka the Orthodox Party, aka the Party of the Cuban people Orthodox.

This party was founded by presidential candidate Eduardo Chivas. Chivas lost in 1948 but still inspired Castro. Chivas campaigned on a platform to expose government corruption and he warned Cubans about it again, Shilbatista, who was planning to run again. He tried to expose him as a corrupt and power-hungry son of a bitch, but Teesta's allies refused to provide any evidence of government wrongdoing. In August of 1951, Chivas will end his life by shooting himself in the head live on air during your radio broadcast.

That death was a fucking statement. He had a regular radio broadcast for years and spoke of continued corruption in the presidencies of the men who directly proceeded by teases next go around really in the country, became disillusioned and took his own life. Between 1936, 1959, the American Mafia would build an empire in Havana

around gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking. So we got more chaos to deal with now, organized crime. It was as easy to get Coke or heroin as it was to get a beer. And the Coke was often cheaper. Thousands and thousands of poor Cuban women worked in brothels entertaining primarily well to do American tourists. Havana became America's playground for the rich, became Latin America's Las Vegas. 1948, Castro marries Merced Diaz Balar, daughter for a lawyer of United Fruit. Interesting.

This advantageous marriage exposed Fidel to more wealth and connections, also to more people making money off the sweat of the common Cuban worker. He now becomes more interested in the work of Karl Marx. And wants to run for Congress. The couple's son, Fidel, the couple's son, yeah, Fidel, nicknamed Fidelito was born in 1949. First of at least nine children for Fidel. Fidel and Merta will divorce in 1959

when Fidelito is six years old. Politics seemed to drive them apart. Castro no longer wanted Fidelito, oh my gosh, why haven't I even dropped Fiddelito? Around Mertus, United Fuck Your Fruit family, because they supported Batista's government and American imperialism. He wrote to a half sister in 1956, I refuse even to think that my son may sleep a single night under the same roof, sheltering

my most repulsive enemies, and receive on his innocent cheeks the kisses of those miserable judices. The double later send his firstborn son to study in the Soviet Union, where Hill Mary a Russian woman, work as a physicist, returned to Cuba and be named head of the nuclear power program. Castro had Phyllito removed from that position with Cuba's Atomic Energy Commission for unknown reasons in the early 90s. Guessing a big reason might be that Cuba began construction of a nuclear power plant in 1976 and by the early 90s still wasn't finished. Hard to continue to be in charge of a project that doesn't go anywhere. That unfinished plant currently abandoned.

Fidelito will reportedly die of suicide in February of 2018 with age of 68 after suffering from depression. A lot of suicides in this of 2018 with age of 68 after suffering from depression. A lot of suicides in this suck, a lot of misery. He was Castro's only recognized child for many years. Castro had five other children with a woman named Dalia Soto Del Valle. They were together for more than 40 years, but their relationship was largely a secret right up until his death. Their sons are Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, and Angel. She met Castro

in the 60s during his literacy campaigns, although she was his longest romantic relationship, she was rarely seen in public, never with Castro while he was in power. Both Dali and her sons identities kept secret. They might have married in a civil ceremony in 1980. So weird, I had to have been so weird for her to be married to the most powerful man in Cuba, but not be allowed to really talk about it. I wonder how many people thought she was crazy if she did a lute 20 thing. Right. Right. You're married to Fidel Castro. Okay. Uh-huh. I'm married to Catwoman. You're fucking nuts, Dahlia. And then you know, cut to that person saying, uh, saying that, just turn it up dead in the ditch with a bullet wound in their temple the next morning.

Castro also had a daughter named Alina Fernandez, who was born from an affair with an unnamed and allegedly married socialite. In late 1993, Castro's daughter sought asylum in the U.S. and then openly criticized her father's regime on a Miami radio show. Castro has had at least two more known children, Jorge, Angel Castro, and Francisco Pupo, their mother's names unknown. So since they're unknown, those mother's names could be like Bobby Joe Stingpus or Helga Front Butt or Tina Tute Possum.

I mean, it's possible. It's possible since we don't know their names that their names could be, you know, pretty much whatever you want to make up. Transitioning back to the final years before the Revolution, let's meet the next Cuban president. 1948. Carlos Prios-Sacaras was elected president and faced economic problems and government corruption just immediately. Prio was one of the revolutionaries who participated in the coup against Gerardo Machado. He focused on agrarian reform, low cost housing, and establishing a national bank, civil service, and labor courts.

Like, growl before him, it's believed that Priya was elected democratically, and that he at least tried to clean up some of the corruption. Overall, he was just considered ineffective, though. Priya would later have to be enforced into exile rather than be assassinated by a military queue and give the greatest quote about being a president in Cuba. He said, they say that I was a terrible president of Cuba. That may be true, but I was the best president Cuba ever had. Yeah, that opinion might be 100% correct.

He might have been both terrible and the best they ever had. His story and seemed to consider him to be a good dude who tried, but just couldn't stop widespread corruption. Couldn't get rid of the mob and more. He lived in Miami Beach until 1977 when at the age of 73, another suicide. He shot himself in the chest, which sadly reminds me of a song, an old Korean war hymn. Shot through the heart and your two blame, you give love. A bad name. Bajavi! He's back in your head now.

You're welcome. How lucky are you? To have the Korean War's greatest historian, his tunes back in your noodle. Back to 1950 now, that year, Fidel Castro graduated with his law degree from the University of Havana and opened a law office in the city. Two years later, he ran for the Cuban House representatives for the Orthodox party. The elections were supposed to take place in June of that year. Batista was back in Cuba and run it for president at this time.

And it wasn't looking like he was going to win. He was polling in third place way back from first, not able to accept the impending loss. Batista takes drastic action. Excuse me, March 10th, 1952. Batista stages to coup and forcefully takes over the government. Cuban journalist Carlos Alberto Montaner, later exiled for a criticizing Castro, told PBS years later,

Batista's coup opened a Pandora's box. Institutions no longer mattered. What mattered was audacity, the individual capable of violent action. I feel like that already matter for quite a while in Cuba, but okay. Batista's return to the government was initially welcomed by many Cubans, but then he turned into a ruthless dictator. And I feel like most dictators end up as being ruthless, even if they aren't ruthless initially, right? I mean, you don't hear about a lot of benevolent

dictators, not a lot of chill, laid back, people, please are dictators. But he's the control of the university in the press and muzzled the centers he got rid of detractors from congress and started in bezzling a shitload of money he encouraged gambling in havana and announced the government would match any hotel investment of over a million dollars he want more that mob money and he will get it so much david that sir and american journalist after visiting havana in the early fifties when

tisa ruled later wrote, Rothles flourished, a major industry grew up around them. Government officials received bribes, policemen collected protection money, prostitutes could be seen standing in doorways, strolling the streets, or leaning from windows. One report estimated that 11,500 of them worked their trade in Havana. Beyond the outskirts of the capital, beyond the slot machines was one of the poorest and most beautiful countries in the Western world.

Another source said that Havana became a hedonistic playground for the world's elite. Batista became close friends during this time with people like infamous US gangster Lucky Luciano, who lived in Havana for many years. Luciano ran a number of casinos in Cuba with the sanction of Batista and paid his government $250,000 for the license of each one

plus a percentage of the profits. And a good chunk of additional money would go straight into Batista's pockets and into the pockets of members of his inner circle. A lot of that money, an unknown amount would end up in Swiss bank accounts. Numerous sources say that off the table, Batista and his cronies would take between 10 and 30%

of the profits of Havana, casinos, nightclubs, brothels, and other mob interests. Meyer Langsey, another Mafia man, so-called mobs accountant and close friend and business partner of Lucky Luciano, reportedly personally contributed millions of dollars per year in the 1950s to just Batistas secret Swiss bank accounts. So much fucking corruption. Most of the nation live in deep poverty while soulless fuckers like Batista are fleecing

them. Castro and partito or to or to doxo are outraged by Batistas take over and subsequent behavior. Right? Rightfully so. They begin plotting an attempt to by Batista's takeover and subsequent behavior, right, rightfully so. They began plotting an attempt to overthrow Batista's government in a revolution that they called the movement. Castro later said about the plan in his 2006 autobiography. From that moment on, I had a clear idea of the struggle ahead.

Castro persuaded student leaders to give him machine guns and ammunition. They were secretly storing for emergencies. He hid them in his sister's home in Havana, spent a year gathering supporters around 200 young members of the Pardido Ortodoxo. July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro and his followers attempt to raid the Moncada Army barracks in Santiago de Cuba, second largest military garrison in the country. And their attack is a complete failure. But also marks the start of the later successful Cuban Revolution.

July 24th 1953, Castro's men, plus two female fighters, bored two buses traveling from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. They claim they're attending the yearly carnival there. The group meets at a farm, 20 minutes from the city, where Castro tells them the plant. A group of approximately 150 people armed with 22 caliber rifles and a few other weapons are going to attack the Mone Codabarics described as the main provincial garrison of Batista's armed forces. Then take over the Palace of Justice, a hospital, radio station, have a fucking parade, proclaim their manifesto, demand a return to democracy, you

know, confetti, all the shit. Castro said about the plan. Even if it failed, it would be heroic and have symbolic value. He's very committed to this cause. 5am July 26th, the caravan of Rebels heads towards Moncato, led by Fidel. Castro's car arrives at Moncata first. And once soldiers see what's actually happening, they open fire and they start kicking Rebels ass.

Batista soldiers shoot at him, killing eight eight immediately wounding 12 more, 18 Cuban soldiers also killed another 28 wounded, but there's a lot more soldiers than there are rebels. Over 70 rebels get arrested including Raul Castro, some are tortured, others murdered, you know, some of course tortured and murdered. Fidel manages to escape and hide at a farm in the CRMACE for mountains. He soon receives assurances, he will not be killed and will receive a fair trial if he comes out of hiding. So he does. Weak later, he arranges his surrender to house near Santiago. Castro reclaimed that a sergeant approached him with a gun but told him ideas are not to

be murdered. The sergeant was actually ordered not to kill him because the archbishop of Santiago, Mon senior Perez-Serrantes had intervened to save his life. One of Castro's close friends testified that this was arranged by Castro's wife, Merta, and a family member who was a close friend to Batista. Batista will later regret sparing Fidel's life very, very much. Castro went to trial in September and the young lawyer acted as his own defense attorney. The entire country played, paid close attention to the revolutionary. It was here the Castro said one of his most famous quotes.

He said, As for me, I know that jail will be hard as it has ever been for anyone, filled with threats, with vileness and cowardly brutality. I do not fear this. As I do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who snuffed out the life of 70 brothers of mine, condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me. Do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who snuffed out the life of 70 brothers of mine.

Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me." Right that quote from the beginning. Dude may have made life in Cuba even worse than it was before him, but damn he had a pair of giant balls and very committed to his ideology. Castle was found guilty sentenced to 15 years in prison and then transferred to the Isle of Pines. In prison, Castle will change the group's name, his rebel group, from the movement to 26th of July movement.

Batista now calls for elections in 1954. And he wins. Did he really win? Strongly guessing the military dictator was going to win, no matter who voted for who. His term started February 24th, 1955. He reinstates Cuba's 1940 Constitution, also faces strong opposition. And doesn't even kill him. Why not? Well, because Cubans were used to revolutions and toppling regimes. Suppressing dissidents too hard

would have been a great way to spark an uprising he couldn't stop. Sometimes smart dictators who understand the power of optics note is in their best interest to allow a certain amount of dissent, a certain amount of the illusion of choice. 1955, Batista's Opposers denied the validity of his election and organized a campaign of harassment and sabotage in the provinces. That same year, Batista submits to international pressure and grants amnesty to political prisoners, prisoners like Fidel Castro. Despite his sense, of, you know, like 15 years, he'll only serve less than two behind bars. Castro will be granted of Amnesty May 15, 1955. He is

now 28 years old. Surely, after being released, a series of bombings and violent demonstrations lead to a crackdown on dissent. And Castro and his brother Raul flee the country in order to avoid being arrested all over again and quite possibly killed this time. Batista is now, you know, Batista, excuse me, is no stranger to having prisoners murdered. Castro sent a letter to the press to clear that he was leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me. I believe the hours come to take our rights and not beg for them to fight instead of pleading for them to fight instead of pleading for them. In Mexico, he meets now famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara.

Fucking Che Guevara. I've been wanting to talk about him. Che was a Argentinian Marxist revolutionary and it would become a prominent figure during the Cuban revolution. And talk about it, dude, committed to his ideals. Dear God. He will end up having his face on a lot more graphic t-shirts than Fidel will. And Gavari got his nickname in 1953 in Guatemala City from some Cuban exiles,

revolutionaries who were part of the failed 1953 at Moncada Barracks Assault led by Fidel. The nickname Che is a reference to an Argentinian colloquialism or at least a one-time colloquialism. Oh my gosh, colloquialism, that's a hard word to say fast. It loosely translates to mate. Gavara became a confidante of Castro's and influenced his political beliefs. Che was born, to learn a little bit about him, very interesting historical figure. June 14, 1928, in Rosario, Argentina. Group in a middle class, educated family, his parents were political activists.

In 1940, he entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. 1950, he embarked on a now infamous 20, 100-mile solo trip to the rural provinces of northern Argentina on a bicycle where he installed a small engine. So a motorcycle, kind of. Then spent six months working as a nurse

at sea on Argentina's merchant marine freighters and oil tankers. 1951 he leaves school again goes on a more famous nine month motorcycle journey across South America like fuck yeah bro. Sounds pretty sick actually. These trips while they were inspired by a simple desire just to get out and see more of the world did not turn out to be real joy rides. They made Che very angry.

Che observed many poor working people living in horrid conditions, victims he felt of capitalist greed and exploitation, and its already existing socialist leanings, they hardened. Gavari kept the diary throughout his big second journey, which would become known as his motorcycle diaries. Gavari's motorcycle diaries first published long after his death in 1993. Two passages from his diaries reflect the intensity of his feelings. The first reads, I will be on the side of the people. I will take to the barricades and the trenches, screaming as one possessed, will stain my weapons

with blood, and mad with rage will cut the throat of any vanquished foe I encounter. Another reads, I will be with the people. I will dip my weapons in blood and crazed with fury. I will cut the throats of my defeated enemies. I can already feel my delight. I can already feel my dilated nostrils, savoring the accurate smell of gunpowder and blood of death to the enemy.

He's not fucking around. He's serious about this stuff. A lot of throw a cut and talk, a lot of rage. Guevara said on his motorcycle adventures as a curious young man preparing to be a doctor and then returned home from a second trip as an infuriated bloodthirsty young man ready to set the fucking world on fire as a revolutionary eager to kill Latin American oppressors.

And while I am still not a fan of communism, I am a fan of many basic needs, socialist policies, like healthcare and education, for I am despite how I may seem sometimes a humanist who does care about the plight of the common meat tech. As much as many, if not most meat techs, annoy the ever loving shit out of me, I do care about the plight of the common man.

The common man is all my family has ever been. I can find nothing but blue collar workers and my family tree, and when I were how far back I go, no factory owners, but plenty of factory workers or factory worker equivalents. And so to someone who was infuriated by the wealthy,

breaking the fucking backs of the poor to line their pockets with more money that don't need, hail Nimrod, you comi motherfucker. Your heart was clearly in the right place. Even Bojangles be grudgingly agrees. Cheyventsky returned to school, graduated with his medical degree in 1953, but he soon, not surprisingly, abandoned medicine for the revolution, a real revolution, not that

natal-fed fake revolution bullshit. Guevara traveled to Guatemala, joined the effort to defend the CIA backed over throwing of their leftist president, Haqabou, Arbenz Guzman. In 1951, Arbenz, a progressive military officer, had won one of Guatemala's few genuinely democratic elections. And the US, not happy about it. Chase, Dayton, Guatemala, Guatemala for eight and a half months, a small Central American Republic, a three million mostly indigenous Mayan inhabitants, where 70% of the land was owned by two percent

of the population, mostly Blancos of European descent. The Arbens government was an open conflict with the US-based, here these banana fuckers show up again, United Fruit Company. United Fruit was as powerful politically as it was commercially. In Guatemala City, Guevara formed a close relationship with the Proving Militant, Hilda Gidea, whom he later married. Gidea did a lot to transform Guevara's latent romantically-ten socialism into a more concrete and ideologically-defined commitment to Marxism. On June 18th, the band of Oleg Arquick, Oleg Arquick mercenaries armed and directed by the CIA entered the country.

Led by Colonel Castillo Armas, they were supported by US warplanes, which strafed and bombed civilian areas to so panic and terror. By the end of the month, Arbenes was overthrown and replaced by the dictatorship of Colonel Castillo Armas. The circumstances surrounding the collapse of the Arbenins, Arbins regime was the pivotal moment in Guevara's political development. Despite some claims of the contrary, he does not appear to have taken part in any actual fighting here, however, Guevara affected by the collective trauma in a way that will forever change his psyche. In Guatemala City, a democratically elected regime is shattered by US military intervention.

The true nature of the relationship between Washington and Latin America seared irrevocably into Gavara's soul as US bombs fall on behalf of the United Fruit and an entire nation swallowed by a wave of fascism. After taking power, Castile Armaz had thousands of critics labeled as communist. Whether they actually were or not, anyone who opposed him ran the risk of being labeled a commie and put into a detention center. More than 3,000 people arrested immediately following the coup and approximately a thousand agricultural workers are killed by Castillo Armas's troops to quell uprisings. Over the next three years before he's assassinated, over 70,000 people are investigated for being possible commies.

Many are imprisoned, executed or they disappear. Frequently without trial, a series of other series of other US back leaders succeeds his presidency Seen with the US didn't Guatemala for the obvious purpose of making sure that US backed and often owned companies are able to continue to profit greatly off-exploited locals Deepens chase communist convictions Following this transition of power Gavara flees to Mexico City, where he meets Fidel and his brother Raul Castro. Jorge G. Castaneda, author of Compagnaro, the life and death of Che Guevara, wrote about

Guevara's relationship with Castro, saying, One was impulsive, the other thoughtful. One emotional and optimistic, the other cold and skeptical. One was attached only to Cuba, the other linked to a framework of social and economic concepts. Without Ernesto Guevara, Fidel Castro might never have become a communist. Without Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara

might never have been more than a Marxist-theoretician in idealistic intellectual. Castro's next revolutionary plot now. Just as crazy as the first one, maybe crazier. November of 1956, 82 members of the 26th of July movement set sail from Vera Cruz, Mexico in a very small yacht they bought called the grandma. This or grandma, this fucking boom was only designed for a dozen passengers. Its maximum capacity was 25 and they filled it with 82 revolutionaries and

a shit ton of guns and ammo. So it took a few days longer than expected to make it Cuba because it was very much overloaded and they're very lucky they all didn't sink and drown. Guys, we're riding real low in the water. Do you think maybe it's a bad idea to exceed the weight capacity by about a thousand percent? On December 2nd, several days late for a planned rendezvous because it being overloaded with other guerrillas who ended up getting butchered by Batista soldiers. They landed a swamp on Cuba's coast near the city of Manzanio, Hungary, not in the best of spirits, but near a cache of more weapons. But then they quickly encounter more Batista's men and most of them are killed. Only around a fourth

of them survived including Fidel, Raul and Che Guevara and they flee into the Sierra Mace, May Astr mountains and high. Batista ordered government soldiers to hunt them down, killed Castro and the others, but just couldn't find them. Local farmers, other villagers and the rural mountains helped them hide. Cuban newspapers reported that Castro was killed in December of 1956, but three months later he did an interview for a series of articles for the New York Times and surprised a bunch of people. Castro loyalists had contacted editorial writer Herbert L. Matthews to arrange an interview and snuck into them and snuck him into the mountains. I had to have been tremendously exciting for an investigative journalist. The first article was released

on February 24, 1957. Matthews wrote about Castro. He has strong ideas of liberty, democracy, social justice, the need to restore the Constitution to hold elections. When Castro was asked how he felt about the US, he responded, you can be sure, we have no animosity towards the United States and the American people. And I feel like it is fingers crossed behind his back

when he did it, because that was, that was not true. He did not feel that way. But he didn't want to poke a giant fucking bear with the history of helping to squash uprisings And I feel like it is his fingers crossed behind his back when he did it because that was that was not true. He did not feel that way. But he didn't want to poke a giant fucking bear with the history of helping to squash uprisings in Latin America. He's not stupid. He's not ready to do that yet, not until he's won.

He already had a big bear and butees to the fight. He didn't need to add a giant CIA mega bear on top of him when he barely has an army. The Cuban government called the articles Fabrications, but the interview accomplished its intended effect of breathing life into Castro's revolution. Spread the word. By early 1957, Fidel and his surviving revolutionaries were recruiting more and more locals to their side, many of them to help him fight, and they were winning a series of skirmishes against Batista's rural guard patrols.

The rebels also successfully rearmed themselves by raiding small army posts, using their weapons to attack larger posts, gain still more weapons and just kept repeating that cycle. One firefight at a time, their building momentum, inspiring more people to join them. Castor later said in his autobiography, we take out the men in front, attack the center, then ambush the rear when it started retreating, in the terrain that we had chosen. Also during Chase time, living hidden among the poor substance farmers at the Sierra Meas from mountains, he discovers that there are no schools, no electricity, minimal access to healthcare, and more than 40% of the adults are illiterate.

Jay becomes an integral part of the rebel army. Set up factories to make grenades, helps build ovens to make bread, and organize the schools to teach illiterate locals how to read and write. And he becomes Castro's second in command. As second in command, he becomes a harsh disciplinarian, who sometimes shoots defectors. He wasn't above executing traders personally. Deserters were punishes traders, and Guevara was known to send squads to track those seeking to abandon their duties. As a result, Guevara becomes feared for his brutality and ruthlessness, but also is revered. Tomas Alba, who fought under Gavara's command, later stated that Che was loved in spite

of being stern and demanding. We would have given our life for him. He was admired for his bravery. Gavara's teenage lieutenant, Joel Eglaceus, wrote that he had once been wounded in battle when Che ran out to me, defined the bullets, threw me over his shoulder and got me out of there. The guards didn't dare fire at him. Later they told me he made a great impression on them when they saw him run out with his pistol stuck in his belt, ignoring the danger.

They didn't dare shoot. So revered even by some of his enemies, which you know says a lot. August 1st, 1957, Batista suspends constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression as a result of rebel momentum. The big Cuban bear is scared of Fidel's mountain gorillas. Month later, September 4, 1957, Batista tells the public there will be an election in June of 1958. Meanwhile, Castro and his rebels continue engaging in raids and they start destroying property, including sugar millills and plantations. And some buildings in Havana are bombed.

Tourism is now affected. Word spread in that Havana, not safe, not the hedonistic playground it once was. The mob not pleased, neither is Batista. Fidel and his rebels are hitting them in their pocketbooks. 1958, the Revolutionaries launched a series of successful military campaigns to capture key areas of Cuba. This combined with the growing loss of popular support, protesters are emboldened by Castro and his rebels, and this ultimately causes Batista's government to collapse.

March of 1958, the U.S. imposes an arms embargo on Cuba and suspends the delivery of almost 2,000 rifles to the Cuban government. Now why are they doing this? Why not help Batista squash the rebellion? Well, I think mostly because at this point, Castro has done a great job of convincing the US that he's not a communist, that he's not anti-America, and that he's the real deal as a revolutionary. And since it's starting to look like Castro might win, you know, the US wants

to be his friend. You know, and by friend, I mean, trading partner, still a lot of sugar shackles to be made. And we Americans, holy shit shit do we love our sugar. Our favorite and most addictive drug. Soon after feeling betrayed by the US government, Batista Abandons has promised to have an election on March 26, 1958, elections pushed back to November 3rd. Summer of 1958, Batista launches a final campaign against the rebels attacking them with Air Force bombers and naval offshore units. In June, while hiding out in these Sierra Measantra Mountains, Castro wrote to his friend

Silia Sanchez, once his war is over, I will start what for me is a much longer and bigger war. The war I'm going to wage against the Americans. I realize this will be my true destiny. Yeah, he wasn't serious earlier when he said, like, I have no problem with the Americans. June 26, 1958, Castles forces kidnapped 10 Americans and two Canadians from the free port, sulfur company, mining headquarters in Cuba. Next day, U.S. sailors are kidnapped from a bus outside of Guantanamo Bay.

Now this of course makes the U.S. extremely angry and Castles releases the prisoners within a week. Sometimes you know, you got to cross the line. To know where it is. July 28th, the US deploys Marines to Guantanamo Bay to protect the base's water supply. Raul Castro is in charge of the Rebels in this area and opposes the US presence, but is smart enough to make sure his men do not engage.

Had they started shooting Marines, I'm guessing he knew that he, his brother, the rest of their leadership, the rest of their whole fucking crew, very likely gonna end up dead or in prison. Also in July, Batista soldiers advanced to the foothills of the CRME Estromations, but they're pushed back by the revolutionaries. By August, the government's offensive had stalled and the army has retreated. Batista can't take over the mountains, but he does still control most of the nation,

including Havana. His promised election day arrives,, promised election day arrives. November 3rd, voting numbers and several provinces are extremely low due to those areas being rebel strongholds. There were three candidates running for the presidency, including a successor chosen by Batista Castro threatened both the candidates before the election. A moderate candidate won in four provinces, but Batista's successor was the overall winner because of blatant ballot stuffing. Batista now goes on to lose more popular support over the following weeks. Most of the Cuban army still loyal to him, but they're dealing with ammo and ammo shortage,

which meant that the rebels were equipped to face them in battle with their own limited supplies. Better equipped. December 11, 1958, U.S. Ambassador to to Cuba, Earl Smith visits Batista and informs him that the US will no longer support his regime. Also tells him he's not welcome in the US. It's a shitty day for him. His ties to organized crime, they're just too great. It was suggested that Batista seek exile in Spain. So Batista's regime is almost collapsed now. The end is near. December 27, 1958, a force led by Che Guevara,

captures an armored train containing arms and ammunition, Batista's army desperately needed huge blow. Now he knows he's done. Few days later, at dawn on January 1st, 1959, Batista and 180 associates flee to the Dominican Republic where they will remain for months. And then on August 20th, he'll flee again to Madira Portugal.

Backing up to when he fled Cuba, his army general, uh, uh, you, oh my gosh, you logeo, contio establishes a provisional government led by chief justice Carlos M. Piedra, General Jose Pedraza and himself. It is doomed not to last. Castro had already declared the rebels victorious and on January 3rd, Che Guevara leads the first rebel forces into Havana proper. And they encounter little resistance. They have won the revolution.

Viva la revolution! Patro de muerte, vence a reimos! And important to note that the Cuba that Castro was taken over was not in a complete state of anarchy. In fact, Cuba was still doing pretty well despite all this battling compared to other Latin American countries, which might say more about the sad state of affairs in Latin America at this time than it does about how well Cuba was doing. History.com writes

on the eve of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was neither the paradise that would later be conjured by the nostalgic imaginations of Cuba's many exiles, nor the hellhole painted by many supporters of the revolution. These revolutionaries recall Cuba as the brothel of the Western hemisphere, an island inhabited by a people degraded and hungry whose main occupation was to cater to American tourists at Havana's luxurious hotels, beaches, and casinos. Rather, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America. Cuba was fifth in the Western hemisphere in per capita income, but we did go over how misleading that can be. Third in life expectancy, second in per capita ownership of cars

and telephones, and first in the number of TV sets per inhabitant. Cuba had the fourth highest literacy rate in Latin America at 76 percent, and Cuba was number 11 in the world for doctors per capita. Cuba also had according to a PBS documentary, a thriving middle class, but there was still a lot of economic disparity. Many Cubans in the countryside lived in abject poverty. And because sugar is a seasonal product, the sugar can cutters only worked four months out of the year, meaning they were unemployed most of the year. Many poor people were starving, had no access to healthcare

or education, those who did go to school only got a first or second grade education. Cuba also strongly affected by racism, clubs and beaches heavily segregated. Fidel Castro arrived victorious in Havana on January 8th, 1959. He gave a speech in front of tens of thousands of people at the end of his speech, white doves were released to symbolize a new Cuba. And one of the doves supposedly landed on Castro's shoulder, at least that's what the story say, might be propaganda. And the crowd started to chant his name

by the age of just 32 Castro had taken over Cuba. On February 7th, 1959, Castro's provisional government installs Manuel Euretia Yeo as president and Jose Mirol Cordona as prime minister. Castro assumes position of commander in chief of the military. Just nine days later, though on February 16th 1959, Jose Mirol Cordona unexpectedly resigns and now Castro is sworn in his prime minister. Why did he resign? I guess need to disagree with Fidel on something Castro wasn't going to stand for, or he just didn't want to be Castro's puppet

Castro doing the same shit Batista did before him now, right takes power with military coup then acts like he's not really in charge when he sure as shit is in charge Castro's brother Raul takes an important role in the new government 1959 he's appointed head of the armed forces to start things off on a positive note He has exactly a hundred of Batista's military officers executed. Roy will serve as Fidel's defense minister from 1959 all the way to 2008. 1962 he'll be appointed deputy prime minister, 1972. He'll become first deputy prime minister and he'll serve as first vice president of the council of the state and the council with ministers. I feel like the communist are really good.

It's just like a changing, you know, just like, there's changing, coming up with new titles, going up with new jobs in the government. Che Guevara will serve as Castro's primary advisor. He becomes a Cuban citizen, divorces his first wife, the revolutionary, and marries a Cuban woman. And then Guevara is placed in charge of the infamous Lacabagna prison, a former military base built by the Spaniards between 1763 and 1774. It is believed that there Guevara oversaw the executions of around 500 former officials

of Batista's government over a period of just about 90 days. All given speedy trials and decences in early 1959. Guevara later appointed president of the National Bank, despite having literally no experience in banking, and also made minister of industry, despite having no experience in industry. A CIA classified report states that by 1963, Guevara had brought the economy to its lowest points since Castro came to power. Putting chain charges, he had no fucking business. Being in charge of was one of Castro's many fuck ups. He was very idealistic and idealism,

not always good. I thought it'll proverb, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Castro embodied one of the worst in my opinion types of far left thinking. Best intentions, but a lot more heart than brains. Very idealistic and very naive. He declared rents for those who paid less than a hundred100 a month to be halved. And the poorest people rejoiced. But then many of their landlords could no longer afford to repair their homes or would lose them outright. And then some of the renters homes fall into dilapidation. Now the people are living there in squalor. Now the government is taking in less than taxes because less people are making less money. Now social programs for the poor take a hit and the poor suffer more than before.

A Castro slash the pay of judges and politicians and other high ranking government workers and increased the pay of the lowest civil servants, doctors, lawyers, business leaders, the Cuban economy changed for all of them. Salaries decreased for almost everybody except, you know, Cuba's poorest people and the poorest people again rejoiced. But then as is so often the case when communist regimes take over, the best and brightest bounce the fuck out, let the brain drain begin and that mother fucks the already fragile economy. From 1960 to 1979, tens of thousands of Cubans leave the country in a massive brain drain with the vast majority coming from Cuba's educated, land-owning, middle and upper classes, doctors, lawyers, business leaders,

flea. Roughly 300,000 leave as fast as they can, often risking their lives to do so. Since again, as is the case with many communist regimes, Castro doesn't make it easy to leave. And now Cuba has less surgeons, less lawyers, less business leaders providing, you know, less jobs. I would venture to say that many, if not most of the world's most skilled, brightest professionals are motivated largely by wealth accumulation potential. And if you take that carrot away from them, even for the noblest of reasons, you are seriously weakening your society because they will leave you. Castell quickly nationalizes IEC's most of Cuba's private businesses. Around $9 billion worth, his people have no fucking idea how to run shit. Owners lose their investments, workers see their pay slashed, things start to fail and

break down. Castro did also invest in infrastructure and did make important reforms as Cuba's leader, but those reforms came at the cost of personal freedoms for Cubans. For example, Castro's regime opens 10,000 new schools, increases Cuban literacy to 90%. That's very good. Universal healthcare initially decreases infant mortality to 1.1%.

Right, 11,000 people. Castro abolishes legal discrimination, brings electricity to the countryside. So much good shit. But at the same time, Castro nationalizes factories and plantations. Labor unions now lose their ability to strike, the right to strike. Newspapers are shut down. The press has no freedom.

It's completely taken over by the government. Religious people and institutions face harassment and discrimination. Castro has foreign-born priests exiled from Cuba. He's excommunicated for violating a 1949 papal decree, papal decree against communism. I actually didn't know that the Pope banned Catholics from being communists. The decree was issued by the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office and approved by Pope Pius XII. The papacy felt that communism was a threat to Catholicism. And, you know, they're right to think that. Communism, religion, they don't mix well, right? The state and communism wants your allegiance to be to the state alone, country

before God. And you know, religion, obviously, the opposite of that. Gastroban is faithful from membership in Cuba's Communist Party, church property is confiscated, now owned by the state. From 1959 to 1961, roughly 80% of professional Christian priests and ministers of Cuban churches leave Cuba for the US in three years, about eight and 10 flea. That's fucking crazy. Some of those who stayed died. Castro had many opposers executed ined or forced them to immigrate. The Cuba Archive, aka the Free Society Project, a non-profit organization incorporated in 2001 at Washington,

DC, whose mission is to promote human rights to research information, estimates that tens of thousands of people were murdered and 5,600 firing squad deaths were documented in just the opening years of the regime. And this was sadly nothing new in Cuba, right? The director of Havana's morgue estimated that roughly 20,000 people have been tortured and murdered during Petites's rule. Back to Fidel's rule now, an interesting American man is initially put in charge of most of the firing squads.

Let's talk about Herman Marx for a bit. A fascinating little side road here. Next to Ernest Hemingway, he was the most famous American in Cuba when Castro waged and won his revolution. He started living for, you know, part of the year in Cuba, Hemingway did, in 1939, spent time off and on in Cuba until 1960. Hemingway, famous for being an award-winning author

and award journalist. Herman Marx, famous for being Castro's most notorious killer, especially sadistic. He was given the nickname of L, uh, L, uh, Carlos, the butcher when executing a prisoner, one of his signature moves was to empty his pistol directly into the condemned man's face, specifically so his relatives would not be able to recognize his corpse. According to one Cuban journalist account, when a man, uh, he had done this to his mother opened his coffin at the funeral, she died of a fatal heart

attack. My God. Other accounts, talking to him, sometimes bringing his pet dog with him to executions so the dog could lap up the blood of the condemned. He would tell a group of journalists, visiting Havana, 1959, that he was second command to Che at Lackabanya prison and declared that he was so busy He often conducted nightly executions until 2 a.m. and sometimes all the way until dawn He would invite these journalists and others to come to the prison and witness his handy work He called his executions festivities come see the festivities and Seemed to relish in his work. It's crazy fucker from Milwaukee

Basically joined Cast Castro's revolution because he was bored and thought it would be fun. He was 36 years old, been out of prison for a few years. He had a lot of, he had a long rap sheet. He was bounce from odd job to odd job, ran into some guys who told him about the revolution. He had been to Cuba when he himself was in the army and also once on vacation.

And he just decided to go see what the fuss was about. Didn't care about politics. Just wanted to get in some killing for some funsies. And you know, he knew he was good at killing. He traveled to South Florida, went to an army surplus store in Key West, bought some olive drab fatigue, some paratrooper boots, and then with a cold 45 revolver, 400 bucks in cash, and about 10 words in Spanish as he later put it, marks hopped on a boat to Cuba. Then hopped from Bar de Bar and Havana, he knew no one, trying to find someone who could take him to the Rebels,

while Batista is still in power. Ends up taking a bus to the little town of Manzanio and the tropical foothills of the Sierra, you know, Maestro Mountains, where he meets two young Cubans also hoping to join the guerrillas. And then this trio hikes for three days into the jungle and makes it to an outpost of about 40 rebels. Marks is assigned to the unit led by Che Guevara, which suffered the highest casualties in the

rebel army. One of its cohorts would be dubbed the Suicide Squad. And he's like, whatever, he quickly rises to the ranks of the Suicide Squad to become a captain, he distinguishes himself for being fearless in battle. In one battle, he led a group of 18 rebels in an ambush of a 250 man convoy in one. He consistently volunteered to join the most dangerous missions and won more and more respect from Che and through Che fiddle Castro. He was wounded in the ankle at one point. The wound got infected, then gangreness.

He was flown to Florida to recover in a hospital when he couldn't even put his boot on because his ankle was so swollen and pusses, constiporn out. Uh, recovers enough to head back to Cuba just in time to witness Castro arriving victoriously in Havana. By the time Castro is in Havana, Marx is headed to the prison to work as the butcher. Uh, but within a year, he will flee for his life. Castro started steadily turning on anyone who was American or anyone he thought was out to get him. In a nation where over-throws are somewhat common and assassinations common as well. Paranoia leads to a lot of murders, right?

Definite dictator trope. In the end, Marx's contribution to the revolution meant nothing. He had to flee on a hijack boat back to Florida after balancing around the States, making it back to Milwaukee. After a few years, he disappears. His family thinks he fled to Mexico and no one has any idea what actually became of the butcher just disappeared from the history books. Some weird characters in this

revolution. Mark's one of many executioners. Cubans were killed for being enemies of the new States, perceived enemies, or just for being people who wanted to leave. Thousands killed, trying to flee the country. Professor Mara Feli Perez-Stable, a Cuban American who used to support the revolution, told PBS after defecting, there were thousands of executions, 40, 50,000 political prisoners. The treatment of political prisoners with what we know today about human rights and international norms governing human rights, It is legitimate to raise questions about possible crimes against humanity in Cuba. Although he promoted democracy and freedom as he fought his revolution, Castro never held an election during his time really in Cuba. Hard to respect that, right? The freedom fire,

who doesn't actually want freedom at all. He limited the amount of land Cubans could own, abolished almost all private businesses, severe housing and consumer goods shortages would occur a short time into his leadership. Africa Astro died many years later in 2016 at the age of 90. Anthony De Palma wrote for the New York Times, his legacy in Cuba and elsewhere has been a mixed record of social progress and abject poverty, of racial equality and political persecution, of medical advances, and a degree of misery comparable to the conditions that existed in Cuba when he entered Havana as a victorious

guerrilla commander in 1959. Despite doing much to ruin Cuba's economy through his own terrible choices, Castro will still be able to maintain the loyalty of many Cubans for decades because because he'll just consistently blame the US for all of Cuba's problems. And I will talk about America's role in Cuba's problems during the years since Castro took power before we wrap up. The Church Committee, a U.S. Congressional Committee, would state that it substantiated eight attempts by the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro between 1960 and 1965. So Castro, you know, he did have some good reasons to hate America. He gave speeches that rouse powerful emotions created a fear of US invasion. Many Cubans started calling themselves Fidelistas, not Communists. The

Church of the Communist leader. Don't just admire the leader, worship them. Castro did have a way with words which allowed him to influence people or redirect a conversation back to where he wanted it to be. For example, he did an interview with Playboy magazine in 1985. When asked how he would respond to President Reagan describing him as a dictator, he answered, if being a dictator means governing by decree, then you might use that argument to accuse the Pope of being a dictator. I mean, he's not wrong, especially during the days of medieval

Europe. He continued by saying about Reagan, if his power includes something as monstrously undemocratic as the ability to order a thermonuclear war, I ask you, who then is more of a dictator? The president of the United States or I? Interesting point, however, Reagan was elected by a populace who knows that whoever they put on charge that person will have access to the infamous so-called red button Not a dictator an elected madman perhaps, but not a dictator From April 15th to the 26th 1959 Castro visits US and is met largely by cheering crowds He publicly denies being a communist during this trip. And in early 1959, he's

still not a communist. He's not openly a socialist for sure. Probably not yet a communist, not quite. Castle even hired a renowned PR firm to help promote his tour, but President Eisenhower still refuses to meet with him. He does meet with VP Richard Nixon, though. And Secretary of State Christian Hurtler, cast a report that he said Cuba would stay neutral in a conflict between the West and the Soviet block. He wants to work with America still at this point, just not be subjugated by them. Later when asked about the accuracy of this quote, he said, you know, Cuba was poor and had no soldiers or arms. He's playing the game. After meeting Castro, Nixon described him to Eisenhower as, the one fact we can

be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities, which made him a leader of men. Whatever we may think of him, he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly Latin American affairs generally. He seems to be sincere. He is either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline. My guess is the former. His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure

I've met in 50 countries, but because he has the power to lead we have no choice, but at least try to orient him in the right direction. Castro later said he immediately disliked Nixon strongly. May 17th 1959 Castro signs the agrarian Reform Act, which expropriates farmland over a thousand acres and bans land ownership by foreigners. Two hundred thousand peasants received land titles. As a result of this act, kind of. The intention of the act was to establish a class of independent farmers, but in reality

the government controlled the land and farmers became government employees. So, didn't really give them land titles. More like, hey, you can, you get to kind of hold on to this land as long as you're a good communist, but really we own it. July 16, 1959, Castro forces President Manuel or Yatia Yeo to resign and replaces him with Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado. Castro resigned from his position as prime minister. He called your, your Tia, a traitor and said he would not work with him.

This was a demonstration now demanding, or excuse me, there was a demonstration now, demanding Castro's return and your Tia is arrested after he resigns. After being led out of jail, your Tia immediately seeks asylum in the embassy of Venezuela, then bounces to America, settles in Queens, New York, and works as a university professor for the next two decades. July 26, 1959 Castro holds a rally in Havana to celebrate the 26th of July movement. Tens of thousands of peasants are brought in and housed by middle and upper class families. One million people attend the rally where Castro says, Cuba's revolutionary government was like that of ancient Athens, except better, because Cuba's revolutionary government was not for the privileged classes or the oligarchy.

This is true democracy. By the end of 1959, Castro has purged all the old military and government leaders who had connections to Petista or who opposed him in any way. By the end of the first year of Castro's government, only nine out of 21 original ministers remain. Additionally, Cuba establishes relations with the Soviet Union. The USSR sends over 100 Spanish-speaking advisors to help organize Cuba's defense committee. February 6, 1960, Castro begins talks with the USSR. So the Union agrees to buy five million tons of, can you guess? That's right, sugar.

Over the next five years, end to provide Cuba with oil, grain, and credit. If America is not going to work with, you know, Castro, well, he'll work with Mother Russia on May 8th of that year. The two countries established formal diplomatic relations. March 17th, 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower, largely because of Castro's relationship with the USSR, approves a plan for the US to place embargoes on sugar, oil, and guns and issue propaganda against Cuba. Some cold war shit. US not happy about having a Soviet ally, you know, about a hundred miles off the coast. Eyes now is planned also approved and attacked by Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. These exiles will be under the leadership of Jose Mural Cardona, the former prime minister. July 5th, 1960, Cuba officially nationalizes all US companies

and properties. Big fuck you, Uncle Sam. Next day, President Eisenhower cancels the 700,000 tons left in Cuba's sugar quota for 1960. September of 1960, Cuba nationalizes all US banks in Cuba. Another big fuck you, Uncle Sam and American corporate interests. That month, Castro travels to the UN and publicly embraces Soviet premier Nikita Kruyshiff,

a Kruyshiff, then gives a four and a half hour speech to announcing the US. Cuba looking pretty fucking comedies now. Though Daniel just said, shook his head in disappointment. September 28th, 1960, Castro announces the creation of neighborhood committees to watch over enemies of the revolution. So basically, just Gestapo shit.

These become the committees for the defense of the revolution. The act is surveillance agents who find counter revolutionaries, also target members of the LGBTQ community. Many years later, in his 80s, Castro actually apologized for some of that. He'll tell a Mexican journalist that his persecution of homosexuals and other members of the LGBTQI plus community who were rounded up at this time, you know, as supposed counter revolutionaries in place in forced labor camps was quote a great injustice that arose from Cuba's long history of discrimination against homosexuals, which was rooted in Spanish Catholicism. January 3rd, 1961, President Eisenhower officially ends diplomatic relations with the Cuban

government. He ends his address by saying, fuck those motherfuckers! They can suck my fucking dick! He ends it with, it is my hope and my conviction that in the not-too-distant future, it will be possible for the historic friendship between us once again to find his reflection in normal relations of every sort. Meanwhile, our assembly goes out to the people of Cuba, now suffering under the yoke of a dictator. He leaves out the party about how they previously suffered under the yoke of America. January 20th, 1961, President Kennedy assumes office, inherits Eisenhower's secret plan for a Cuban invasion. Kennedy

wasn't exactly on board with it. He did not want direct overt military intervention in Cuba because he was worried the Soviets would retaliate. Fair concern. CIA assures him they will keep US involvement a secrets and then if everything goes according to plan, the invasion will start an uprising and then that uprising will topple Castro's regime from within. January 28, 1961, Kennedy authorizes the CIA to initiate Eisenhower's invasion plan. According to this plan, around 1200 Cubans were supposed to land on the country's coast, take over the city of Trinidad and start a rebellion. April 15, Kennedy launches the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion.

April 17, 1400 Cuban exiles invaded the country's a little more than planned in an attempt to overthrow Castro and the mission is a huge failure. Exiles are outnumbered by the military and surrender less than 24 hours later. April 15th, the exiles left from Nicaragua and a squadron of B26 bombers painted to look like stolen Cuban planes. They conduct a strike against Cuban airfields, but Castro knew about the raid in advance and moved the planes. Kennedy now worried that the plan was too large to be a clan desktime operation and too small to be successful.

By April 17th, the exiles reached the Bay of Pigs on Cuba's south shore, some of the exiles ships sank after hitting coral reefs, and then back up pair of troopers land in the wrong spot. Basically everything that could go wrong, could go wrong. Castro soldiers trapped them on the beach, 114 people killed almost immediately. Over 1100 people captured and imprisoned. Those prisoners later released an exchange for almost $53 million worth of food and medicine from the US. Between December of 1962 and July of 1965, the survivors will be returned to the States.

Historians believed that both the CIA and the exiles thought Kennedy would send in the military to help them once they started. But he refused because, you know, you didn't want to start World War III. U.S. tonight any involvement in the incident, but as we know, the world eventually learned that the exiles were trained by the CIA and armed with American weapons. The failed invasion only helped Castro consolidate his power and promote communism and Cuba in a hatred of America. April 19, 1961 in a speech Castro now publicly announces that the revolution was socialist. Not quite ready

to say communist, but soon. May 1st 1961 Castro announces an end to democratic elections in Cuba. In his speech he criticizes US saying if Mr. Kennedy does not like socialism, we don't like imperialism. We don't like capitalism. Months later Castro shifts openly from socialism to communism. December 2nd, Castro declares in a speech, I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life. Marxism or a scientific socialism has become the revolutionary movement of the working class. Later in 1964, Castro's sitchuanita writes about her reaction to that speech for Life magazine.

She said, as I listened, I thought her reaction to that speech for Life magazine. She said, as I listened, I thought that surely he must be a superb actor. He had fooled not only so many of his friends, but his family as well. How could Fidel, who had been given the best of everything? Right? Remember, he was raised rich? Be a communist. This was the riddle which paralyzed me and so many other Cubans who refused to believe that he was leading our country into the Communist camp. February 7th 1962 Kennedy imposes a full economic embargo on Cuba excluding food and medicine. In March of that year Cuba starts rationing food. A Castro in turn strengthened his relationship with the Soviet Union accepting more economic

and military aid. The next significant event in the Castro regime is the Cuban Missile Crisis. May 29, 1962, Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces Commander Marshall SS, Björzolvov, I'll just fake it. Björzolv! I don't know what it says now. Secretly arrived in Havana to discuss putting nuclear weapons in Cuba. July 2, 1962, a rival Castro travels to Moscow, a Moscow, and the two countries agreed to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba. Scary cold war shit for the US. You know what you're forgive me if I call Moscow or Moscow, Moscow because Moscow either was near me here because you know we just make up pronunciations in turn states.

September 8th 1962, a Soviet freighter brought the first nuclear weapons into Cuba. Second freighter arrives a week later. October 14th 1962, US major Richard Heiser, Dick Heiser, almost Dick Heiser. What a bummer. Flying a YouTube reconnaissance plane over Cuba and photographs a Soviet SS4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled. Scary stuff. Kennedy's briefed on October 16th and calls on a group of advisors and officials known as the executive committee or XCOM. There were the ones who negotiated throughout the crisis. History.com defines the Cuban Missile Crisis as a 13-day political and military standoff. The US won the Missile's gone because Cuba, you know, again, just about a hundred miles off the coast of Florida. Missiles could have reached different targets on the East Coast. Soviets won wanted missiles in Cuba to level the plane field because the US had missiles in Western Europe and Turkey.

I mean, I get it. I don't want sovids missiles pointed at me if I'm living in Florida. Just like if I was a Soviet citizen, you know, I wouldn't want missiles pointed at me if I'm from Turkey. Castro and Nikita Khrushchev thought the missiles would deter US aggression.

Does make sense? Can it use gold to get the missiles removed without initiating a nuclear holocaust? Also make sense. Kennedy's goal was to get the missiles removed without initiating a nuclear holocaust. Also makes sense. The committee thought about bombing the missile sites or invading Cuba, but Kennedy decided to initiate a naval quarantine to prevent additional missiles from entering the country. And the US specifically consistently called it a quarantine. Because the blockade, what it actually was, is considered an active war.

Funny little twist of words there. What, what? A blockade, you're saying that we started a blockade. Ha ha, hell no, no, that's way too much. That's an active war, my friend. No, no, no, no, we are just, we just placed a bunch of ships with giant guns on them around your country and, you know, kind of, kind of putting those silly little timeout.

We're being a little bit of a goofy naughty boy. Just a little silly timeout. It'll still, timeout quarantine of sorts, if you will. Just make sure you don't get infected by nasty Russian, commie, kudis and stuff. October 22, 1962, Kennedy gives a televised address notifying Americans about the missiles. Makes it clear that the US is prepared

to use force if necessary, lot of buttholes, pucker, real hard. Millions now fear World War Three is imminent. Tense, tense days. At same day, the US ambassador to the Soviet Union delivers a letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev, the states, the one thing that has most concerned me has been the possibility that your government

would not correctly understand the will and determination of the United States in any given situation. Since I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would in this nuclear age deliberately plunge the world into war, which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world including the aggressor. That's a don't fuck around. Don't fuck around and find out. Crusher, we are ready to mutually destroy one another. Crusher, I've respond on October 23rd, writing that the missiles are intended solely

for defensive purposes. US ships were stationed around Cuba and the Soviets had submarines deployed to the Caribbean. October 24th, Crusher sends an accusatory letter to Kennedy writing, you are no longer appealing to reason, but wish to intimidate us. But maybe you're no longer, you're no longer in the Piling to reason, but wish to intimidate us Yankee fuck. Hock. I fucking kill all everything you love.

If no, he's not wrong. This was exactly what Kennedy was doing. That day, Soviet ships heading to Cuba approach to US quarantine, but stopped before there's a military confrontation. The Americans end up winning this insane game of nuclear chicken. October 25th, the Soviet freighters returned to Europe. Following day, Kruchef offers to remove the missiles if the US promises not to invade Cuba. Castro immediately writes a letter to Kruchef urging him to come on. Let's go ahead and start to the war. He wants him to use the nuclear weapons. Viva the revolution. Right. Bring the imperialist to their knees. World War three. Let's fucking go. This guy, this guy truly, truly was, you know, willing

to die for his beliefs. Castro's letter was disregarded. And Kruchef wrote to the Kennedy asking him to de-escalate the conflict so they would not doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war. October 27th, an American reconnaissance plane shot down over Cuba, people real nervous again, and invasion forces readyed in Florida, but wouldn't end up being needed. Kennedy determined that Khrushchev had not given the order to shoot down the plane. 35-year-old Major Rudolph Anderson, the pilot, is considered to be the only U.S. combat casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis At same day cruise chef proposes dismantling the missiles if the US will remove their missiles in Turkey

That evening US Attorney General Robert Kennedy meets with Soviet ambassador and told it in a totally The Brinion in Washington and tells him the US plan to remove the missiles from Turkey But you know just couldn't say that publicly, but we're going to for sure get to that like ASAP, huge priority. October 28th, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis comes to an end. Crucia for rights and open letter to Kennedy promising that the missiles in Cuba will be dismantled and removed. Castro is humiliated by the incident because he has left out of the negotiations.

The US does start dismantling nukes in Turkey in 1963. It just takes a long time to do that and, you know, we still haven't finished the job. It's just, there's a lot of paperwork. You know, there's a lot of turnover when you're trying to dismantle nukes and stuff, you know, and various employees and stuff. It's hard to like, you know, keep the plan on course. And we still, I don't know, 50 or so nukes, you know, in Turkey right now. So sorry about that. Uh, things still tense between the US and Cuba. December 24th, 1962, the US sends Cuba, like I mentioned, over $52 million in medicine and food in exchange for prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion. April and May of 1963, Castro visits the Soviet Union,

receives a hero's welcome. Soviet Union agrees to buy more. I bet you can guess sugar from Cuba at inflated prices while selling oil to Cuba at reduced prices and Cuba will receive any military equipment they ask for free of charge. Oh, noise. November 17th 1963, Canada sends a message to Castro informing him that he's ready to negotiate normal relations and the embargo, but then Kennedy is assassinated by the CIA. We all fucking know it. And maybe some off your types helped out. We're in cahoots or maybe just Oswald, but I doubt it five days later.

That same month Cuba and Axie's second agrarian reform law, the government now expropriates all private land larger than 167 acres. 11,000 farms are confiscated. Only substance farms are allowed to remain private. So Castro's communist regime tightens its stranglehold on the Cuban people. No more imperialist slave masters making millions on the backs of the poor. No, now everyone's just, you know, kind of poor. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Castro provides military and financial aid to leftist guerrilla movements in Latin America and Africa trying to spread his ideology worldwide. He portrays himself as a spokesperson for developing nations.

He provides military support to pro-Soviet forces in Angola, Ethiopia, Yemen, and these expeditions will ultimately be very unsuccessful and further strain the Cuban economy. 1965 Castro emerges Cuba's Communist Party with his revolutionary organizations makes himself head of the party. So whatever, you know, it's same shit, just same amount of in charge, it says different titles. Under Cuba's 1976 Constitution, the PCC becomes the only legal party in Cuba. And the revised 1990, 1992 Constitution defines it,

defines it as the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation. Only legal party. What a crock of shit. April 1965 Castro announces that Che Guevara has decided to seed his citizenship and leave the country to fight overseas. He wants to keep the fight going and rid more of Latin America of foreign exploitative interests. He also wasn't seen eye to eye with Castro in regards to the Soviet Union. He felt like once again Cuba had traded one master for another. Spain gets kicked out and then it was replaced by the US. US gets kicked out and now in his eyes replaced by the Soviet Union. Part of Chase Goodbye letter read by Castro in October of 1965 said, I have fulfilled the part of my duty that tied me to the Cuban Revolution.

And I say goodbye to you to the comrades, to your people who are now mine. Gavara travels to the Congo to support and train rebel forces there, liberation of temes of part of fails and Gavara does return in secret to Cuba to kind of lick his wounds. After the humiliation in the Congo, Gavara wants to return to Argentina, this homeland, start a revolution there. However, neither the Argentine communist party nor Castro want him to do that. Castro suggests he goes to Bolivia instead. So Che does just that.

Che feels that Bolivia is actually a great geographic location and if he can inspire a successful revolution there, it could spread to all of Latin America. In the fall of 1966, Guevara travels to Bolivia, changes his appearance by shaving the top of his head, shaves his beard, dies, his remaining hair around the sides of his head and back like around his ears, gray. It looks like he's 20, 30 years older, leads a guerrilla group in the Santa Cruz region. Their goal is to overthrow president Renee Barrientos and build a communist ally in alignment with Cuba.

Once the US finds out about Guevara's group and his plans, they send CIA operatives into Bolivia to kill him. Gavara also loses the support of the Bolivian Communist Party and ends up being hunted down by a tiny of Bolivian Rangers. In his own diary, capture after his death, Gavara wrote about the Communist Party of Bolivia, characterizing them as distrustful, disloyal, and stupid. He also expected to remain in radio contact with Havana, the two shortwave radio transmitters provided to him by Cuba though, cheap, shitty, and don't work.

Thus, the 50-year-old grilles with him are unable to communicate and be resupplied. They have no allies, and they're as isolated and stranded in the jungle. Viva the revolution! 1966, January of that year, Castro found the organization for solidarity with the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America to promote revolution and communism in those nations. At a conference, Castro promises that revolutionaries in any corner of the world can count on support from Cuba. The US, obviously, less than pleased with his announcement.

Lastly, less than pleased with this announcement. June of 1967, Soviet premier Alexi Kozykin, visits Havana and advises Cuba, sorry, I probably mess his name off. He's like one of the few names. I forgot to look at the pronunciation for Alexi, something. Visits Havana advises Cuba that the Soviet Union will not support wars in Latin America. Castro then receives a letter warning him

that the Soviet Union would not prevent a US invasion if he stirred up revolutions in Latin America, which is literally exactly what Che is now doing. Castro must have felt so betrayed, right, disillusioned. He's ready to poke the big American bear, but big bad mother Russia, not ready. October 8, 1967, revolutionary hero, Che Guevara, captured by the Bolivian Rangers after a firefight between his poorly supplied and stranded men, right, no more than 50, fighting against 180 better equipped CIA trained Bolivians. He's only captured because they had managed to shoot

and wound him twice and he had run out of ammo. Che is interrogated by the Rangers and his hostile. He kicked one man to the ground to try to take a debacle pipe out of his mouth, spitting the face of a Bolivian rear admiral in charge of the Rangers. Refused to answer any of their questions, would not talk to the leaders only to some of the soldiers. Next day upon hearing of his capture, Bolivian president, Barrientos, orders Chay to be executed. Minus before he is killed, Guevara is asked by one of the Bolivian soldiers guarding him if he is thinking about his own immortality. And he replies, no, I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution.

This guy is fucking committed. Few minutes later, a ranger, Sergeant Taran, who had lost three friends in the battle to capture Che, enters the hut to execute him. You know, as his gun drawn, Che reportedly stands up in shouts, I know you've come to kill me. Shoot coward. You're only going to kill a man. Tyran hesitates, then points his self loading M2 carbine at Guevara, opens fire, hits him in the arms and legs.

Then as Guevara rides around and pain on the ground, he bites one of his wrists to avoid, like his own wrist, to avoid crying out and giving anyone the pleasure of hearing him scream. Tyran then fires another burst and fatally wounds him in the chest. That motherfucker was so committed. Well, I don't think communism will ever work in practice like it does a theory. I love that he wanted to help the poor so badly. The day before he was killed, he would actually allow to speak with a school teacher at the village he's been held in.

Who do you Cortez is 22 year old? During their short conversation, Guevara points out to Cortez the school teacher at the village who's been held in. Who the accordes is? 22-year-old. During their short conversation, Guevara points out to Cortez the poor condition of the schoolhouse, stating that it was anti-pädagogical to expect Camposino students to be educated there while government officials drive Mercedes cars. Guevara said, that's what we are fighting against. New York Times reported the CIA officer was present for the execution. Photos of

the Guevara's body were made public. His hands were cut off and delivered to Cuba to prove he was dead. I got to say, Rest in Peace, Che, a true revolutionary, even more jangles respects you. September of 1971, Cuba accepted as a member of the non-aligned movement, the conference of nations and opposition to the US Soviet arms race and Western colonialism. It was very important, Castro, stay on the Soviet Union's good side, considering they're the main source of financial support for Cuba. September of 1973, Castro attends the fourth conference of non-aligned nations and argues that a natural alliance exists between the Soviet Union and the Third World, the non-aligned

movement's theory of two imperialisms, ignores the glorious heroic and extraordinary services rendered to the human race by the Soviet people. Right? So he's against this race, but he's very much on the Soviet side. March 1st, 1975, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger announces that the US is ready to normalize relations with Cuba and lift the trade embargo. But on December 20th, 1975, President Gerald Ford announces that Cuba's involvement in Angola prevents restoration of full diplomatic relations. 1976, a new constitution establishes

a national assembly in Cuba. Castro's position moves from the premiere to President of the State Council. He remains the commander in chief of the Armed Forces and Secretary General of the Communist Party of Cuba. And again, different titles, same shit, same ruler. Next year, there are some new developments in US Cuba relations.

March 19, 1977, President Jimmy Carter allows US citizens to travel to Cuba and spend up to $100. So weird to me. I mean, $100, you know, then is more like $500 now, it's still a low number for a tourist to spend a vacation. Oh yeah, yeah, you can go there. Yeah, you just can't tip, don't tip.

Don't fancy meals, no steaks. And don't buy too many blankets and other goods. Too many cigars and stuff, and local poor people. I mean, I'm guessing this was intended to dissuade people from doing shit like buying, you know, thousands and thousands of cigars, and then selling them in the US later, but still. April 27th, the US and Cuba signed a maritime boundary and

fishing rights accord in September. The two countries opened intersections and their respective capitals, although it seems like US Cuba relations are headed in a positive direction. That'll change the next year. July 31st, 1978, Castro demands the eviction of US military bases in Guantanamo Bay. January 1st, 1979, Cuban Americans are permitted to visit family over

a hundred thousand people traveled to Cuba that year. I mean, clearly, you know, we still at the base there. So he was like, I demand you're out of here. And we're like, shut the fuck up. He's like, ah, okay. Over the previous two decades, over a million Cubans had immigrated to the US. 50% of Cuba's doctors and teachers have left the country now. And I feel like that says so much. If your doctors and teachers are fleeing your nation in droves, your government is probably hot garbage. April 1st, 1986, Cubans crash a bus into the perimeter fence of the Peruvian embassy in Havana. PNR officers shot at the bus as it drove towards the embassy. One of the bullets ricocheted, killed an officer, Castro wanted the embassy to turn over the people on the bus so they could go to trial for the officer's death,

but Peru grants them asylum. Now Castro decides to withdraw all PNR officers guarding international embassies in Cuba. Immediately after this, about 10,000 Cuban Cicacilum at four in embassies throughout Havana. He's like, okay, fine. Anybody can go to an embassy, I guess, and then like within fucking minutes,

all the embassies are packed. Please let me leave. I hate it here. May 1st, 1980, Fidel Castro initiates the Mariel Bolivt, a wave of mass immigration of Cubans to the US. Castro gives a speech in which he says,

excuse me, those who have no revolutionary genes, those who have no revolution, those who have no revolutionary blood, we do not want them. We do not need them. And he gives Cuban permission to leave from the port of Mariel for the next six months provided they have their own transportation. And again, like immediately when people hear that, they're like, fuck what? Like racing for the port.

About 125,000 Cubans board 1700 fishing and shrimping boats that were sent to the port of Maryl by Cuban exiles in the US Thousands of extra asylum seekers end up boarding these vessels Cuba's wanted to leave the country because of an economic crisis and because you know Fucking Castro is a totalitarian maniac and they have almost no freedom Q is foreign trade was suffering because the Cold War alliances in the US embargo and Cuba was now losing support from the Soviet Union Grandma the revolution's paper, called the distance criminals, anti-socialist bums and parasites. Castro forcefully deports people. He views his trash, including convicted criminals, people with mental illness, members of the LGBTQI plus community, and sex workers.

Up to 20,000 of the 125,000 people that fled Cuba did have criminal records. In total, 125,266 people come to Florida over five month period, making the largest single migration of Cubans to the US. And these people became known as Mary Alitos. President Jimmy Carter said that the Cubans will be welcome with open arms. June of 1980 Carter establishes the Cuban Haitian Entrance Program, grants temporary status and access to asylum, processing the Cubans, and Haitians entering the U.S. But then in October of 1980, there's been so many coming, the U.S. and Cuban negotiate to end the boat lifts.

The government's having trouble handling so many new people showing up. April 1982, the Reagan administration reinstates the ban on US citizens traveling to Cuba. October 25, 1983, the US invades the Caribbean island of Grenada, establishes a small provisional government to rid the small nation of Communists who would stage a coup, supported by Cuba, and taken over. 784 Cubans are on the island, 43 of whom are military personnel. The US captures 642 Cubans, kills 24 and wounds 57. Next, the US and Cuba reach an important resolution regarding immigration. December 14, 1994, the US and Cuba region agreement, where 2,746 Mariel refugees will return

to Cuba, and the US will allow 20,000 Cubans to immigrate each year going forward. March 11, 1997, a US resolution criticizing Cuba for alleged human rights violations is voted down by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. However, the UNHCR will eventually investigate Cuba for allegedly violating human rights. Year later, February 14, 1988, Cuba reluctantly allows the UNHCR to visit Cuba to assess human rights violations. Delegation arrives in September, almost 4,500 people gather to testify about violations, including torture, execution, disappearances, and even fucking medical experiments in Cuban

prisons. Castro sent the police to the delegation's hotel, and more than 300 people gathered at the hotel were physically abused by the police per PBS, a documentary. Castle then tried to show the group, uh, Cubus hospitals and prisoner rehab programs, but it was too late. The delegation had already heard, uh, horror stories from over 1500 people. February 21st, 1989, the delegation publishes its findings and the report states that Cuban citizens are deprived of freedom of speech movement and the right to assemble, amongst other, you know, isolated atrocities.

December of 1991, the Soviet Union officially dissolves, and this is a real bad situation for Cuba. Cuban now loses $6 billion in aid per year, further devastating their already fragile economy, and economy clearly not working on any level. If they were already barely scraping by, despite the Soviets giving them $6 billion a year, the Soviet Union no longer provides oil, no longer purchases sugar and other goods, and that leads to unemployment and inflation.

Castro presses the US to lift the embargo, but the government refuses and expands sanctions against Cuba. Castro will now begrudgedfully adapt the economy to be a quasi free market and encourages other countries to invest in Cuba. October 15th 1992, the U.S. passes the Cuban Democracy Act signed into law on October 23rd and the act prohibits foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. businesses from trading with Cuba. Prohibits U.S. citizens from traveling to Cuba prohibits families from

transferring money to Cuba. Law does still allow private businesses to deliver food and medicine for humanitarian reasons. Summary of 1993, Castro legalizes the American dollar in Cuba in his new exploration of the free market, kind of dipping his toes in. He allows Spanish, Italian and Canadian companies to build resort hotels and vacation properties, but Cubans can't stay there. So fucking ridiculous. Just still trying to hold on. Did his communist ideals, despite it clearly not working on any level.

By this point, a lot of Cubans are literally starving. 1994, Cubans' large-scale economic and social unrest and anti-government demonstrations. That year, the independent reported on just how horrendous the living conditions were in Cuba. Journalist Phil Davidson wrote, under ever-tider rashing since the collapse of the Soviet block, the poorest of Cubans began devouring the cat population last year.

Even the tiny allowance of meat in the ration books is rarely available after they queue for hours at state warehouses. A whole cat thing reminds me of the suck versus Ed Kemper, gimme my cat sickle's mother. I'm so hungry. My samples are so loud. A woman named Sylvia told the outlet cats were among the first to go since they're said to taste okay. I had my three rob for my house in January.

This is insane. I've heard of people eating dogs. Those little ones that have no fur, but I think that's the exception. They say dog meat tastes bad and you still see plenty of stray dogs. Most people have drawn the line there so far, but Daniel's fucking shaking. He's a little nervous right now. Cubans cannot get meat, fruit, soap, toothpaste, medicine, other important shit at ration warehouses.

Some people are able to buy these goods at state-run dollar shops using the US dollar, but the prices grossly inflated. Desperation for food and resources leads not surprisingly to an increase in robberies and burglaries, right? Crimes of desperation. Cubans are especially angry because the tourists staying in the hotels are given food they have no access to. Sylvia said, you already see people staring at tourists with a look that says, how come

they can have such nice clothes? How come they are given meat in state hotels? People are dying of hunger, but the government won't admit it. Well, I mean those people have nice clothes and are given meat in to us because they don't fucking live in a communist shithole. Right? This fucking system of government is terrible. She also gave examples of exactly how limited the rations were. According to Sylvia, she and her daughter received one bread roll a day. Only children were allowed milk and chicken.

Her daughter got a liter of milk every two days and a quarter piece chicken per month month, but this was inconsistent. I got a quarter piece of chicken per month. The castor really care about his people. What is stopping him at this point from accepting that his system of government doesn't work, right? Saying, hey, we'll work with you, America, right? Please help us. Give us food. We'll stop trying to support communist insurgencies. It's got to be just as ego. They receive six eggs a month, a half a pound a month of soya and mince meat mixture. Sounds terrible. They receive other rations of rice, black bean, sugar, salt, half a bottle of rum. Cubans were a lot of 10 aspirin tablets every three months. Jesus. This year, Casper announces that anyone who wants to leave Cuba can do so. And again, people are like, okay, don't need to tell me twice. For a five week period,

starting August 13th, 31,000 Cubans take to the ocean using just so much of random shit. Like, they don't even have, they don't have boats. They take off trying to bridge the 100 miles to Florida on fucking doors, inner tubes, random pieces of wood, estimated 16,000 to 100,000 people drown. How bad do you hate your life in your country when you're willing to hop on a fucking door and just hope you can float over 100 miles to Florida? On July 13th, 1994, a Cuban tugboat called the 13th of March, sinks seven miles outside Havana,

31 survivors out of 66 total passengers are picked up by the US Coast Guard. And they tell the Coast Guard two other Cuban boats tried to sink their boat. They claim they were chased and attacked by Cuban vessels, not given an opportunity to surrender. Cuba denies responsibility for the 13th of March sinking and the ledges of the accent must have been caused by the people on board. They're probably chasing themselves.

They're probably shooting themselves. You know, I mean, Cuba is now just trying to sink their own people. They would rather have them die at sea than make it to America until Cuba's enemy, how shitty life in Cuba is. September of 1994, the US and Cuba agree on a cap of 20,000 Cuban immigrants annually. May 2, 1995, the US and Cuba endorsed the agreement, where anyone who reaches the US will be allowed to stay. While anyone picked up at sea is taken back to Cuba or to another country. March 12, 1996, President Bill Clinton signs the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act. This law enforces penalties on foreign companies conducting business in Cuba and permits US citizens to sue foreign investors who use

property that was taken by the Cuban government. That year Castro visits US to invite exiles to return to Cuba to start private businesses and they're like, yeah, yeah, I don't think so. Go fuck yourself. October of 1997, Raul Castro, his name's successor to his brother, Fidel is now 71, his health is starting to go. Raul is a surprise 66 and he will take on increasing responsibility over the next decade. In the fall of 2001, Castro declines US humanitarian aid after Hurricane Michelle hits Cuba. He does propose a one time cash purchase of food from the US though and President Bush authorizes the shipment. Castro also orders 118 Cuban factories to shut down and send thousands of

Cuban doctors to Venezuela and exchange for oil imports. As Cuba's supply is extremely low. They're also low on doctors. 2003, Cuba's National Assembly confirms Castro as president for another five years. Oh, great news. By this point, there's a lot of talk and speculation about his declining health. In 2001, he faints during the speech.

In 2004, he trips and breaks his kneecap while leaving the platform. July 31, 2006, Castro temporarily transfers leadership of Cuba to his brother Raul. He has to undergo surgery for Castro in testinal bleeding, reportedly brought on by stress of recent public appearances in Argentina and Cuba. So, September of 2006, Raul Castro hosts over 50 heads of state at a meeting of the non-aligned movement. He hints that he's willing to engage in dialogue with the U.S. But then in December, declines to meet with a 10-member congressional

delegation that travels to Cuba in hopes of conferring with him. The stubborn bastards. February 19, 2008, 81-year-old Fidel Castro resigns as president, transfers power to 76-year-old Raoul. This event marks the end of an era, but Fidel reportedly maintains a position as the first secretary of the Communist Party advises from the background. Castro wrote a letter to the country that was published in the Communist paper. He wrote, I will not aspire to neither, I will not aspire to neither. Will I accept, I repeat, I will not aspire to neither, I will accept, okay, the position of president of council of state and commander in chief, it would betray my conscience to occupy responsibility that requires mobility and the total commitment that I'm not in the physical condition to offer.

Okay, fair. Five days later, the National Assembly makes a rebel president of Cuba and he leads Cuba through a new era kind of, you know, starts to oversee the restoration of some diplomatic ties with Fidel's enemy, the US. He lifts restrictions on commerce and travels and on travel for Cuban citizens. He allows parts of the military and government to privatize and opens up limited foreign investment. Cuban citizens now allowed to buy and sell their homes and Cuba leases some land to private

farmers. 2011 Raoul institutes a two-term limit for the president, meeting a total of 10 years in office. Two of Raoul's major reforms are removing wage restraints and allowing Cubans to buy cell phones and personal computers and stay at hotels, reserve for foreigners. It's fucking crazy. They didn't allow them to do that the first place. Raoul reduced restrictions on Cuban travel abroad, suspending the requirement to have official authorization and a letter of invitation. Residents could remain away from Cuba for two years, a longer and ex-pads can return to the island for up to

three months at a time. April of 2011, Raoul wins the election for the position of first secretary, chooses Jose Ramón Machado Ventura as a second in command during his retirement. Fidel now writes a column called Reflections of Fidel from November of 2011 to January of 2012. Castro does not publish any columns leading to rumors that his health has further deteriorated, but at the end of January, publishes more articles. Castro continues to meet with foreign leaders. Raul does such as Pope Benedict in March of 2012.

Pope seeks more religious freedom for Catholics in Cuba. February of 2013 Raul elected for another term as president announces it's his last. Raoul appoints 52 year old Miguel. Yes. Um, yeah, Miguel Diaz Canal. Oh, man, I threw myself to replace 82 year old Jose Ramon Machadovinshara as first vice president, making him in line for the next presidency. December of the following year, or excuse me, of 2013, Raoul and President Barack Obama are photographed shaking hands after Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. December of 17, 2014, Obama orders the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The restoration of diplomatic relations marked by a prisoner exchange. Cuba releases

Alan P. Gross, a government contractor, arrested in 2009, sends to 15 years in prison for trying to deliver satellite phone equipment that could cloak internet connections. Gross not officially a part of the swap, but was released on humanitarian grounds. Cuba also exchanged Orlando, Sarov, Trujillo, an American intelligence agent who had been imprisoned for almost 20 years. And the US releases three Cuban spies captured in 1998. Right? A little said that although diplomatic relations have been reinstated, this is in no way, this in no way means that the heart of the matter has been resolved.

The economic, commercial and financial blockade, which causes enormous human and economic damages to our country must cease. Well, stop fucking being a dickhead of your people. Six weeks after the decision for Delcastral rights, I do not trust the politics of the United States. Nor have I exchanged a word with them, but this is not in any way a rejection of a peaceful solution to conflicts. He continues in his letter,

the grave dangers that threaten humanity today have to give way to norms that are compatible with human dignity. No country is included from such rights. With this spirit, I have fought and will continue fighting until my last breath. Those words would hit so much harder if his country wasn't in shambles. July 20th, 2015, the US Embassy in Havana officially reopens. The Cuban Embassy reopens in Washington. September 2015, Pope Francis meets privately with Castro, part of his mission

of mercy, papal tour, late 2015, Castro reiterates that he will resign in 2018. March, 2016, President Obama arrives in Cuba. He's the first president to visit the country since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. March 21st, Castro Obama hold a joint news conference in Havana and exchange a very awkward viral handshake that ends with Castro lifting up Obama's arm. Castro denounces Obama's trip in his column, Fidel does writing, we don't need the empire to gift us anything. April 2016 Raul gives a speech to Cuban Communist Party Congress chooses Raul in Jose Ramón

Machado, Ventura to lead the party for the next five years. But Raoul said he was going to retire in 2018. Fidel makes one of his final public appearances at the Congress. He says in a farewell speech, soon I will be like everybody else. Our turn comes to us all. But the ideas of Cuban communism will endure. Right? Echoes of Chase final moments there.

Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90, November 25th, 2016. At the time of his death, Castro had remained in power longer than any other world leader, excluding Queen Elizabeth II. Really, she doesn't count because she wasn't in charge of anything important. So he was in power the longest as far as being an actual ruler, you know, not a symbolic one.

Cuba declares nine days of mourning. Thousands of people come to the plaza de la revolution in Havana. On November 29th, Raoul leads a rally in honor of his brother attended by leaders of ally nations like Venezuela, Bolivia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Attendees chant things like yo soy Fidel and Viva Fidel. Meanwhile, Cuban ex-Sales celebrate Castro's death and hope for a better future. A motorcade carrying Castro's ashes driven to Santiago de Cuba and on December 4, 2016, Castro is buried. April 19, 2021, Miguel Mario Diaz Canal, Ibor Mudez, no shortage of fucking names on

Cuba. A succeeds Rao Castro as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the first non-Castro leader of Cuba since before the revolution. 63-year-old was born the year after Fidel's takeover. He was expected to try and modernize Cuba's economy, but so far, not so much. Pandemic, all but closed, Cuba to tourism, exacerbating already widespread food and medicine shortages. July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans angry over blackouts, lack of personal freedoms and worsening living conditions take to the streets in the largest anti-government protests

since the Cuban Revolution. And his response is to order mass arrests. Hundreds of Cubans are arrested, put on trial. Diaz Canal said that the protests are reponsed in the US, part of a plot to bring down the Cuban government. More of the same shit, right? The Cuban people suffer. America's blamed.

Finally, Raul still alive is said at 92 years old to be running things from the shadows. So the Castro's not quite done. Good job, soldier. You've made it back. Barely. Made it back. Barely. B4 sharing some final thoughts on all this, another sponsor break, a new sponsor that I am

very, very pumped to have. FaceTimeSuck is brought to you by the Larry Hall Goodboy School of Battle Reenactment. This is Larry Duane Hall, owner of the Larry Hall Good Boy School of Battle Reenactment. A lot of people think that you can only reenact civil war battles or American revolutionary war battles, but in fact if you can secure access to historically accurate battle location, ascertain accurate troop movements, and battle sequences, and procure the proper attire and military equipment, you can actually re-enact any battle, and you can choose to be any historical fighter, like Ernesto C. Guevara from the Cuban Revolution.

That's why I have Cuban music playing behind me now. Because he's Cuban or lived in Cuba for a while he's Argentinian in fact. Anyway, check this out. Communism. American Imperialism is no bueno. Mouimala. Hago Pipe and Orenel Kamon-un-wanchiko. I just said I had go Pipe in a party like a good boy. If you'd like to learn more, go to Larry Hall, good boy school of BattleReenactment.com or come visit me in prison. Still stuck in here for doing nothing. Until then, keep going PB and a potty like a good boy. If you didn't like that nonsense, can you at least be happy?

I didn't sing more bunch of it. Okay, Cuban Revolution, did it in the end? Make a life any better for the average Cuban? No, I didn't. Pulling from 2022 stats, I found that are, excuse me, 2022 stats that are from a report from the Madrid-based Cuban human rights observatory, OCDH, only 70% of Cubans live below the poverty line to find it's having a daily income of less than $1.90, less than two fucking bucks a day.

A few shortages, prolonged blackouts are a constant problem. Inflation out of control, thanks to Cuba losing more and more allies as less of the world is now communist compared to decades ago. They're not able to get favorable trading deals with other nations. 74% of Cubans view the government's economic management negatively. 51% view it very negatively. Healthcare system, I wonder how many other people are just afraid to say that because they think it might be a trick

or something by the Cuban government. Healthcare system suffers from systemic corruption with 56% of those pulled, saying they have, excuse me, they have to provide a gift or pay a bribe to receive medical treatment. Eight out of every 10 people cannot get the medications they need must turn to the black market, family members overseas or in most cases church-based charities. 44% of poll respondents said their homes need serious repair. 23% almost one in four said their homes are in

danger of imminent collapse. 15% say they lack drinking water. 72% say they've experienced power outages. Only 30% work full time. More laws have been passed on recent years to further limit the ability to protest or express dissent against the government. Supposedly no one's starving in Cuba right now, so that's good. Homelessness near zero, thanks to government subsidies, but almost no one's thriving either. Some blame the enduring American trading bargo for a lot of Cuban misery. It's been going on for over 60 years. No nation outside of the US is in

support of it. However, why is Cuba America's responsibility? I look at this as you can't have it both ways, right? I think it's foolish for a country whose government openly shits on America for over 60 years to also bitch about how the same country isn't helping them out enough. I feel terrible for the Cuban people, but America did not do this to them. Their government did. Why should America help prop up the economy of a country whose government does not provide basic freedoms

to its people? Did America previously exploit the shit out of Cuba? Is there a good reason for the Cuban people historically to resent America? Oh yeah, yeah there is. But that doesn't mean a better arrangement can't exist today. So fucking let it go, Cuba.

You tried your branded communism for over six decades now. Doesn't work, hasn't worked out for any of those decades. According to Freedom House, a nonprofit organization based in DC, that is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Cuba scored one out of a possible 40 points last year for political freedom. And an 11 out of

60 points for civil liberties. There's no freedom of the press, no private education, education loaded with legally enforced propaganda. Right? A legal to conversationally talk shit about the regime and charge. Those neighborhood level committees for the defense of the revolution assist security agency. Those are still around. Right? They assist security agencies by monitoring reporting, suppressing dissent, and I can go on and on and on. Is America by contrast perfect? Of course not.

We can improve in so many ways, but I would much, much rather live here than in Cuba. And that's not because I eat a steady diet of US propaganda. I look to foreign sources for a lot of the information I use here. Sadly, Cuba was a terrible place to live for the average Cuban before Castro led his revolution. And I think he may have truly thought he could make life so much better for the average Cuban, but he didn't. Instead of lifting the poor up to be part of the middle class and lowering the rich to

the middle class to help with quality, seems like he mostly caused the rich to flee millions fled Cuba over the years of his leadership. And rather than lifting the poor up to the middle, I think he seems like he mostly caused the rich to flee millions fled Cuba over the years of his leadership. And rather than lifting the poor up to the middle, I think he sent a lot more of the middle down to the bottom. Less wealth disparity now. Sure. But do you care about that? If you're still as poor as you were before or poor, are you happier, right? That your misery loves company that is more people are suffering like you or just still pissed that you are suffering. I hope that just like previous regimes have been toppled in Cuba because they leave most Cubans in misery.

This fucking regime also gets toppled. What economic system would be better? I don't know, something leaning more towards capitalism, I imagine. On the economic scale between our spectrum between capitalism and communism. Some form of democracy would be better. Parliamentary democracy, social democracy, something almost anything other than a totalitarian communist state. Cuban revolution was fought for two primary reasons. One increased the standard of living for the average Cuban.

Two, to allow Cuba to experience true autonomy and rule itself. In the end, only kind of successful on one of those fronts. Cuban no longer under America's thumb, but really just traded America's thumb for the thumb of the Soviet Union. Now it is on its own, but worse off economically than it was when the USS R was still around. On the front of increasing the standard of living for the average Cuban, a massive failure, same dire conditions, but with even less freedom. Time to recap. less freedom. Time to recap. Time, suck, tough, five, take away. Number one, Fidel Castro grew up in a corrupt

and constantly changing political environment. He also had resources that many children did not have access to, because his dad was a wealthy sugarcane farmer who worked with the United Fruit Company. Castro saw firsthand the aftermath of Spanish colonialism and the growing resentment Cubans felt towards US intervention and imperialism. Castro was able to attend private school

and go to university where he learned about socialism and Cuban nationalism. He even participated in a failed revolution in Guatemala, which inspired him to take action in Cuba. Number two in the early phases of the Cuban revolution, Castro and his followers planned two invasions, both of which were complete failures. The first was the July 26th, 1953 storming of the Moncada barracks.

Those who were not killed immediately were arrested, including Castro. He spent two years in prison before he was released by dictator Felgencia Batista. After his release, the rebels planned to show up on the coast to Cuba on a yacht for the next phase of the revolution. They were immediately discovered by the army and most of them were killed. Number three, the revolutionaries did eventually gain control of Cuba through guerrilla warfare attacks. Lacking resources and numbers, they raided small army posts to get supplies before attacking

larger posts and getting those supplies. They also destroyed property and plantations around Cuba and used fear and intimidation to gain popular support. Number four, millions of Cubans would flee the country during the Castro regime, including much needed professionals like doctors and teachers. Many of them were killed during their escape attempts or they died at sea. Number five, new info, assassination attempts. I know I shared that church committee, a US congressional committee, stated that it substantiated, you know, eight attempts by the CIA to assassinate Castro between 1960, 1965, but that was just the beginning. Overall, Fidel Castro supposedly survived

634 CIA assassination attempts. He was quoted as saying he should be given the gold medal in avoiding assassination. The following are some of the most well-known assassination plots. In 1960, the CIA poised in the box of Castro's cigars. They were delivered to an unidentified person in 1961, but no one knows what happened to him after that. I guess some unlucky bastard or multiple unlucky bastards might have smoked their last cigars in 1961. Late 1960, the CIA was willing to pay $150,000 to have two high-profile criminals

killed Castro. Sam Giancana, or Giancana, the boss of the Chicago mob, and Santos Trophicont, the leader of the mob's operations in Cuba. Giancana suggested poison pills. CIA gave six poison pills to a Cuban official who had access to Castro. The official made several attempts, but eventually just abandoned the plan. Knowing the Castro loves scuba diving in 1963, the CIA plotted to hide explosives inside a big seashell. Yes, seriously. They planned to paint the seashell to draw his attention,

but that idea was, quote, discarded as being impractical. Good chance some random diver was gonna get blown up instead. Still pursuing the scuba diving route, though the CIA wanted to kill Castro by contaminating his diving suit with the fungus that would then cause a skin disease that would eventually kill him. But then American lawyer James Donovan, who had done hostage negotiation with Castro had second thoughts about handing this over and gave him a non-infected suit instead. And I was pretty fucking dumb idea. Future CIA director, Richard Dick Helms claimed to suit never left the lab. Another plan was to have Castro's lover, Marita, or one of his lovers,

Marita Lorenz killed him. She was given two poison pills to drop into his drink, but backed out of the last second. A six plan was to conceal a poison hyperdermic needle inside a pen. Needle would be so small he wouldn't even notice it. A highly placed Cuban official would inject Castro with the official complaint that the CIA needed to come up with a better idea. A guy was given the pan on November 2nd or excuse me, November 22nd, 1963, but then Kennedy was assassinated and he never tried to use it. Time, suck, tough, five takeaways. The Cuban Revolution has been sucked.

Thank you to Olivia Lee for her initial research. Thank you to the space listeners on Patreon for supporting the show, add free episodes coming so soon. Thanks to the team here, including the art warlock Logan Keith, recording and editing this episode. Next week on Time Suck, Cult, Cult, Cult, Cult. We return to an offshoot of the Mormon church to talk about the School of the Profits, the true story behind the 2022 Hulu miniseries under the banner of heaven.

The School of the Profits was established by Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, school-allowed members of the LDS Church together and discuss theology and politics, but the main purpose of the school was to teach members how to receive and interpret messages from God. Based in Curlin, Ohio, the school met from 1833 to 1836 before it was discontinued. Brigham Young restarted the school in the 1860s, but it ended again in 1883. Century later, a Mormon fundamentalist named Robert Crossfield decided to restart the school to prophets, Crossfield to Canadian, who had been excommunicated from the main LDS church and recently been kicked out of a fundamentalist group.

He received revelations from God and those revelations told him he was the true prophet and leader of the church. Crossfield moved to Provo, Utah in the early 80s and was introduced to the well-known Lafertie family. All of the Laferties were devout Mormons. One of the brothers, Dan Lafertie, had become a fundamentalist who supported polygamy, the submission of women, and a literal interpretation of the Bible and other Mormon texts. He too was excommunicated from the church for his beliefs. Then Dan influenced his brothers into following his beliefs. They regularly had religious discussions, and the school of the prophets seemed like a perfect fit. After joining this school, the oldest brother, Ron Laffertey,

started having revelations. Of course he did. And one of those revelations instructed him to remove his sister-in-law Brenda and her 15-month-old daughter, Erica. Uh-oh. Find out what it follows next week on Time Suck. Right now, let's head on over to this week's Time Sucker Updates. First up, we got down under Sack. Alina, uh, Pelton Yemi, sharing a crazy connection to UK serial killer Dennis Nielsen, dude who dreamed of being molested every time he'd fake passed out in front of somebody. Alina writes, hello suck master, oh boy, do I have a crazy story for you.

I have been an avid listener for a few years now and a huge fan of the suck. I have lived in Western Australia for four years now when working on various goldmines. I originally came from Finland as a backpacker at the age 19 and simply loved the Aussie way of life. Now here is the story. I always listen to time suck and scared it out the work, thank you, and it really makes my 12-hour shifts fly by. I had recently listened to Dennis Nielsen suck at work and was back home having dinner with the woman, excuse me, who

owned my flat. She lives next door to me and we often have food or drinks and have formed quite the friendship. Few drinks in, we were discussing our families, hers from Scotland, mine from Finland, and she shares how her deceased father was a victim of abuse by his grandfather growing up. Few more drinks in, tells me she has a serial killer in her family. You can imagine I nearly fell out of my chair when she proceeds to tell me that Dennis Nielson is her uncle. That is fucking wild. Her father grew up in the same house as Dennis and my mind was going crazy thinking about

the story of the grandfather holding his penis as a child. I guess that settles that it was more than just potty training. My mailbox even has the same last name as the mother and grandfather of Dennis. Never in my life would I have connected the dots since I live in Western Australia. What the actual fuck? Ha ha.

Never stop the suck. I dreamed one day come at the stage for the first time so I can attend the bad magic summer camp. Yours truly Alina. Holy shit Alina. Oh my God. Yeah, maybe Dennis was abused growing up. So strange to me that he would be so so forthcoming about all the fucked up

things he did to other people, but then not share more of what may have been done to him. You know, not not that he was for sure abused. And not that you couldn't just share those things, but maybe you feel more embarrassed to talk about things that have happened to you. But yeah, this does certainly make it seem much more likely the grandpa was a perv. Yeah, I bet your mind was blown. Thank you for sharing that. I love those connections.

Sounds like you also live quite the adventurous life. And I love that. I hope you do make it over here in summer camp. We do plan on trying it again in 2025. And I hope that I make it to Australia with Lindsay. I so badly want to check out both the Eastern and Western coasts. Next up, Canadian sack, Axel Rivera.

Fucking cool ass name. Shares a Korean War connection writing, hello master sucker. I recently listened to the episode in the Korean War. It was absolutely amazing. The sporadic bond, Jovi singing, annoyed my girlfriend, the perfect amount. LOL.

Apologies for the long email that follows. Sorry, not sorry. I wanted to give a little update and mention how the Korean War indirectly led to my family immigrating to Canada and in a roundabout way I wouldn't exist as myself if it weren't for the Korean War. My grandpa's from the Netherlands. Awesome. I love that country.

And following the destruction of World War II is family wanted to immigrate to make a better life in Canada. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Dutch soldiers were sent to fight overseas, and with the Dutch army having conscription, it wouldn't be long before my grandpa and his brothers would have to serve. My great-grandparents had witnessed the horrors of combat and war during World War II, and did not want their sons to be conscripted to fight in a far away war, so it became the last straw, and they finally immigrated to Canada in 1954. The fear of the Cold War and rushing invasion was real back then.

And if it weren't for Korea and those tensions, it's quite possible my family would not have immigrated here and I wouldn't exist today. My step-grandpa was also Dutch and served in the Dutch army during the Korean War era, but never actually saw combat. He would also immigrate to Canada following his military service because he wanted to be farther away from the Cold War tensions of Europe. It's interesting to me that in a roundabout way, I can thank the Korean War for influencing my family to immigrate and start a new life in Canada leading to me being born and raised to Canadian. The Korean War was important for Canada as well.

My village lost one man killed in action in 1951. It's important we don't forget these conflicts and the people who fought and died for their country and for freedom. So I want to thank you for your awesome coverage of this war and all the other military history sucks as well as your constant support for veterans. Keep on sucking Axel many thanks. Axel Rivera, Canadian Armed Forces. Thank you Axel again. Love the name Axel. How do great uncle name Axel. Such a tough, sounding name. And truly thank you for your service. That is very interesting how war your grandparents

did not fight and shaped your family so much. Makes you wonder how many other families move from where they were living to other places due to cold war tensions. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions. So glad we don't currently live under that tension. At least not like we used to, right? I would feel a lot better if someone more stable than Putin.

Uh, fucking strong pony boy was the one in charge of Russia's massive nuclear arsenal though. And then one more today, uh, some awkward humor. I almost ruined funny sucker casty McIntyre's grandpa's funeral. She writes, dear Dan, I just want to start off saying fuck you. My grandfather recently passed away, rest in peace, peps. You were a bad mother fucker who could create an engine from scraps. And during his funeral service, the preacher repeatedly kept saying, father, god, after driving

over a period of 10 hours and binging many times like episodes, my mind automatically turned that to hot father daddy. Thanks to you. Instead of getting teary eyed, being sad about his past and I was trying my very best not to burst out laughing for the hour and a half long service. Thanks for almost making me look like an asshole in front of family members I haven't seen in a decade. The least you can do to make up for this is to give a shout out to my wonderful boyfriend Tony. He's someone who has changed my life for the better. I couldn't be more thankful for this meat sack. Tony unfortunately got sucked into your podcast

here recently due to me, so you're welcome for the new fan. He also just recently had a birthday. So his shout out would probably make his week. If not, he'll be okay regardless. In all seriousness, I've been a long time fan of yours and you bring joy to people's lives even when hell seems to break loose. Thanks for all you do being a good distraction for the many hours of driving I've had to suffer through. I am not apologizing for the length of this email, words can't describe you, but numbers can, three out of five. Wouldn't change a thing.

Keep on being awesome, Cassidy. Well, thank you, Cassidy, you're awesome. I'm glad I could take some of this sting out of your rampant funeral, I guess. And thank you for spreading this suck to Tony, Happy Birthday, you beautiful bastard. Now turn this podcast off and go make wild, passionate love to Cassie.

Stop listening to my dumb ass and get naked, you too. Life is short. And someday your boners, they're gonna go away. They're gonna be off to a dick graveyard. I'll be here when you two, when the two of you are finished, waiting, kind of like a creep in the bushes outside your window, but also not like that at all. I'm gonna stop talking now, and I'm gonna push this button.

Thanks, time suckers. I need a net. We all did. Thanks for listening to another Bad Magic Productions podcast, scared to death and time suck each week. Please do not overthrow a shitty dictator, just to then also become a shitty dictator this week. Stay the fuck home you weirdo, and just keep on sucking. And magic productions.

Normally I would say a few words here, but all the peepy and the potty talk must have signal something on the body and I haven't moved around a lot of my chair recording because I'm about to let loose. But I do like this music. Which I can listen to this music. I go peepy and a potty like a good boy. Which I can listen to music, I go pee in a potty like a good boy.