Page 43 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

Moments in Fidel Castro’s Life ❮❮ 41

Batista Toppled
7 TOP 10 REVOLUTIONARY HEROES
Castro pledged to support a
provisional democratic gov ernment
after his forces ousted Batista in
1959. Meanwhile, separate guerrilla
columns, led by Che Guevara and
Camilo Cienfuegos, won key
victories. When Santa Clara fell
to Che Guevara’s troops on New
Year’s Eve, 1958, Batista fled the
country, and Castro triumphantly
ret urned to Havana.
Bay of Pigs
8 Che Guevara
A democratic government was
founded, but Castro usurped it and 1 Raúl Castro (1931–)
initiated dramatic socialist reforms. The younger brother of Fidel,
This resulted in a massive exodus of a lifelong communist and the
Cubans. A group of unhappy exiles, current Cuban president.
trained by the CIA, landed at the Bay 2 Camilo Cienfuegos (1932–59)
of Pigs on April 17, 1961 to invade Chief of Staff in Fidel’s guerrilla army.
Cuba, but were quickly defeated. He went missing on a night flight in
October 1959, and neither his plane
Cuban Missile Crisis
9 nor he have ever been found.
In December 1961, Castro
declared Cuba a Marxist-Leninist 3 José Antonio Echeverría
(1932–57)
state. He signed a pact with the Soviet Student leader who gave a dramatic
Union, which installed nuclear missiles “Three Minutes of Truth” speech on
in Cuba in 1962. However, the US Cuban national radio before being
President Kennedy demanded their shot dead by a police patrol.
withdrawal. The nations stood on 4 Che Guevara (1928–67)
the brink of nuclear war until Soviet Doctor-turned-revolutionary who
President Khrushchev backed down. became Minister of Finance & Industry
and steered Cuba into socialism.
5 Julio Antonio Mella (1903–29)
The founder of the Cuban Communist
Party, he was murdered in Mexico.
6 Jesús Menéndez (1911–48)
Socialist labor agitator who worked
on behalf of local sugarcane workers.
7 Frank País (1934–57)
A principal leader in the M-26-7
movement, País was murdered
by Batista’s police.
Soviet freighter Anosov, thought to 8 Abel Santamaría (1927–53)
have been carrying missiles to Cuba Castro’s probable suc cessor,
Santamaría was killed after
Castro Resigns
0 the Moncada attack.
Castro announced on July 31,
2006 that he had an acute intestinal 9 Haydée Santamaría (1923–80)
Abel’s sister was captured at Moncada,
illness. Handing temp orary power but managed to survive the torture.
to his brother, Raúl Castro, he 10 Celia Sánchez (1920–80)
under went surgery and began Middle-class socialist who ran the
a long recovery. Fidel resigned on supply line for Castro’s guerrilla army
February 19, 2008; Raúl was elected and later became his secretary.
president on February 24, 2008.

040-041_Top_10_Cuba.indd 41 27/06/2016 15:50