The 12 year old Cuban boy who called FDR his friend
Posted: Saturday, September 01, 2007
by David Tanguay
As a child have, you ever looked at a man and naturally knew whether he was a good man or a bad man? Sometimes goodness is a quality even a child can detect more sincerely than a grownup can. In 1959, I was a mere child, only ten years old. However, I can remember watching newsreels of Castro on our small black and white television. Of course, I didnt understand what was really happening back then only the man I could see, even then made an impression on me. As I watched him speak I could see a charisma about him, and I knew even at such a young age, that this man was a good man.
Nevertheless, this simply reveals how children always look for the good in everyone and always want to be friends first, than discuss their differences. Not wanting to come in swinging blindly and asking questions later.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on a sugar plantation in Birn, near Mayar, in the modern-day Holgun Province then a part of the now-defunct Oriente province. Im not going to get into too much of his early family life; in this article, Im only going to highlight a few major events of his life. However, I will submit a link at the end of the article to a complete biography and accomplishments of his life.
Childhood and education
To FDR letter, complete. A letter written by the twelve-year-old Castro to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, expressing admiration and asking for a $10 bill. Castro writes, "If you like, give me a ten dollar bill green American, because never, I have not seen a ten dollar bill," signing the letter, "Thank you very much. Good by [''sic'']. Your friend, Fidel (notice another 12 year old child signing off with your friend!)
Letter to FDR from young Fidel Political beginnings
In late 1945, Castro entered law school at the University of Havana. He became immediately embroiled in the political culture at the University, which was a reflection of the volatile politics in Cuba during that era.
University Student Fidel Castro (ctr. In black suite) addressing students during a protest on November 11, 1947 Bogotazo
Fidel Castro's role in the Bogotazo incident has been dogged by speculation and controversy but the following account seems to be generally agreed upon. In 1948 Castro traveled to Bogot in Colombia for a political conference of Latin American students that coincided with the ninth meeting of the Pan-American Union Conference. The students had planned to use this opportunity to distribute pamphlets protesting United States dominance of the Western Hemisphere and to foment discontent. A few days after the conference began, the populist Colombian Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitn was assassinated, triggering massive riots in the streets in which many (mostly poor workers) were injured or killed. Rioting and looting spread to other cities in Colombia, beginning an era of turbulence that became known as "La Violencia". The students were caught up in the violence and chaos rocking the city, picking up rifles and roaming the streets distributing anti-United States material and stirring a revolt. When Castro was pursued by the Colombian authorities for his role in the riots, he took refuge in the Cuban Embassy and was flown back to Havana It seems clear that experiencing the power of popular insurrection had an effect on Castro and influenced his subsequent political thinking.
Castro returned to Cuba and married Mirta Diaz-Balart a student from a wealthy Cuban family where he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. In 1950 he graduated from law school with a Doctor of Laws degree and began practicing law in a small partnership in Havana, mostly representing the poor and underprivileged. By now he had become well known for his passionately nationalism nationalistic views and his intense opposition to the influence of the United States on Cuban internal affairs. Increasingly interested in a career in politics, Castro had become a candidate for a seat in the Cuban parliament when General Fulgencio Batista led a coup d'tat in 1952, successfully overthrowing the government of President Carlos Pro Socarrs and canceling the election.
Attack on Moncada Barracks
As discontent over the Batista coup grew, Castro abandoned his law practice and formed an underground organization of supporters, Together they actively plotted to overthrow Batista. They collected guns and ammunition and finalized their plans for an armed attack on Moncada Barracks, Batista's largest garrison outside Santiago de Cuba. On the 26th of July 1953, they attacked Moncada Barracks. The Cspedes garrison in Bayamo was also attacked as a diversion. The attack proved disastrous and more than sixty of the one-hundred and thirty-five militants involved were killed.
Castro and other surviving members of his group managed to escape to a part of the rugged Sierra Maestra Mountains east of Santiago where they were eventually discovered and captured. Although there is disagreement over why Castro and his brother, Raul Castro were not executed on capture as many of their fellow militants were, there is evidence that an officer recognized Castro from his university days and treated the captured rebels compassionately, despite the 'illegal' unofficial order to have the leader executed
Castro was tried in the fall of 1953 and sentenced to up to fifteen years in prison. History Will Absolve Me upholding his rebellious actions and boldly declaring his political views:
[ Quote] I warn you, I am just beginning! If there is in your hearts a vestige of love for your country, love for humanity, love for justice, listen carefully... I know that the regime will try to suppress the truth by all possible means; I know that there will be a conspiracy to bury me in oblivion. But my voice will not be stifled it will rise from my breast even when I feel most alone, and my heart will give it all the fire that callous cowards deny it... Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.
Assumption of Power
On January 8, 1959, Castro's army rolled victoriously into Havana As news of the fall of Batista's government spread through Havana, The New York Times'' described the scene as one of jubilant crowds pouring into the streets and automobile horns honking. The black and red flag of the 26th of July Movement waved on automobiles and buildings. The atmosphere was chaotic How the NYT presented day-one of the Cuban Revolution" Castro called a general strike in protest of the Piedra regime. He demanded that Dr. Urrutia, former judge of the Urgency Court of Santiago de Cuba, be installed as the provisional President instead. The Cane Planters Association of Cuba, speaking on behalf of the island's crucial sugar industry, issued a statement of support for Castro and his movement.
Law professor Jos Mir Cardona created a new government with himself as prime minister and Manuel Urrutia Lle as president on January 5. The United States officially recognized the new government two days later. Castro himself arrived in Havana to cheering crowds and assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on January 8 In February Mir suddenly resigned and on February 16, 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.
Friction with the U.S. developed as the new government began expropriating property owned by major U.S. corporations (United Fruit in particular) and announced plans to base the compensation on the artificially low property valuations that the companies themselves had kept to a fraction of their true value so that their taxes would be negligible.
Castro arrives in Washington D.C. on April 15, 1959 Between April 15 and April 26, Castro and a delegation of industrial and international representatives visited the U.S. as guests of the Press Club. Castro hired one of the best public relations firms in the United States for a charm offensive visit by Castro and his recently initiated government. Castro answered impertinent questions jokingly and ate hotdogs and hamburgers. His rumpled fatigues and scruffy beard cut a popular figure easily promoted as an authentic hero Fidel Castro's Trip to the United States He was refused a meeting with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After his visit to the United States, he would go on to join forces with the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev.
Bay of Pigs
In April 1961, the U.S. government unsuccessfully attempted to depose Castro from power by supporting an armed force of Cuban exiles to retake the island. This attempt is known as the Bay of Pigs invasion
A timeline released by the National Security Archives shows the U.S. began planning to overthrow the government of Cuba in October 1959
On April 17, 1961, approximately 1,400 members of a CIA-trained Cuban exile force landed at the Bay of Pigs, while the U.S. publicly denied any involvement.
Documents released by the National Security Archive show that the CIA expected the Cuban people to welcome a U.S.-sponsored invasion, spontaneously rising up against the Castro regime. It expected Cuban military and police forces to refuse to fight against the CIA's 1,400-man mercenary invasion force
President Kennedy cancelled several planned bombing sorties designed to cripple the entire Cuban Air Force
The Cubans repelled the invaders, killing many and capturing a thousand. On May 1, 1961, as hundreds of thousands celebrating May Day roared their approval, Castro announced:
[Quote] The revolution has no time for elections. There is no more democratic government in Latin America than the revolutionary government. ... If Mr. Kennedy does not like Socialism, we do not like imperialism. We do not like capitalism.
In a nationally broadcast speech on December 2, 1961, Castro declared that he was a Marxism-Leninism and that Cuba was adopting Communism. On February 7, 1962, the U.S. imposed an embargo against Cuba this embargo was broadened during 1962 and 1963, including a general travel ban for American tourists
Many theories are offered for the failure of the U.S. operation. Some argue that the Americans misjudged Cuban support for Castro.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. heightened during the 1962 missile crisis, which nearly brought the US and the USSR into nuclear conflict. Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing missiles in Cuba as a deterrent to a possible U.S. invasion and justified the move in response to US missile deployment in Turkey. After consultations with his military advisors, he met with a Cuban delegation led by Ral Castro in July in order to work out the specifics. It was agreed to deploy Soviet [R-12] [MRBM] s on Cuban soil; however, American [Lockheed U-2] reconnaissance discovered the construction of the missile installations on [October 15], 1962 before the weapons had actually been deployed. The US government viewed the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons 90 miles south of Key West as an aggressive act and a threat to US security. As a result, the US publicly announced its discovery on October 22, 1962, and implemented a quarantine around Cuba that would actively intercept and search any vessels heading for the island.
In a personal letter to Khrushchev dated October 27, 1962, Castro urged Khrushchev to launch a nuclear first strike against the United States if Cuba were invaded, but Khrushchev rejected any first strike response. Soviet field commanders in Cuba were, however, authorized to use tactical nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the US would remove American [MRBM] s targeting the Soviet Union from Turkey and Italy, a measure that the US implemented a few months later. The missile swap was never publicized because the Kennedy Administration demanded secrecy in order to preserve NATO relations and protect Democratic candidates in the upcoming elections.
Assassination attempts
Fabian Escalante, who was long tasked with protecting the life of Castro, has calculated the exact number of assassination schemes and/or attempts by the CIA to be 638. Some such attempts have included an exploding cigar, a fungal-infected scuba-diving suit, and a mafia-style shooting. Some of these plots are depicted in a documentary entitled ''638 Ways to Kill Castro''
The man who wouldn't die
The CIA has tried to hire hit men from the mob and every known attempt possible has been made to do away with Castro. Castro once said in regards to the numerous attempts on his life, "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic Game event, I would win the gold medal.
Note from the author
I know Castro is in his final days not only in this life or as the leader of Cuba but as a symbol of strength and courage to what he believed in all of his life.. We all as human beings have a drive within us that we so deeply believe in. As an American, I have always felt this inborn driving force within me to stand proud and patriotic to my country. I have also experienced the troubles so many of our citizens endure every day.
I know we as Americans have always respected our neighbor regardless of what religion they believed in or what status in society they held. Of course, it is not us to judge the good or the bad by Gods law anyway.
Christians who comprise a great deal of our population have always looked at Communisms or Socialism as merely dirty words rather than looking at all the positive aspects of how implementing these forms of lifestyles in our own country could work very constructively. Hey when it comes time to give to charities or own government will ask us to give for causes they consider crucial. As far as that goes, our politicians are always asking for our donations to support them in the race for the seat they seek. This form of giving is not at all what capitalism is about, if there is a word to be considered evil and dirty it is simply capitalism not communism. Communism is what the Lord spoke of to those who really know and understand the Lord.
In his inaugural address President Kennedy in his very famous quote: "And so my fellow Americans Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
I believe these very words from President Kennedy were the very cornerstone in which we as Americans are to rebuilt our nation by looking back at a proud past however most importantly looking forward to a new, exciting, and challenging future. We are on the verge of entering through another threshold in our journey as a truly free and united people.
Men like Castro are from a breed of men evolving from antiquity where the world in its crude and aggressive nature took men to match its environment with the same hard core human nature which all of our great leaders of the past have acquired. Im ending this article with my thoughts as a true blue American that in my book Fidel Castro is "A" O.K.
For a complete biography of Fidel Castros life and the many obstacles he had endured to bring his people a better way of life. This link provided as a courtesy of wikipedia encyclopedia.
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