Fidel castro who is

Despite opposition from the USA, which imposed economic sanctions against Cuba and supported an invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs , Castro remained in power. PresidentKennedy called Khrushchev's bluff and for several days in the world trembled on the verge of nuclear war.

After the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis, Fidel Castro became an international figure. In , Castro passed a new constitution under which he became president, secretary-general of the Communist Party, and commander-in-chief of the army. His refusal to countenance any liberalizaton of Cuban society on the lines of communist nations in eastern Europe, together with his criticisms of the reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachov in the Soviet Union, resulted in Cuba's increased isolation from the international community during the late s.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in this isolation has become economically very damaging to Cuba, obliging Castro to introduce limited free market reforms. View all reference entries ». View all related items in Oxford Reference ». Search for: 'Fidel Castro' in Oxford Reference ». For nearly 60 years, the Castro family controlled Cuba.

But in April , it was announced that the island nation long dominated by the specter of its former dictator, Fidel Castro, and his family will get a new leader. On January 1, , a young Cuban nationalist named Fidel Castro drove his guerilla army into Havana and Elected in as the 35th president of the United States, year-old John F.

Kennedy became one of the youngest U. The U-2 aerial photographs were analyzed inside a secret office above a used car dealership. The critical photographs snapped by U-2 reconnaissance planes over Cuba were shipped for analysis to a top-secret CIA facility in a most unlikely location: a building above the Steuart However, the relationship between the two nations was a tense one. Nikita Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, serving as premier from to Though he largely pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West, the Cuban Missile Crisis began after he positioned nuclear weapons 90 miles from An arms race occurs when two or more countries increase the size and quality of military resources to gain military and political superiority over one another.

On October 27, , Rudolf Anderson Jr. Thirteen days before, the Air Force major had flown one of the first top-secret reconnaissance missions over Cuba that confirmed the existence of Soviet missile Live TV.

This Day In History. History Vault. Continue reading from Human Rights Watch. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. In reality, this program led to state land control, with the farmers becoming mere government employees.

By the end of , Castro's revolution had become radicalized, with purges of military and government leaders — including President Urrutia — and the suppression of any media critical of Castro's policies. Castro's government also began to establish relations with the Soviet Union. In February , Cuba signed a trade agreement to buy oil from the Soviet Union and established diplomatic relations.

When U. The year proved to be pivotal in Castro's relationship with the United States. On January 3, , outgoing President Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations with the Cuban government. On April 14th, Castro formally declared Cuba a socialist state. Three days later, some 1, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba at the remote Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow the Castro regime.

The incursion ended in disaster, with hundreds of the insurgents killed and more than 1, captured. Though the United States denied any involvement, it was revealed that the Cuban exiles had been trained by the Central Intelligence Agency and armed with American weapons.

Decades later, the National Security Archive revealed that the United States had begun planning an overthrow of the Castro government as early as March The invasion was conceived during the Eisenhower administration and inherited by President John F. Kennedy , who reluctantly approved its action but denied the invaders air support in the hopes of concealing a U.

Castro, in turn, was able to capitalize on the incident to consolidate his power and further promote his agenda. On May 1st he announced an end to democratic elections in Cuba and denounced American imperialism. Then at year's end, Castro declared himself a Marxist-Leninist and announced the Cuban government was adopting communist economic and political policies. On February 7, , the United States imposed a full economic embargo on Cuba.

In the wake of the Bay of Pigs incident, Castro intensified his relations with the Soviet Union by accepting further economic and military aid. In October , his increasing reliance on Soviet support brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Hoping to deter another U. Khrushchev justified the move as a response to U. Jupiter missiles that had been deployed in Turkey. However, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane discovered the base construction before the missiles were installed and President Kennedy responded by demanding the removal of the missiles, with orders for the U.

Navy to search any vessels headed for the island. Over 13 anxious days of secret communications between Khrushchev, Kennedy and their agents, the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the United States' public agreement not to invade Cuba. The Kennedy administration also agreed to secretly remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Both leaders saved face and gained some admiration for restraint.

Castro, on the other hand, was humiliated: Both superpowers had completely left him out of the negotiations. Furthermore, the United States was able to persuade the Organization of American States to end diplomatic relations with Cuba, in response to Castro's "shameful" actions. But Castro wasn't shamed for long. In , he merged Cuba's Communist Party with his revolutionary organizations, installing himself as head of the party.

Within a few years, he began a campaign of supporting armed struggle against imperialism in Latin American and African countries. In January , Castro founded the Organization for Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America to promote revolution and communism on three continents.