Che's Pal on Epic '52 Motorcycle Trip Dies

New book reveals Juanita Castro's involvement with US intelligence

(NEWSER) - The sister of Fidel and Raúl Castro worked with the CIA in the 1960s, while the agency was planning to assassinate Fidel and overthrow the revolutionary government. In a new book, Juanita Castro, who now lives in Miami, reveals that she hid opponents of her brothers' regime in her home and that their mother frequently interceded with Raúl to help political prisoners. "The CIA wanted to talk with me," Castro says. "I was left half-shocked, but in any case I told them yes." More»

Casto, too weak to attend, calls comrade 'a flower yanked prematurely from its stem'

(NEWSER) - About 10,000 Cubans gathered today to honor Che Guevara, the man who helped Fidel Castro take power in the 1959 communist revolution. Calling Che "a flower yanked prematurely from its stem," Castro, too weak to attend, praised the icon in a message read to the crowd. The rally was held to recognize the 40th anniversary of Guevara's death at the hands of CIA-backed Bolivian troops. More»

Rebel leader coined revolutionary slogan 'Here, nobody surrenders!'

(NEWSER) - One of the original leaders of the Cuban Revolution and a general in Fidel Castro’s military has died, the BBC reports. Juan Almeida Bosque, 82, was the third most senior member in Raul Castro’s Council of State and the only black member of the Cuban leadership. Almeida met Fidel at the University of Havana in 1952, was jailed after a failed 1953 insurrection, and led troops in the successful 1959 revolution. More»

Court finds revolutionaries responsible for GM dealer's 1959 suicide

(NEWSER) - A Cuban-American who blames Fidel Castro and Che Guevara for his father's suicide has been awarded more than $1 billion by a US court, the Miami Herald reports. Gustavo Villoldo, whose father and his General Motors dealerships became prime targets for Castro and Guevara after the 1959 revolution, will attempt to obtain the cash from frozen Cuban government accounts worldwide. More»

(NEWSER) - Cuba appears to be serious about trying to normalize relations with the US. A day after Raul Castro met with a delegation of US congressional representatives, the big man himself did the same, Reuters reports. Fidel, replaced by his brother 14 months ago as head of state when his health began to fail, met today with three members of the Congressional Black Caucus at his home for two hours. More»