Cuban Revolution

16 Stories

Fidel's 'Yankee Comandante' Could Return to US

William Morgan's widow wants his remains returned to Ohio

(Newser) - In America, he was William Morgan, a high school dropout from Ohio who worked for the mob. But in Cuba, he was the Yankee Comandante who fought the revolution alongside Fidel Castro and Che Guevara; as a biographer puts it, the "ne’er-do-well who found his cause, his love,...

Raul Castro to Step Down in 2018

He promotes rising star, says new term will be his last

(Newser) - Cuba will be getting a new leader in 2018—and for the first time since the Eisenhower administration, his name probably won't be Castro. Raul Castro was elected to a second five-year term by Cuba's National Assembly yesterday, and he declared that it would be his last, the...

Che's Pal on Epic '52 Motorcycle Trip Dies

Alberto Granado lived out his days teaching in Cuba

(Newser) - Alberto Granado, the man whose motorcycle adventures with Che Guevara would ultimately alter the course of Latin America, has died today in Cuba at the age of 88. The epic journey undertaken in 1952 by the two Argentine med students formed the political convictions that turned Guevara into an icon,...

Castro Sister: I Worked With CIA

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...

Early Castro Compatriot Almeida Dead at 82

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...

Man Wins $1B Judgment Against Castro, Guevara

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...

From Cuba to Hollywood, Che a Caricature of Himself

For many, image of Che Guevara still resonates

(Newser) - Steven Soderbergh’s biopic Che is drawing fresh attention to revolutionary icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara—even as he’s becoming a kind of caricature of himself, Rolf Potts writes in World Hum. In Cuba, Guevara serves as “a sainted martyr of unwavering purity who also happens to promote...

Cubans Mark 50 Years of Fidel
Cubans Mark
50 Years of Fidel
Dec 31, 2008 5:44 PM CST

Cubans Mark 50 Years of Fidel

Celebrations sobered after tough year for Cuba

(Newser) - New Year's Day marks a sober occasion for Cuban-Americans: Fidel Castro's takeover 50 years ago and the exile and family separations that ensued. Many Cubans once hoped the dictator would bring them prosperity. Today, with their beloved island in decay and many lives lost in attempts to flee, few of...

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV
Ailing Fidel Appears on TV
Jun 18, 2008 5:58 AM CDT

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV

Former Cuban president chats with Hugo Chavez about food, fuel crises

(Newser) - An animated Fidel Castro appeared on state-run Cuban TV yesterday, in the first such broadcast of the ailing revolutionary since January. Castro, standing in some parts of the video, was seen chatting in a garden with his brother Raul, the current Cuban president, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the AP...

Raul Castro Empties Cuba's Death Row

New president commutes all but 3 capital sentences

(Newser) - New Cuban president Raul Castro has commuted all but three of the country's death sentences to prison terms of 30 years to life, reports Reuters. Castro, who also has been gradually easing the country's restrictions on daily life, said the death penalty would remain on the books to deter "...

Steely Raúl's Time Is Now
Steely Raúl's Time Is Now
Feb 20, 2008 9:37 AM CST

Steely Raúl's Time Is Now

Low-profile No. 2, Fidel's 'organizational glue,' steps into Cuba's top job

(Newser) - The Castro brothers overthrew a dictatorship and won a revolution together, but while charismatic Fidel was the public face giving passionate seven-hour speeches, steely Raúl quietly got it done—ruthlessly sending dissenters to the firing squad, earning him the nickname "the Prussian." As Fidel fades, writes the...

Fidel Faithful Likely to Keep Power
Fidel Faithful Likely to
Keep Power
Feb 20, 2008 7:19 AM CST

Fidel Faithful Likely to Keep Power

Cubans unsure if leader's resignation will change anything

(Newser) - Life went on as normal in Havana after Fidel Castro announced his resignation yesterday, and Cuba experts aren't sure how much real impact his decision will have, the New York Times reports. Cuba's National Assembly is due to choose a new Council of State on Sunday and power is expected...

Fidel Steps Down After 50 Years
Fidel Steps Down After 50 Years
Feb 19, 2008 4:07 AM CST

Fidel Steps Down After 50 Years

Cuban leader announces retirement

(Newser) - Fidel Castro has resigned after nearly 50 years as Cuba's leader, the AP reports. "I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," the 81-year-old wrote in a letter published in the Communist Party's online...

Fidel Flirts With Retiring —Again
Fidel Flirts
With Retiring —Again
Dec 29, 2007 8:26 AM CST

Fidel Flirts With Retiring —Again

Says he once longed to 'cling to power,' but life has changed him

(Newser) - Fidel Castro is hinting at retirement again, this time in a letter read aloud to Cuba's parliament yesterday by his brother Raul, the BBC reports. The letter expanded on a much-discussed comment he made last week about not "clinging to power."  This time he admits that he...

Revolutionary Roots: Che's Hair for Sale

Rumors say Chavez of Venezeula is interested 'mystery buyer'

(Newser) - A scrapbook including photos of Che Guevara's corpse, hand-written letters from comrades-in-arms, and a lock of the revolutionary's hair snipped after he was shot to death are on a Dallas auction block with a starting price of $100,000. The collection belongs to a former CIA operative who helped track,...

Cuba Celebrates Che
Cuba Celebrates Che
Oct 8, 2007 5:16 PM CDT

Cuba Celebrates Che

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...

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