Fidel Castro's Influence On Latin America

During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.

After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.

In 1959, Cuban leader Fidel Castro seized power over Havana and overthrew the U.S. during the Cold War. Castro then began an alliance with the Soviet Union and proceeded to increase trade with them. After these events, Washington banned exports from the U.S. to Cuba. Restricted were later extended over the whole economy by placing an embargo, which limited Americans travel and the ability to do business with Cuba. These events lead towards restriction between both countries for over 50 years.

However, the revolution, led by Fidel Castro, brought hope for those who supported the fight against the repressive government in the island, but it also brought a red signal of danger and fear of Cold War to other countries in America, especially for United States. Even though the revolutionary Fidel Castro was friend with the Soviet Union, Cuba never played a big role outside of the island. Nevertheless, United State anti-communism policy encouraged a violent anti-revolutionary reaction that spreader all over Latin America in the 60’s and 70’s.

At first glance, Cuba is a paradise, surrounded by green landscapes and shimmering oceans, yet internally the fight for power takes over the country. In the 19th century, many Cuban’s wanted to be in power, although all for different reasons. Fulgencio Batista was known as a dictator, seen as the enemy by many, but an ally to the United States. On the other hand, Fidel Castro was fighting against Batista -- opposing everything Batista fought for. These two leaders were conflicting, both in their goals for the country of Cuba, and their allies.

Before the Bay of Pigs invasion began, many events took place that preceded and caused the invasion. Ever since Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista, the former dictator of Cuba, the United States was suspicious of Cuba's seemingly communist behavior. Batista had always been pro-American and anti-communist, but Castro governed Cuba differently. Castro believed the United States had no right to have businesses in Cuba. He reduced the influence of American business in Cuba and even seized control of the American-run telephone company in Cuba. Castro also established diplomatic ties with Soviet Russia to stay in power. He accepted loans from Russia so that he could support an army and keep Cuba from an economic collapse. All of these actions caused the United Sates to distrust Castro. This distrust was amplified when Castro publicly announced that he was pro-communist in July of 1959. Because of this

     It was after Castro took power that the United States changed its way in which it dealt with Cuba dramatically. The United States decided it would

In 1954 Washington’s intervening in Latin American affairs-CIA-directed coup that ousted a leftist government in Guatemala. Few of the most ominous of all was the communist beach-head in Cuba. The dictator Fulgencio Batista, in power since the 1930s, had encouraged huge investments of American capital; in return Washington gave support. Later black bearded Fidel Castro engineered a revolution that denounced the Yankee imperialists and began to expropriate valuable American properties in pursuing a land-distribution program. Washington, finally gave up patience and released Cuba from “imperialistic slavery by cutting off they heavy U.S. imports of Cuban sugar. This lead into further retaliation from Castro to confiscate Yankee property which

The Cuban revolution was the spark that ignited the flame of communism in Cuba. The developing nation gained independence only as recently as 1898, and was already filled with an atmosphere of distrust and resentment towards the United States. In July of 1953, a revolution began in Cuba between the United States backed President Batista and Fidel Castro. Fidel and his brother Raul Castro lead a series of guerilla warfare battles against the forces of President Batista. “I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba,” stated Fidel Castro. In January of 1959, Fidel Castro became the President of Cuba. With the regime of Fidel Castro, Cuba would fall to communism.

At first glance, Cuba is a paradise, surrounded by green terrain and shimmering oceans, yet internally the fight for power takes over the country. In the 19th century, many had the desire to be in power, although the two that influenced history as we know it were Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro. Both of these leaders weren’t ideal, as they both had faults to their governments. In fact, their conflict among each other changed the history of the Caribbean. Castro and Batista’s conflict was based upon the disagreement of their goals for the country of Cuba, as well as who their allies were.

Castro’s involvement with the foreign and domestic politics during the early Cold War period greatly influenced the outcome of the Cuban Revolution. Without the actions taken by foreign powers like the United States and Russia, some events on the domestic front may have had very different results. It is important to understand how every nation’s foreign policies can influence more than just one other nation, and this was especially true for Cuba. It was this mix and chain of events which produced the communist Cuba that we are familiar with today.

Fidel Castro was a Cuban director born near Birán, Cuba, in 1926. Fidel was a noisy and energetic young student who was sent away to study with a religious group of The Society of Jesus at the Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba and later on to the Colegio de Belén in Havana. History has it that he was headstrong and zealous even as a boy. In one account, Fidel was said to have bicycled head-on into a wall to make a point to his friends about the strength of his will. Destiny chased Mr. Castro in 1945, when he entered the University of Havana’s law school where he was increasingly obsessed with Cuban politics and led the students to protest and demonstrate even when he was not enrolled in the university.

during the Cold War. The Soviet Union provided oil revenues in return for Cuban sugar. Eventually, America lost interest in negotiations with Cuba and broke relations because it was believed that Castro would side with the Soviet Union. In March 1960, President Eisenhower signed a document to get rid of the Castro regime. Some Cubans that opposed the Castro regime were overwhelmed and anti-Castro movements started to form.

In 1940 to 1944, communist Fulgencio Batista withheld power as the president of Cuba and then from 1952 to 1959, United States backed dictator until fleeing Cuba because of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement. Socialist Fidel Castro governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Fidel Castro’s intent was to provide Cuba with an honest democratic government by diminishing the corrupt way in which the country was run, the large role the United States played in the running of Cuba as well as the poor treatment & the living conditions of the lower class.

Able to weather a variety of political leaders, economic events, and historical eras, the U.S. embargo of Cuba is the longest and harshest embargo by one state against another in modern history. Following Castro’s overthrow of the Batista government in 1959 and threats to incite revolutions elsewhere in Latin America, the Unites State cancelled its trade agreement to buy Cuban sugar. Then, following a series of increasing hostile events, the United States severed diplomatic relations and initiated a full trade embargo in 1962. Trade between the United States and Cuba stopped. Spurred by the collapse of communism more than thirty years later, Congress