History UsefulNotes / FidelCastro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016) was born to a peasant and [[UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar conscript from Spain]] who became a sugar plantation owner in UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}. Fidel involved himself in revolutionary politics during his days as a law student in Havana. He participated in the attempt to overthrow the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1947, as well as the first, unsuccessful attempt to overthrow UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista, the dictator of Cuba. He then fled to Mexico, where he met UsefulNotes/CheGuevara. Gathering Che, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilo_Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos]], and other like-minded Cubans, Castro formed the left-wing nationalist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/26th_of_July_Movement 26th of July Movement]] or M-26-7. After sailing back to Cuba in 1956, Castro and M-26-7 waged a furious insurrection in the cities and countryside against Batista, finally managing to topple the dictator in 1959, in what has become known as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution Cuban Revolution]]. Castro became a celebrity and toured America to much acclaim.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016) was born to a peasant and [[UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar conscript from Spain]] who became a sugar plantation owner in UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}. Fidel Castro involved himself in revolutionary politics during his days as a law student in Havana. He participated in the attempt to overthrow the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1947, as well as the first, unsuccessful attempt to overthrow UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista, the dictator of Cuba. He then fled to Mexico, where he met UsefulNotes/CheGuevara. Gathering Che, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilo_Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos]], and other like-minded Cubans, Castro formed the left-wing nationalist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/26th_of_July_Movement 26th of July Movement]] or M-26-7. After sailing back to Cuba in 1956, Castro and M-26-7 waged a furious insurrection in the cities and countryside against Batista, finally managing to topple the dictator in 1959, in what has become known as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution Cuban Revolution]]. Castro became a celebrity and toured America to much acclaim.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism, who were accused of being supportive of US economic domination by the Cuban government in response. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were... complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s and 80s, helped by the surprising alliances formed between sympathetic clergy and pro-Cuba socialist revolutionaries in Central America, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon, visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of Pan-Hispanism, extolling Cuba's Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world. More infamously, this and other factors led to an amicable relationship with UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco, although Castro had no illusions to what Franco's ideology really was and criticized him when he saw it fit, and Franco rumoredly also saw Castro as a bit of a loon too.[[note]]Spanish fascists (or pseudo-fascists in Franco's case) used to have an ambivalent stance towards Pan-Hispanism -- they were happy to highlight the influence of Spain and Catholicism in world history, but preferred to focus in domestic ordeals and believed that thinking too much in Hispanic America was a DiscoDan attitude.[[/note]]

* LargeAndInCharge: He stood over six feet tall, much bigger than the average Cuban man who stands at around 5'6 and about a foot taller than Khrushchev.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': Creator/PeterFalk plays Ramos Clemente in ''[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E71TheMirror The Mirror]]'', who is Castro in all but name down to the hair, beard, and clothes, and with absolutely no redeeming traits. Reflecting the American view of the Cuban Revolution by 1961, when the episode aired, Clemente becomes an even worse tyrant than the generalissimo he deposed, orders endless mass executions of anyone who believes is an enemy, and murders his own friends because the mirror deceives him into thinking they're plotting against him.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism, who were accused of being supportive of US economic domination by the Cuban government in response. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were... complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s and 80s, helped by the surprising alliances formed between sympathetic clergy and pro-Cuba socialist revolutionaries in Central America, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon, visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling Cuba's Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world. More infamously, this and other factors led to an amicable relationship with UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco, although Castro had no illusions to what Franco's ideology really was and criticized him when he saw it fit.

* IconicOutfit: Whether as himself or an {{Expy}}, Castro is always portrayed wearing a olive drab military uniform and Ridgeway cap [[note]] First an authentic American cap as pictured above, then in his later years a locally-made version that was slightly less stiffer [[/note]], with a large beard and smoking a [[CigarChomper cigar]]. In his twilight years, he switched over to an Adidas track suit, with provoked jokes about him being a Slav ([[DontExplainTheJoke Adidas tracksuits are associated with working class Slavs in Eastern Europe and Russia]]).

Castro was also a central figure in the [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Cuban Missile Crisis]] and he was the one player in the incident most ready to launch the missiles if the Americans dared invade (as well as mobilizing the entire army beforehand), only to be barely restrained by his Soviet partners. However, Castro only wanted to launch the missiles [[EveryoneHasStandards as an absolute last resort]]. Khrushchev also openly treated Cuba as a pawn in the whole matter despite previously buttering Cuba up as a trusted Soviet ally, and locked Cuba out of the negotiations, something Castro absolutely despised as a Cuban nationalist, and never forgave the Soviets for. As a result, Cuba aligned closer to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement Non-Aligned Movement]] than the Warsaw Pact afterwards, despite still being a Soviet ally. Through the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, Cuba relied on Soviet support, and when that was cut off Cuba faced a major economic crisis (mostly due to a lack of oil). Later on, Castro admitted that he now regarded JFK as a WorthyOpponent and honorable man, and that if he had been involved in the JFK assassination, Cuba would've been invaded and occupied by the US by now.