Fidel Castro - La Última Risa?

Fidel Castro had been the one of the most persistent thorns in the side of the United States ever since he took over Cuba in January, 1959. Try as we might, we just couldn't get rid of him. We invaded his island, embargoed his country, and even poisoned his cigars! And he still won't go away!

You'd think that when illness forced his retirement in 2011 and his brother Raul took over, that would be that. Nope, when we think Cuba, we still thought of Fidel. So things didn't change for over fifty years!

Well, then, why didn't we just go in and boot him out? Just like we did to the old regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq? After all, that worked fine, didn't it?

Weeeellllll, we won't get sidetracked into that discussion. Let's just say we didn't move in to oust Fidel because we had made a deal that we wouldn't. Of course, we didn't make the deal with Fidel. Instead it was with Russia, or more exactly, the Soviet Union. And we, of course, keep our agreements.

Fidel Alejandro Ruz was born in August 13, 1926 the son of the well-to-do sugar planter Angel Castro y Argiz and - as Fidel's detractors point out - the family maid, Lina Ruz Gonzalez. So we can see that the Castros were pioneers is creating the family values of America's own celebrity politicians. Clearly young Fidel was marked for greatness.

When Fidel was about fourteen, his dad finally married Lina and so Fidel Alejandro Ruz became the Fidel Alejandro Castro y Ruz we all know and love. As a kid Fidel was pretty smart although he didn't always endear himself to the teachers. But he did well enough in school (and his dad had enough money) that he was able to enter the University of Havana in 1945. We read he didn't study much but was a master at last minute cramming for exams. He studied to be a lawyer which was a suitable profession for someone who later was able to deliver four hour speeches. And like many law students, Fidel pictured himself as using his knowledge to help the poor and downtrodden.

In fact, that's pretty much what he started to do. After graduation in 1950, he and two friends set up a small law office catering to civil cases of poorer clients. But business wasn't bustling (poor people can't pay that much), and he used his spare time to go to political rallies and debates where he was one of the most enthusiastic participants.

Cuba was one of the last countries to gain independence from Spain which it did with not a little help from the United States. By the time Fidel graduated from the U of H, American's best friend on the island was the Cuban President Ruben Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar. Fulgencio himself had become president in 1952 by a rather convoluted process of which we might take a moment to review.

Stability had never been a hallmark of Cuban politics largely caused by various "us-vs-them" issues to fan the flames. Starting around 1840, there had been a movement by some of the educated native born Cubans for independence from Spain. One of the most revered of these Cuban nationalists (as they were called) was the writer and journalist José Martí. Imprisoned at only age 16 for nationalistic writings, he was freed after six months but exiled to Spain. After more inflammatory writings, he finally left for other areas of the Americas including the United States. He continued writing articles and poetry, including the poem "Yo soy un hombre sincero" from Versos Sensillos (Simple Verses) which was put to a popular Cuban folk song, Guantanamera and later became a pop hit by the US easy-listening group, the Sandpipers. But by 1895 Cuban opposition had grown so strong against Spanish rule that a bonafide war had broken out. At the age of 43, in 1895, José returned to Cuba to fight in the war and was killed later that year.

The War of Independence ended - not coincidentally - with the ending of the Spanish American War. Cuba was - quote - "free" - unquote - but also was occupied by American forces. There were a number of Americans who wanted to annex Cuba for the US, but that would have made it look like the war had been a machination of the US to get hold of Cuba's sugar and fruit industry. Of course, that couldn't have been the case. Of course not.

Even after the US gave Cuba - quote - "full independence" - unquote - in 1903, they maintained a treaty allowing it to intervene in Cuba's affairs should it wish. They also gained permission to establish a perpetual US naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Nominally Cuba again was allowed to run its own affairs, which was true enough as long as they did what the US government wanted. Soon the new "us" were Cubans who wanted Cubans to run their own businesses and the new "them" who were wealthier landowners, most of whom were Cuban, and the big businesses and corporations, most of whom were American.

In 1925, the president of Cuba was Gerardo (not Geraldo) Machado. He was a supporter of the United States (as any Cuban president had to be). But the rising opposition forced Gerardo to the tactics of the heavy hand which some say included murder. The opening scene of Ernest Hemingway's novel To Have and Have Not represents how Gerardo handled his political opponents. By 1933, opposition was widespread, and the US thought Gerardo was more a liability and didn't complain when he left the country on August 24, 1933.

The US government - under the newly elected Franklin Roosevelt - then sent warships and marines to Havana in order to - in a phrase that became increasingly common - "protect American interests". The inevitable provisional government was headed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes who became President on August 12. Gerardo and Carlos, by the way, had both fought against Spain in the War of Independence.

Three weeks later, on September 4 (or September 6 depending on your source), Fulgencio Batista, then only a sergeant in the army, staged the aptly named "sergeants revolt". Carlos was forced to resign and Ramon Grau, a medical doctor from Havana, became president. Ramon, though, was not really the preferred candidate of the United States. But that didn't matter since Fulgencio was really the de facto head of Cuba, and in 1934, he forced Ramon to resign. Fulgencio then set up elections which, not too surprisingly, he won.

In 1940, Fulgencio and others (including Ramon) had established a constitution which really wasn't half bad if you could stick to it. Then in the 1944 elections, Fulgencio ran for President, but lost to Ramon. However, he left office peacefully and lived for a while in the United States. But Ramon was still not the best candidate in the eyes of the US, and Fulgencio returned to Cuba in 1952 to run again for president. When it became clear he wasn't going to win, he staged another coup and installed himself as el Presidente.

As you can see, Cuban politics was in some ways very complicated but otherwise quite simple. How you became president was a very messy process of legal and extra legal methods. But how you stayed president was simply being a friend of the United States and someone who would protect the US businesses in Cuba. Fulgencio was most agreeable to the US interests and also personally profited from American businesses by accepting what one American corporation has called "expeditionary fees".

Then following World War II another industry really boomed. That was tourism. Soon Havana - with a little help of the Mafia - became the Riviera of the Western Hemisphere. Casino gambling was legal and commercial feminine companionship was available in an area just a few blocks from the main hotels. The cost of a Cuban vacation was low enough so even middle class Americans could mingle with the rich and famous and even meet movie stars like George Raft who was the greeter at the Capri casino.

Some Americans went further and decided Cuba was a great place to live, and there was a fairly sizable expatriate community centered around Havana. In 1940, Ernest Hemingway had moved from Key West to the town of San Francisco de Paula about 15 miles south / southeast from Havana. When asked why he settled there, Ernest mentioned the clear mornings, deep sea fishing on his boat the Pilar, the afternoon trips to the downtown bars where sat the lovely dark eyed Cuban señoritas. Of course, it was also nice that as a bonafide non-resident of the US living outside the continental borders for twelve consecutive months, he was exempt from US taxes.

Films of Havana taken at this time showed a prosperous, happy city - clean and bustling but surprisingly uncrowded. It was a true island paradise and even now these films are quite useful for people who want to show how well Fulgencio ran the country. You can take these films and cut and paste next to films or photographs of the more recent Cuba, the latter of which, quite frankly, look a lot like they were taken in certain cities in the United States.

But if things were rosy for the Americans and their wealthy Cuban friends, the average Cuban farmer - the guajiro - even if he owned his own land, worked on small plots and eked out bare subsistence. More common, though, were "hired" (note quotes) agricultural workers on the large estates. Unless you were one of the wealthy land owners - like Fidel's dad - there was no schooling for your kids, no health care, and you certainly had no retirement plan. Sadly, the increasing prosperity of the cities did not trickle down to poorer rural workers, and the big divide in the living conditions of the rural and urban population was probably the single most important factor in what brought Fidel to power.

Like many dictators, Fulgencio based his power on controlling the military and had what his friends called a security force and his enemies called a secret police. Fulgencio's security forces (or whatever) kept the peace (or whatever) by arresting anyone Fulgencio said to. Torture - sorry, that's "enhanced interrogation techniques" - were common and were more effective at garnering confessions than obtaining accurate information. But all work and no play, you know, and Fulgencio realized his men should have some time to relax. One of the employees of the Habana Hilton told how the head of the security forces liked to spend time in the casinos. When he won he'd collect his winnings. If he lost, he'd just walk out. That's one way to beat the house percentage.

Fidel's own entry into Cuban politics was surprisingly mainstream and moderate. He ran for the Cuban parliament as a member of El Partido Ortodoxo. El Ortodoxo distanced themselves from communism, but nevertheless was strongly nationalistic. That is, the party's goal was to bring about social reforms for the poor and increase the independence of Cuba's economy.

But by the 26th of July, 1953, Fidel had decided parliamentary methods weren't working. So he and over 100 men, including younger brother Raul, attacked the Moncada Military Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The plan was a car would first drive up and the driver would claim that "The General" - that is Fulgencio - would be arriving. Then the rest of the revolutionaries would move in and take the surprised soldiers captive. After seizing the arms and ammunition they would head to the hills and start a revolution. It was a carefully thought out plan and failed miserably.

Actually, the first part worked fine - the soldiers at the gate snapped to attention when informed "The General" would be arriving. The guards were immediately taken prisoner. But the trouble began when Fidel drove in. Moving past the gate, he spied a group of soldiers armed with Thompson submachine guns. Not expecting them to be there and more by instinct that anything else, Fidel drew his pistol. The soldiers saw the gun and opened fire which immediately alerted the other guards. The invaders soon found themselves fighting highly trained professional soldiers and were at a distinct disadvantage. Those of Fidel's men who could beat a hasty retreat. Although the tires had been shot out of Fidel's car, he and another soldier managed to drive away on the rims. Brother Raul also escaped.

Only about six of Fidel's men were killed in the actual fight. But those were who captured were clubbed to death or dragged out to a target range and shot out of hand. Fidel himself was finally caught at the home of a sympathetic farmer. A soldier - whose brother had been killed at Moncada - was about to shoot Fidel, but an officer stopped him. When Fidel ask him why didn't he just let the soldier kill him, the officer just said, "Muchacho, I'm not that kind of a man."

Fidel was put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to what seems a quite lenient sentence of 15 years. The few survivors (including Raul) got similar sentences. That Castro was permitted to live to fight another day may seem surprising. But in truth, Fulgencio's power was based on - and largely limited to - his command of the army. But other parts of the government, like the courts, were not under his direct control.

We need to also remember Fidel was a lawyer and was able to intersperse his spirited defense orations with flattering references to the judges as "honorable men", reminding them them that they, like him, wanted freedom for the Cuban people. Despite such flattery, Castro was found guilty and imprisoned. He was, however, treated fairly well, and - even more surprising - was released only after 2 years in a general amnesty. Fulgencio's charity was really less due to a kind forgiving nature than the fact that even dictators have to worry about world opinion and growing discontent among the people.

Once out, though, Fidel decided he had best move away for a while. So he and Raul and others of his followers went to Mexico. There Fidel met a young Argentine named Ernesto Guevara, who, depending on who you believe, either graduated with a medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires or had dropped out without telling his mom and dad who always believed their son was Dr. Guevara.

On November 25, 1955, Fidel, Ernesto (then going by his nickname "Che"), and Raul, with about 80 other fatigue clad soldiers left Mexico on the yacht named the Granma. On November 2, puking from seasickness, they landed in Cuba, almost got wiped out, and then regrouped in the Sierra Maestra mountains. After three years, what started as a band of 20 men, ended up gaining so much support from the people that eventually companies of Fuglencio's army were joining them. Then on January 1, 1959, after a night of celebrating the New Year, Fulgencio and his family boarded a plane at Havana Airport and left Cuba. Fidel was now in charge.

American businesses didn't know what to do. The sentiment of the Cubans was strongly - and that's strongly - anti-American and the rhetoric of the revolution (despite Fidel's disavowal) sounded extremely communistic. At one point a group of Cubans, wearing the 26th of July armbands (which commemorated the attack on the Moncado Barracks) had been heading toward the Habana Hilton intent on destroying the casino. Conrad Hilton's casino consultant, former magician John Scarne, was asked by the hotel manager to stand behind him while he talked to the crowd. He was afraid the presence of an American might infuriate the crowed. "Anything you say, José," John answered.

José had gotten the crowd to stop by telling them that Fidel would be establishing his headquarters at the hotel. Eveyone eventually dispersed but said they would be back to check. José had spun the tale out of the whole cloth, but fortunately, Fidel did indeed make the Hilton his headquarters where John did some card tricks for him. Fidel, John noted, spoke good English although heavily accented, and he had huge hands. Also according to John, Fidel indulged in his own R and R by inviting a number of women for private visits. The women, John noted, were usually Americans enamored at an encounter with a true revolucionario. You could tell when Fidel was having one of his admirers over for a visit because the entourage of barbudos would have to retire outside the suite and would sit in the hall. Such is the account of the Revolution According to Scarne, who said he knew from the first that Fidel was a Commie.

But other American opinion of the revolution was more mixed. When asked by a friend what he thought of the Cuban revolution, Ernest Hemingway, still living at the Finca Vigía, said there were changes, both good and bad. "A hell of a lot of good," he added. "But then anything would have to be an improvement after the old Batista regime."

But, Ernest added, the anti-American sentiment spooked him. On the way to and from the airport, his friend had seen the multitude of ¡Cuba, Si! ¡America, No! signs. Ernest was certain he would eventually have to leave the island which in fact (and leaving behind his tax-exempt status), he did.

Fidel himself seemed a bit indecisive on how to deal with the powerful nation to the north. Or perhaps he was just testing which way the best wind blew. He appeared on the US program Face the Nation and said he and his friends were not communists and that they wanted to establish a democracy. When the reporters asked him why he - who clearly favored freedom (the reporters sarcasm is evident) - had carried out executions of Batista's soldiers, Fidel said they hadn't carried out all that many. "Only three or four dozen," he added.

Fidel (and his followers) always maintained that the executions were not just victor's justice, but that the men executed had been found guilty of serious crimes like murder of civilians or were spies and traitors for Batista and so subject to the ultimate penalty under international law. But Fidel was clearly worried he was making a bad impression on the world, and he hired an American public relations firm who advised him to smile a lot. Fidel even met with Vice President Richard Nixon to discuss future American/Cuban relations (Ike had gone off to play golf). The meeting didn't go all that well as neither man trusted the other. Then later Raul called Fidel and told him the Cubans began to think he was kissing up too much to the Yanquis. Fidel returned to Cuba.

Despite Fidel's protestations, it quickly looked like the Cuban Revolution would be exactly what George Orwell warned us about in Animal Farm. The three or four dozen executions increased to three or four hundred. Soon there were what can only be called show trials of Batistia's men. Presiding over the trials was Fidel's friend Che, who was (as was Raul) an unabashed Marxist.

Given the fact that Batista's was a pretty corrupt regime and Fulgencio could be a brutal as any other dictator, it's certain that a good chunk of the men convicted in the Fidel's first trials must have been - as Anthony Quinn told James Coburn in the film A High Wind in Jamaica - at least guilty of something. But the trials and executions kept going, and Che really seemed to enjoy his work. As a government official Che quickly became less and less tolerant of any disagreement and once in an argument with a friend about Cuba's future finances, Che gave his friend a choice: 1) go to jail for thirty years, 2) go into exile in another country, or 3) be shot. Che's friend chose exile. Even Che's dad was taken aback when he visited his son after the revolution. His friendly, liberal, and easy-going hijo had become the autocratic Commandante Guevara who really took to his work with a bit too much élan.

By March, 1960, fears felt by the US government were growing since Fidel had become way too pally with the Russians. So soon began the tit-for-tat game which, somehow, Fidel seemed always to come out a step ahead. Fidel said Americans could continue with the businesses in Cuba, but he would also begin having the Russians to send him crude oil to help beef up refinery production. But the Cuban refineries - all owned by US companies - said sorry, no Russian crude allowed. So Fidel seized the American refineries - "nationalized" is the common word. Then the Americans said, OK, you want Russian crude, you've got Russian crude. But you aren't getting American crude. Fidel said fine, he didn't want need no stinking American crude anyway.

All right, the US said, then we don't want your sugar either even though we are Cuba's biggest customer. Then Congress officially cut off guaranteed sugar imports. Nyeah! Nyeah! Nyeah!

Fine, shrugged Fidel, you don't want our sugar, the Russians do, and the Russians agreed to take on all the sugar intended for the US. Then two days later, on April 5, 1960, Fidel nationalized all US companies. At this point, the Eisenhower administration decided we needed to get rid of Fidel.

Now booting out Fidel seemed easy enough. After all, if Fidel and 20 seasick soldiers could hide in Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains and defeat the dictator Fulgencio Batista, then 1500 well-trained American volunteers landing at the Bahía de Cochinos could drive out Castro. Es muy fácil, amigos. ¿Verdad?. But there was a glitch. In the 1960 election, John Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon (Ike's vice president) by one of the smallest margins in history (only 112,000 votes). Would JFK go ahead with the plan?

Fortunately - for the planners - he did. But unfortunately - for the volunteers - Fidel had about five times their number of troops waiting. So Fidel gave the Yanks a sound thrashing.

It turns out that JFK had not been too enthusiastic about the invasion in the first place, and a few months later there was a clandestine meeting in Uruguay between his aide, Richard Goodwin, and Che. After handing over a box of Havana cigar's as a gift for Kennedy (which JFK accepted), Che said he wanted to thank the Americans for the Bay of Pigs. By invading Cuba, the US had elevated them from an aggrieved little country who was fumbling about on how to follow up the revolution to a country of international stature and with a population strongly behind Fidel. Dick said, "You're welcome."

As they talked, Che laid it all out on the table. Americans should put out of their mind any kind of democratic multi-party system in Cuba. They were going to have a single party socialist state and yes, Fidel was going to be in charge. Oh, it's possible they might have free elections once things stabilized but don't hold your breath, amigo. (For what it's worth the members of the Cuban parliament and local officials are in fact elected. So in some ways Cuba has a system similar to that of the Roman Empire with reasonably free elections at the local or state level, but one big unelected honcho at the top).

Che, though, was not so confident as he seemed. He knew the US wanted Fidel OUT and that would certainly interfere with his, that is, Che's, plans to export their revolution to all Latin America countries. So Cuba needed protection from another US invasion. So when Russia offered to send over some surface to air missiles Che thought it a great idea as did Fidel. Oh, yeah, said Russia, how about some nuclear first strike missiles as well? Sure, said Fidel, why not?

Although in that day and age there were no spy satellites, photographs from the high altitude reconnaissance aircraft called U2's (that could fly up to an altitude of 17 miles) soon showed what appeared to be (and in fact were) missile silos. Then high speed low level flights (and we're talking maybe a couple of hundred feet) conclusively showed the missiles were there. The pictures were published and the US demanded the missiles be removed. But Cuba and Russia, who first denied the missiles were there, said no, the missiles would stay. The US debated on options (the chiefs of staff and military leaders wanted to invade immediately) but the cabinet members preferred a blockade. Although the blockade worked - Russian ships with missiles turned back - the situation became - as they say - "tense".

Then a Russian diplomat (who was actually a KGB officer) contacted an ABC news reporter, John Scali, to broker a deal with the US. Promise not to invade Cuba and the missiles would be removed. That offer seemed to be working out fine and an official offer was made from Moscow. But before the US could agree, a second letter arrived with another demand. The US had missiles in Turkey which were closer to the Russian border than the missiles in Cuba were to the US. So, they said, the US must promise not to invade Cuba and pull the missiles out of Turkey.

Now if you saw the TV docudrama "The Missiles of October" (where a young Martin Sheen faked a high pitched Harvard accent to play Bobby Kennedy), then you know that America said such a deal was out of the question. Yes, we can agree to "respect" the Castro regime - that is, we won't invade Cuba - but we won't take our missiles out of Turkey. Finally after some bluster, the Russians agreed. Hah! So we made those spineless Ruskies back down.

On the other hand, if you read books - those non-electronic devices with white flappy things the middle - then you know that television is not the best source for accurate history. Instead we did agree to (secretly) remove the missiles from Turkey. Then the Soviet missiles went out of Cuba, and we didn't go to war. (On the other hand, a later movie, Thirteen Days, was actually a bit more accurate about the Turkey based missiles, but a JFK with a mid-Western accent is a bit hard to take.)

One thing that wasn't known until nearly forty years later was that Russia also had what they called "tactical" nuclear weapons in Cuba. These are missiles with warheads limited to the kiloton range (actually smaller than the bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and which could be used against an invading force. The Russian field commanders in Cuba had authority to launch these weapons without approval from anyone else, and they said had an invasion of the island occurred, they would have done so.

Strangely enough, the guy who really wanted to avoid war was the Russian premiere, Nikita "We Will Bury You" Khrushchev, particularly after Fidel told Nikita that the best way to end the missile crisis was by firing the missiles first. Nikita thought, quite frankly, that Fidel was nuts, and after some problems with the Presidium members, wrote the letter to JFK setting up the deal.

The trouble was Fidel never agreed and was not even consulted. Au contraire, as Che (who spoke French) might have said, the Cuban leader was quite miffed. In fact, Fidel was so irritated at his erstwhile allies that he began thinking about normalizing relations with the US. Although this was a tough agenda given the anti-Castro sentiment in the US, there are memos that show Kennedy also began wondering what could be done. On the other hand there was also a simultaneous plan to bump Fidel off and plans continued on through at least the next seven US presidents. Poison cigars, bacteria in his diving suits, poison fountain pens, powder to make his beard fall out, arranging a Mafia hit. You name it, we planned it. It was a massive expensive scheme well worthy of a Monty Python "Ministry of Silly Assassination Plans" skit. Of course none of them worked.

If Kennedy had lived, would things have been different in US/Cuba relations? Probably not. After all, even at that point the Vietnam War began revving up, and the Russian premiere, Nikita Khrushchev, sort of said he would bury us, and there was a continuing fear that Fidel was going to spread communism in Latin America. That, of course, was part of the plan but Fidel also had a country to run. Fortunately, Che was getting to be such una piedra en el zapato wanting to foment revolutions that Fidel was glad to pack him off to Angola and then, and as we know, to Bolivia.

By the late 1970's, Cuba was having economic problems and in 1980, a large number of Cubans had taken refuge in the Peruvian embassy and wanted to leave the country. The US then pointed out that this proved the failure of Castro's government and the only reason people stayed in Cuba was because Castro kept them locked in what was really an island prison.

One of Fidel's true talents was his ability to make a major problem for him even a bigger problem for the United States. So Fidel said, fine, anyone who wants to leave Cuba for the US can do so. Much to Washington's satisfaction over 125,000 people participated in what was called the Mariel boatlift and came to the US. Less to Washington's satisfaction was Fidel also let loose real criminals, inmates of mental hospitals, and - to be honest - people who could not be productive citizens under any type of government. As a result, America was faced with the unenviable task of imprisoning thousands of the Cubans themselves (although the preferred word is "detain") who had left the island. The actual numbers was fairly low - less than 2 % of the total of refugees - but even 25 years after the boatlift, there were some Cubans still being held in involuntary confinement in the US.

In 1989, the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachov, reaffirmed a new treaty for Soviet's support for Cuba, and in two years the Soviet Union had collapsed and Cuba was literally on its own. Fidel began to go to other countries to try go get them to invest more in Cuba (only the United States maintained an embargo). But you can't have free enterprise business in a country where the government runs all businesses (and where it is in fact illegal to set up a private enterprise). So Fidel began to allow the Cubans to set up shops and businesses while also eliminating massive numbers of government jobs.

One of the businesses that was revitalized was tourism. As you might expect, this has brought back some of the - ah - "attractions" that Fidel trashed Fulgencio for. Although there are no legal casinos, there are luxury hotels where the tourist can loll on the beaches and word is there are places you can go for a quick and surreptitious ...., well, never mind.

Where there's money, there's corruption, and Fidel himself has has denounced bribe takers and chiselers as a danger to the revolution. Some of the chiseling are retailers not sticking to the government mandated prices, and some people have predicted that once Fidel and Raul are gone, Cuba will revert to a more or less democratic state where casinos will once more be in operation. Maybe.

But in some ways, whatever happens. Fidel feels he has had the last laugh - la última risa - as he himself pointed out. On June 2, 1972, five men were arrested burglarizing the Democratic Party's national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. At least three had been had been actively involved in the US government activities to oust Fidel. According to one of the burglar's unintentionally humorous account, the men believed that by breaking into, burglarizing, and bugging the Democratic Party headquarters they were striking a blow against Fidel. The article, sadly, reads almost exactly like the satirical column by humorist Art Buchwald about the subject. Fidel himself said he found it ironic that ultimately all the attempts to bring him down instead brought down down an American president. La úlltima risa, indeed.

Despite what many people have thought, flights from Miami to Cuba had continued. You did, though, require special permission and the trips were limited to special programs for cultural exchanges. One lady - the wife of the man who was often credited with inventing the nylon guitar string - made the flight on a Cuban propeller plane remembered making the trips in the 1980's and remembered one of the doors was held shut by a rope. Americans sometimes forget that only two countries in the world - the United States and Fiji - refused to recognize Cuba after Fidel took over - and professional conferences were sometimes held in Havana. In certain cases America citizens could be granted permission to attend and after the turn of the Millennium, permission was fairly easy to get.

Still, America steadfastly refused to recognize the Castro government even after Fidel retired in 2008 and handed the reins over to brother Raul. But nothing seemed very serious until in 2015 it was announced that the United States would begin moving toward establishing diplomatic relations. The move took a lot of people by surprise and many spittle-flinging diatribes were vented as were expressions of approval. But despite the diatribes - spittle flinging or otherwise - granting recognition to foreign countries is the prerogative of the Executive Branch, and on in July, 2015, embassies in both countries were reopened. On the other hand, the embargo - resulting from Congressional legislation - is still in effect with no immediate likelihood to be lifted. You also still need to get special permission to travel there and prove you are one of the 12 groups that are allowed in.

But Fidel was still there and so he remained until November 25, 2016. His passing was due to the natural causes of old age - he was 90 - and had nothing to do with time and wasted effort of the United States - not to mention the money provided by the US taxpayer.

It's hard to say if America could have done anything to avoid the Problem of Fidel. Could we have offered a friendlier hand right after the revolution? Again, we must say probably not, and Fidel's distrust of America was deep and began early - probably much earlier than many people suspect. In 1940 when Fidel was 14 years old, he sent his famous letter to US President Franklin Roosevelt asking for 10 dollars. Unlike much of what you read on the Fount of All Knowledge, this story is true, and the letter remains in the United States National Archives. The White House did send a polite reply, but of course, enclosed no cash.

But in 1940 a note from the White House to a student was a big deal even in Cuba. So his teacher posted the letter on the classroom bulletin board. One of Fidel's friends said he didn't know he, Fidel, had written to President Roosevelt. Fidel said yes but then added, "Americans are cabrones¹. I asked for ten dollars, and they didn't send me a cent."

Reconstructed Spanish from an English translation.

References

Fidel: A Biography of Fidel Castro, Peter Bourne, Dodd Mead, 1986.

Fidel and Che A Revolutionary Friendship, Simon Reid-Henry, Walker abd Company, New York, 2009

The Odds Against Me, John Scarne, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1966. A well written and entertaining book where John tells, among other things, of his acting as a gambling consultant for Conrad Hilton after Conrad opened his hotel in Havana. Among the goals of his enterprise, Conrad said to help promote world peace.

Letter to Franklin Roosevelt. The famous letter of Fidel to Franklin is at the National Archives. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/castro.html.

"The Watergate Burglars: Where Are They Now?", ABC News, "http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/watergate-burglars-now/story?id=16567157# The account by one of the former burglars of the break-in and the motives is included. Sad to say, it reads almost exactly like the Art Buchwald column. Of course, Art was joking, the burglar was not.

"Conversation with Commandante Ernesto Guevara of Cuba", Memorandum to the President (Declassified Document), Richard Godwin, August 22, 1961. A most interesting memo as it is of a conversation that Che knew would be kept under wraps. He made it clear that Cuba was going to be a one party socialist state and Fidel would be in charge.

Declassified: Castro, The Survivor. A pretty fair look at Fidel, but not in a lot of depth.

The Missiles of October, 1974. At least Martin and William Devane, who played John, gave it the good old Kennedy try for looking like and sounding like their real life counterpoints (the latter more successful than the former, although William did look quite a bit like JFK). But both Martin and William were much more successful than the 2001 movie Thirteen Days. Neither Bruce Greenwood (who played John) or Steven Culp (who played Bobby) either looked or sounded like either. Of course, in 1974, the memory of the Kennedy's trademark tousled hair and Harvidian accents was still very much part of the American consciousness - certainly much more than it is over half a century later.

Thirteen Days, 2000. A personal CooperToons opinion is Missiles is a better show although more stylized. Also the consensus of those actually involved is Kevin Costner's character was no where near as involved in the events as shown in the movie. On the other hand, Thirteen Days at least had the US striking the secret deal to remove the missiles in Turkey.