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Confrontation in Cuba
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How Fidel Castro brought a country together and tore it apart
- Duration 8:04
- Date Oct 18, 2011
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Transcript
This transcript is automatically generated
I'm Oliver North this is war stories coming -- you from naval air station -- Westport.
Ninety miles south of here eleven million.
Suffer in the Western Hemisphere's last remaining dictatorship.
Fidel Castro's -- from the days shortly after Castro seized power this air base has been crucial to keeping an -- and what's happening in Cuba.
1960 to a nuclear missiles were discovered on the Allen.
Hundreds of aircraft -- from the southern most tip of America as the United States and the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of war.
I'm witness as we take you.
Inside the confrontation.
With Communist Cuba.
A -- in the 1950s.
From the Tropicana for the hotel Nacional.
For Americans in search of the ultimate paradise.
No place held moral slower -- the Cuban capital.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- Is and was a beautiful city.
Cuban native doctor highly -- -- is the director of the institute for Cuban.
And Cuban American studies at the University of Miami nightclub was gambling beautiful creatures so the -- all those things that foods like.
The 750.
Mile Long Island boasts 330 sunny days a year.
But it was much more than -- stomping grounds for rich foreigners and gambling mobsters Cubans -- bubble.
-- their island homeland I was.
-- -- -- But my family -- small town outside Havana.
As a young girl Mariana -- enjoyed -- weekly visits to the bustling capital.
-- -- Exciting lots of people.
My mother was a teacher.
-- different.
Her parents were among the six point nine million Cubans busy creating one of the most successful economies in Latin America.
Cuba in the 1950.
Probably -- living anywhere in Latin America professor victor -- is the author of numerous books on Cuban history.
It went from being one of the course content region -- be one of the wealth within six years it had probably the largest class America.
Out of your hands we also had a lot of it was exciting.
In march of 1952.
Cuba was rocked by turmoil.
Former president Fulgencio Batista seized power in a bloodless coup from a weak but democratically elected president Carlos -- -- -- -- The little woman.
First Lady if it.
But he's -- old -- was democracy.
And installed a dictatorship.
And people started to protect.
Born in 1918 over Lantos was a school teacher in the town amends in the Jewish shocked by the ruthless repression of the -- regime -- -- did you know personally anyone who had been.
Jailed or or worse by -- me which I myself was jailed by him.
What crime did He accuse you up.
-- -- He accused me of signing -- proclamation for democracy that was sent to prison and eventually release.
But it was nothing compared to what I would go through later and Castro jail.
Batista's -- wife Marta aspired to be -- Eva Peron a strong man himself posed as a Democrat.
Promising a series of elections but the voting was either -- by fraud or never held.
Slowly.
Met opposition from student groups.
-- -- leadership with the horses won't who is why it -- shoot some of the leaders would and the and started pros and its expertise.
They learn to fight sons and carried out assassination.
And bombs in theaters started happening my parents started being very careful about taking to the city lot of.
Those student groups.
He -- pseudo political.
And pseudo gangster groups one of those leaders was a little known -- student named Fidel Castro.
Do.
Born on August 13 19:26.
And -- -- eastern province of -- take Castro was the illegitimate son of a sugar plantation owner.
-- -- -- -- -- Went to good schools you.
By 1940 the fourteen year old Castro was already striving for the world stage.
Lucky He wrote a letter to FDR.
This is the -- young Fidel sent to the American president.
-- -- He congratulates Roosevelt on his reelection.
And asks for -- American ten dollar bill.
And evidently.
And -- -- never -- him and He never got them built.
To stay little is known of -- -- mysterious 1949.
Trip to the US where He lived in this brownstone in New York's upper west side.
One thing is clear on his return to Cuba He was obsessive with revolution.
He at a very early age shall they -- -- violence and action and the teased his poorest seemly fueled his fire.
By 1953.
-- was ready to act his target the military barracks and won't cut.
Castro -- a daring but unsuccessful attack after which the 27 year old revolutionary landed in prison.
The fifteen year sentence that after only a year and a half.
-- 3859.
Was set free.
But -- -- -- but look we can deal with him left.
Jail and went to Mexico to plan Latin Q.
-- -- -- Mexico lots of basal cooperation the plot.
Against -- working very closely with all the Cuban exiles.
There Castro welcomed a new recruit and Argentine revolutionary name earnest go -- levoir.
Chair was an Argentine and Communists became a physician check of our of course was exceedingly and time there.
Castro understood shake could be useful.
Is He planned his riskiest adventure yet.
Our was the ultimate achievement and He was willing to take any risk to achieve it.
On November 25 1956.
Castro and -- boarded -- -- would run and set sail for Cuba.
The boat was 38 feet long designed to hold 25 people but for this mission 82 were aboard including the bill's brother -- They traveled this route sailing through the Gulf of Mexico around the Yucatan peninsula.
After seven days they approached Cuba from the south landing on a desolate beach.
Q what army found out that the polls are arriving.
Try to -- from killed the fuel them.
Of the 82 men who landed only sixteen survive including Fidel -- brother role and shape of our.
It was the beginning of a 25 month long campaign what Castro landed He was lucky to survive in this group managed to escape.
This analysis a serious off.
Mountain.
Ranges in eastern cue ball very cool would that very difficult to uphold by the military.
From his mountain hide a podcast to Begin a propaganda campaign throughout Cuba.
Sending messages over the radio claiming -- arrived to liberate the island.
We have a project that -- -- tried this for Cuban society the perception on the walls of this world -- -- People of Cuba fighting -- it dictatorship.
About.
But the guerrilla leader held a closely guarded secret Castro's rise to power was a manipulation.
And order.
