1
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In 1952, former Cuban president Batista

2
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
led a military coup and seized power

3
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when it became clear he was not going to

4
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be re-elected. He placed Cuba under a

5
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
repressive military dictatorship

6
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and began to establish close relations

7
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with the United States.

8
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This allowed American

9
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
companies to buy up the majority of

10
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Cuba's natural resources, plus under his

11
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
rule, the country became a haven for

12
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
organized crime syndicates, all of which

13
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
angered a young lawyer named Fidel Castro.

14
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Castro put together a group of 138 men