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In 1952, former Cuban president Batista

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led a military coup and seized power

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when it became clear he was not going

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to be re-elected. He placed Cuba under

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a repressive military dictatorship

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and began to establish close relations

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with the United States.

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This allowed American companies

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to buy up the majority of

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Cuba's natural resources, plus, under

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his rule, the country became a haven

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for organized crime syndicates, [br]all of which

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angered a young lawyer named

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Fidel Castro. Castro put together

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a group of 138 men,

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and on July 26th, 1953, attacked an

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isolated Barracks in Moncada

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in the hope of securing [br]more weapons.

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The attack was a disaster

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and the rebels were fought back.

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Most of those who were not killed were

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captured, including Fidel and [br]his brother Raúl.

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The public trial of the captured

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Rebels helped turn public opinion and

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Castro's favor when he argued against

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the dictatorship and said, "History will

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absolve me". He was sentenced to 15 years

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in prison, but Batista was under

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international and domestic pressure for

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reforms and released the political

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process in just 2 years

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Fidel and Raul fled to Mexico to regroup[br]and make new plans for the revolution

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They met with[br]other Cuban exiles and an Argentinian

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doctor named Che Guevara, who joined the

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'26th of July Movement'. [br]In the meantime, a

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controversial election and increasing

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unemployment in Cuba, led to more and

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more anti-Batista riots, although they

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weren't necessarily socialist. Batista

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responded by becoming even more

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oppressive, which led to even more people

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calling for him to resign. Back in Mexico,

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the revolutionaries purchased a small

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yacht named 'Granma' and in November 1956,

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82 Men set sail for Cuba. The Cuban

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government, however, was aware that the

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rebels were returning to Cuba and

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attacked them. Only a handful of them

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survived to escape up into the mountains.

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From their Mountain Base they gathered

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new supporters and launched guerrilla

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attacks on Military targets. Plus, foreign

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journalists were allowed to visit, and

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along with their Pirate Radio Station,

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this gave their struggle International

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attention and ultimately increased their

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popularity. Meanwhile, in the cities too,

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new rebel groups were launching attacks

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against Batista. Angered and desperate, in

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1958, Batista sent a large army into the

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mountains to try and flush the rebels

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out once and for all. However, this was a

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disaster and the hardened guerrilla

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fighters were able to fight them back,

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causing many in the Army to switch sides.

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The rebels then saw this as the perfect

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opportunity to launch a Counterattack.

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Che Guevara took control of one arm of the

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Rebel Army and headed to Santa Clara.

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Cienfuegos took another and marched into

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Yaguajay and Castro followed with the

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reinforcements. As they passed through

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towns and villages, they were largely

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welcomed, demonstrating to the world that

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Batista's regime was on the brink of

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falling. The International Community

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persuaded Batista to flee, allowing the

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rebels to move into Havana in January,

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1959, relatively unopposed. The

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revolutionaries took control of Cuba and

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their leaders, Fidel, Raúl and Che,

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consolidated their power by wiping out

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all remnants of Batista from the island,

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and arrested and killed many of those

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old supporters. This, as well as a few

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other repressive laws, led to a large

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number of people fleeing to the US. On

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the other hand, they nationalized the

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land that was owned by us companies, shut

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down the Mob's casinos and set about

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reforming and improving health

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facilities, housing and schools. These

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socialist policies angered the Americans,

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who decided to place economic sanctions

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on them. The US would also go on to aid a

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group of Cuban Exiles, in an attempt to

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oust Fidel Castro in 1962. [br]But, the infamous

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'Bay of Pigs' invasion was a disaster. In

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the aftermath of the 'Bay of Pigs'

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invasion, Castro announced that Cuba was

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a Socialist Republic and rushed into

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seeking an alliance with the Soviets, and

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this friendship led to one of the most

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infamous consequences of the revolution,

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'The Cuban Missile Crisis'. The revolution

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spurred on left-wing idealists in Latin

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America, whose actions indirectly led to

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far-right reactionary dictatorships in

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countries like Argentina and Chile.