In 1952, former Cuban president Batista
led a military coup and seized power
when it became clear he was not going to
be re-elected. He placed Cuba under a
repressive military dictatorship
and began to establish close relations
with the United States.
This allowed American
companies to buy up the majority of
Cuba's natural resources, plus under his
rule, the country became a haven for
organized crime syndicates, all of which
angered a young lawyer named Fidel Castro.
Castro put together a group of 138 men
and on July 26th, 1953, attacked an isolated
Barracks in Moncada in the hope of
securing more weapons. The attack was a
disaster, and the rebels were fought back.
securing more weapons. The attack was a
disaster, and the rebels were fought back.
Most of those who were not killed were
captured, including Fidel and his brother
Raúl. The public trial of the captured
Rebels helped turn public opinion and
Castro's favor when he argued against
the dictatorship and said, "History will
absolve me". He was sentenced to 15 years
in prison, but Batista was under
International and Domestic pressure for
reforms and released the political
prisoners in just two years. Fidel and Raúl
fled to Mexico to regroup and make new
plans for the revolution. They met with
other Cuban exiles and an Argentinian
doctor named Che Guevara, who joined the
'26th of July Movement'. In the meantime, a
controversial election and increasing
unemployment in Cuba, led to more and
more anti-Batista riots, although they
weren't necessarily socialist. Batista
responded by becoming even more
oppressive, which led to even more people
calling for him to resign. Back in Mexico,
the revolutionaries purchased a small
yacht named 'Granma' and in November 1956,
82 Men set sail for Cuba. The Cuban
government, however, was aware that the
rebels were returning to Cuba and
attacked them. Only a handful of them
survived to escape up into the mountains.
From their Mountain Base they gathered
new supporters and launched guerrilla
attacks on Military targets. Plus, foreign
journalists were allowed to visit, and
along with their Pirate Radio Station,
this gave their struggle International
attention and ultimately increased their
popularity. Meanwhile, in the cities too,
new rebel groups were launching attacks
against Batista. Angered and desperate, in
1958, Batista sent a large army into the
mountains to try and flush the rebels
out once and for all. However, this was a