WEBVTT

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In 1952, former Cuban president Batista

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
led a military coup and seized power

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when it became clear he was not going to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
be re-elected. He placed Cuba under a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
repressive military dictatorship

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and began to establish close relations

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with the United States.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This allowed American

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
companies to buy up the majority of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Cuba's natural resources, plus under his

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
rule, the country became a haven for

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
organized crime syndicates, all of which

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
angered a young lawyer named Fidel Castro.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Castro put together a group of 138 men

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and on July 26th, 1953, attacked an
isolated

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Barracks in Moncada in the hope of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
securing more weapons. The attack was a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
disaster, and the rebels were fought back.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
securing more weapons. The attack was a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
disaster, and the rebels were fought back.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Most of those who were not killed were

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
captured, including Fidel and his brother

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Raúl. The public trial of the captured

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Rebels helped turn public opinion and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Castro's favor when he argued against

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the dictatorship and said, "History will

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
absolve me". He was sentenced to 15 years

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in prison, but Batista was under

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
International and Domestic pressure for

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
reforms and released the political

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
prisoners in just two years. Fidel and Raúl

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
fled to Mexico to regroup and make new

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
plans for the revolution. They met with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
other Cuban exiles and an Argentinian

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
doctor named Che Guevara, who joined the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
'26th of July Movement'. 
In the meantime, a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
controversial election and increasing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
unemployment in Cuba, led to more and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more anti-Batista riots, although they

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
weren't necessarily socialist. Batista

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
responded by becoming even more

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
oppressive, which led to even more people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
calling for him to resign. Back in Mexico,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the revolutionaries purchased a small

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
yacht named 'Granma' and in November 1956,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
82 Men set sail for Cuba. The Cuban

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
government, however, was aware that the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
rebels were returning to Cuba and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
attacked them. Only a handful of them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
survived to escape up into the mountains.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
From their Mountain Base they gathered

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
new supporters and launched guerrilla

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
attacks on Military targets. Plus, foreign

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
journalists were allowed to visit, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
along with their Pirate Radio Station,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this gave their struggle International

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
attention and ultimately increased their

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
popularity. Meanwhile, in the cities too,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
new rebel groups were launching attacks

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
against Batista. Angered and desperate, in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
1958, Batista sent a large army into the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
mountains to try and flush the rebels

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
out once and for all. However, this was a