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 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and on July 26th, 1953, attacked an isolated 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Barracks in Moncada in the hope of 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 securing more weapons. The attack was a 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disaster, and the rebels were fought back. 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 securing more weapons. The attack was a 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disaster, and the rebels were fought back. 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Most of those who were not killed were 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 captured, including Fidel and his brother 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Raúl. The public trial of the captured 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Rebels helped turn public opinion and 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Castro's favor when he argued against 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the dictatorship and said, "History will 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 absolve me". He was sentenced to 15 years 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in prison, but Batista was under 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 International and Domestic pressure for 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reforms and released the political 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 prisoners in just two years. Fidel and Raúl 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fled to Mexico to regroup and make new 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 plans for the revolution. They met with 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 other Cuban exiles and an Argentinian 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 doctor named Che Guevara, who joined the 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 '26th of July Movement'.  In the meantime, a 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 controversial election and increasing 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 unemployment in Cuba, led to more and 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 more anti-Batista riots, although they 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 weren't necessarily socialist. Batista 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 responded by becoming even more 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 oppressive, which led to even more people 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 calling for him to resign. Back in Mexico, 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the revolutionaries purchased a small 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 yacht named 'Granma' and in November 1956, 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 82 Men set sail for Cuba. The Cuban 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 government, however, was aware that the 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rebels were returning to Cuba and 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attacked them. Only a handful of them 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 survived to escape up into the mountains. 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 From their Mountain Base they gathered 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 new supporters and launched guerrilla 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attacks on Military targets. Plus, foreign 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 journalists were allowed to visit, and 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 along with their Pirate Radio Station, 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this gave their struggle International 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attention and ultimately increased their 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 popularity. Meanwhile, in the cities too, 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 new rebel groups were launching attacks 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 against Batista. Angered and desperate, in 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 1958, Batista sent a large army into the 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mountains to try and flush the rebels 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 out once and for all. However, this was a 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disaster and the hardened guerrilla 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fighters were able to fight them back, 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 causing many in the Army to switch sides. 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The rebels then saw this as the perfect 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 opportunity to launch a Counterattack. 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Che Guevara took control of one arm of the 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Rebel Army and headed to Santa Clara. 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Cienfuegos took another and marched into 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yaguajay and Castro followed with the 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reinforcements. As they passed through 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 towns and villages, they were largely 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 welcomed, demonstrating to the world that 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Batista's regime was on the brink of 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 falling. The International Community 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 persuaded Batista to flee, allowing the 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rebels to move into Havana in January, 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 1959, relatively unopposed. The 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 revolutionaries took control of Cuba and 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 their leaders, Fidel, Raúl and Che, 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 consolidated their power by wiping out 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all remnants of Batista from the island, 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and arrested and killed many of those 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 old supporters. This, as well as a few 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 other repressive laws, led to a large 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 number of people fleeing to the US. On 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the other hand, they nationalized the 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 land that was owned by us companies, shut 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 down the Mob's casinos and set about 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reforming and improving health 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 facilities, housing and schools. These 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 socialist policies angered the Americans, 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who decided to place economic sanctions 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on them. The US would also go on to aid a 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 group of Cuban Exiles, in an attempt to 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 oust Fidel Castro in 1962. But the infamous 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 'Bay of Pigs' invasion was a disaster. In 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the aftermath of the 'Bay of Pigs' 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 invasion, Castro announced that Cuba was 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a Socialist Republic and rushed into 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 seeking an alliance with the Soviets, and 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this friendship led to one of the most 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 infamous consequences of the revolution, 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 'The Cuban Missile Crisis'. The revolution 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 spurred on left-wing idealists in Latin 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 America, whose actions indirectly led to 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 far-right reactionary dictatorships in 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 countries like Argentina and Chile.