Fidel Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) has been the leader of Cuba since 1959, when, leading the 26th of July Movement, he overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Following the Cuban Revolution, Castro oversaw the transformation of Cuba into the first Communist state in the Western Hemisphere. Castro first attracted attention in Cuban political life through his student activism. His outspoken nationalism, and radical critique of Batista and US corporate and political influence in Cuba, brought a receptive following as well ...

Including:

• Fidel Castro - Early life
• Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks
• Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla
• Fidel Castro - Early years in power
• Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs
• Fidel Castro - October Crisis
• Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world
• Fidel Castro - Remaining as president
• Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States
• Fidel Castro - Religion
• Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba
• Fidel Castro - Popular image
• Fidel Castro - Family and health

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia - Fidel Castro

On January 1, 1959, Castro's forces entered Havana and on January 5 the liberal law professor José Miró Cardona created a new government with himself as prime minister and Manuel Urrutia Lleó as president. On January 8 Castro himself arrived in Havana and assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In February, however, Miró resigned and Castro assumed the role nearly a month later after initially rejecting the offer; and in July, Urrutia resigned and was replaced by Osvaldo Dorticós Tor ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Early years in power

Castro remains a vocal critic of United States policies. He has condemned what he sees as exploitation of developing countries by U.S. corporations and the state of public health care in the United States. Recently, he has harshly condemned U.S. travel sanctions, which limit travel between the United States and Cuba, and serve as an economic embargo. Castro also opposes the growing costs of servicing foreign debt. During the Cold War, the United States engaged in a variety of covert, and often deadly attacks in Cuba. Between 1960 and ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States

Castro is an atheist and has not been a practicing Roman Catholic since his childhood. Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro on January 3, 1962 on the basis of a 1949 decree by Pope Pius XII forbidding Catholics from supporting communist governments. For Castro, who had previously renounced his Catholic faith, this was an event of very little consequence, nor was it expected to be otherwise. It was primarily aimed at underm ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Religion

Fidel Castro's parents were Lina Ruz González and Ángel Castro y Argiz. He has two brothers: Ramón (born in 1924), Raúl (born in 1931) and at least two sisters Juanita Castro Ruz who lives in Miami, Florida and Agustina Castro Ruz who lives in Habana, Cuba. By his first wife Mirta Díaz-Balart, he has a son named Fidel "Fidelito" Castro-Díaz-Balart. Mirta left Cuba in 1954 taking Fidelito with her, and she divorced Castro later the same year. Fidelito was later returned to Cuba. Mirta now lives in Spain. By Fidel's second wife Dalia Sot ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Family and health

Since Fidel Castro came to power, he and his government have exhibited many traits of personalist rule commonly attributed to a cult of personality, despite attempts to discourage it. In contrast to many of the world's modern strongmen, Castro has only twice been personally featured on a Cuban stamp. In 1974 he appeared on a stamp to commemorate the visit of Leonid Brezhnev, and in 1999 he appeared on a stamp commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Revolution. There has been a strong tendency to encourage reverence for other Cuban figures such as José Martí, Che Guevara, and the "martyrs" of t ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Popular image

Some studies report that thousands of political opponents have been killed during Castro's decades-long leadership. [34]; however, given the nature of the sources of this information and how it is tabulated, including or not including those dead in Cuban external and internal wars, exact numbers are not known. Some Cubans who have been labeled "counterrevolutionaries", "fascists", or "CIA operatives" have been imprisoned in extremely poor conditions without trial; at least some have been summarily executed. Military Units to Aid Production, ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba

Castro was born into a wealthy farming family in Birán, near Mayarí, Holguín Province (formerly Oriente Province) and not far from the birthplace of Fulgencio Batista, the man whose government he was to overthrow. The son of a fomer colonial soldier Ángel Castro y Argiz (and immigrant (after 1898) from Galicia, Spain) and his cook, Lina Ruz González, Castro has two brothers: Ramón, who has a position in the agriculture department and is said to run the family estates; and half-brother Raúl, the Cuban defense minister. Castro also has at least one other sibling, his sist ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Early life

Once in Mexico, Castro reunited with other exiles and founded the 26th of July Movement. They went to the United States, where they gathered funds from Cubans living in that country. Medical doctor Ernesto "Che" Guevara joined the group in Mexico. In Mexico the group trained under Spanish Civil War Veteran, Cuban born [19], Alberto Bayo Giraud, [20], who had fled to Mexico. On November 26, 1956 they returned to Cuba, sailing from Tuxpan ...

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Fidel Castro, Fidel Castro - Early life, Fidel Castro - Attack on Moncada Barracks, Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla, Fidel Castro - Early years in power, Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro - October Crisis, Fidel Castro - Relations with the outside world, Fidel Castro - Remaining as president, Fidel Castro - Criticisms of the United States, Fidel Castro - Religion, Fidel Castro - Human rights in Cuba, Fidel Castro - Popular image, Fidel Castro - Family and health, Fidel Castro - Castro in arts

Read more here: » Fidel Castro: Encyclopedia II - Fidel Castro - Life as a guerilla