From 1953 to 1959, a small band of revolutionaries in Cuba, led by Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, establishing the first socialist state in the Western Hemisphere.
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Between 1953 and 1959, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara led a small guerrilla movement that toppled Cuba’s Batista dictatorship and created the Western Hemisphere’s first socialist state—reshaping Cuban society and permanently transforming US–Cuba relations.
Only 90 miles separate Cuba from the US, yet Cold War hostility froze relations for decades. This timeline traces six decades of tension, from revolution and missile crisis to renewed hardline US policies reintroduced in 2025
On the eve of Castro’s 1959 revolution, Cuba ranked among Latin America’s most advanced societies, with high incomes and health outcomes. Yet stark racial, rural, and political inequalities—compounded by corruption and US intervention—made the system weak and primed for revolt.
Born into wealth, Fidel Castro launched his first revolt against Batista at the age of 27. His failed 1953 uprising—and the trial where he declared, “History will absolve me”—marked the beginning of a decades-long political life, as traced in this photo-rich timeline.
Fidel Castro's regime has lasted almost seven decades. That story began on Dec. 2, 1956, with the landing of a small yacht—dubbed the Granma—with 82 soldiers and Castro himself, as his onshore allies attacked military and government installations in advance of their arrival.
From exploding cigars and poisoned Cohibas to an infected scuba suit and plans to drug a TV studio with LSD, this account catalogs the CIA’s strangest—and consistently unsuccessful—attempts to kill Fidel Castro over decades.
In 1961, the US backed an invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles, aiming to spark an uprising against the communist government. The operation collapsed within days, embarrassing the US and pushing Cuba closer to the Soviet Union.
After the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion collapsed, Castro’s new communist government turned to the Soviet Union for protection. Moscow’s decision to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba—just 90 miles from the US—pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Revolutionary icon or ruthless enforcer? This animated courtroom-style video weighs Che Guevara’s life and actions—tracing his rise alongside Castro, his role in revolutionary violence, and his global symbolism—before leaving viewers to render their own verdict.
Alberto Korda wasn’t aiming for Che Guevara when he snapped one of the most reproduced photos in history. This longread traces how that fleeting moment became a global icon—later commodified across pop culture, fashion, and advertising.
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