Fulgencio Batista

General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the de facto leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940 and the country's de jure President from 1940 to 1944 and again, after a coup, from 1952 to 1959.

Opposition

Among the numerous opponents to Batista was Fidel Castro. Castro had attempted to challenge the coup judicially but his petition was refused. Castro was imprisoned after he led a disastrous attack on the Moncada Barracks in July, 1953. In an attempt to discourage further rebellion, Batista also displayed the corpses of guerrillas killed by the Army on Cuban television. However, rather than frightening the Cuban populace, such actions only further contributed to Batista's growing unpopularity.

Related Topics:
Fidel Castro - Moncada Barracks

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With pressure from the Jesuits, Batista decided to free Castro early and he was released in a general amnesty in May 1955 and went into exile in Mexico and the United States where he plotted another attempt at revolution. Castro's return to Cuba as head of the 26th of July Movement was marked by another disastrous attack in December, 1956. Despite a bloody supporting urban actions by Frank Pais in Santiago in the days preceding the landing, rural support coordinated by Pais, that including Celia Sanchez, the bandit Cresencio Perez, and the trucks from Huber Matos farm, as well as the sacrifice of two rearguard squads, only Castro and some 11-17 others were able to successfully retreat into the mountains and from there wage a guerrilla war.

Related Topics:
Jesuits - 1955 - Mexico - United States - 26th of July Movement - 1956

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In May 1958, in response to a failed assault on the presidencial palace by other resistance groups, Batista launched a major assault against Castro and the other rebel groups (unaffiliated with Castro). Despite being outnumbered (Castro claims his men numbered fewer than 100; however, there were far greater numbers of pickets or scouts (escopeteros) who saw action in those days), Castro's forces scored a series of victories, aided by massive desertion amongst Batista's army. During this time period, the U.S. broke off relations with Batista, stating that it sought a peaceful transition to a new government. Against this backdrop of growing civil war, Batista, constitutionally prohibited from continuing as president, held an election in which his preferred candidate Carlos Rivero Aguero defeated Grau. On January 1, 1959 Batista and Rivero fled the country to the Dominican Republic, and Castro's forces took Havana.

Related Topics:
1958 - Carlos Rivero Aguero - January 1 - 1959 - Dominican Republic - Havana

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