Huber Matos

Huber Matos was a Cuban revolutionary who successfully overthrew the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Raul Castro and others. He had opposed Batista since the general's successful coup in 1952, which he regarded as unconstitutional.

Related Topics:
Cuba - Fulgencio Batista - Fidel Castro - Che Guevara - Camilo Cienfuegos - Raul Castro - Coup - 1952

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Though working with Castro to overthrow the government, he was at times skeptical of the future Marxist-Leninist leader, believing he had "despotic tendencies." Following Castro's triumphant ascension to power, Matos was made military governor of Camagüey Province. As a pro-democratic liberal, however, he soon became skeptical of Marxist sympathies shown by prominent revolution figures such as Raul and Che. According to Matos, "In late March and early April I found pro-Marxist propaganda in Verde Olivo, a magazine distributed to the armed forces... one, two, three articles. And we were seeing Guevara circulating with the leadership of the Cuban Communist party, and Raúl having meetings with them, naming some Communists to his general staff, and I told myself, 'There is a second plan being put in place here.' But every time I brought it up to Fidel, he would say, 'No, no, no, I will not betray my commitment to Cuban history.'"

Related Topics:
Marxist-Leninist - Despotic - Camagüey Province - Marxist

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