Top 10 facts about Fidel Castro

Fancy love for Cuban Cigars

Cigars have a cult status and have usually made their way into the Elite’s pockets. Fidel Castro was also one such Cigar lover, he fancied the Cuban Cohiba (A premium cuban cigar brand) to such a great extent that a limited production of cigars by this brand for done exclusively for Fidel Castro and some high end officials of the Communist party of Cuba and Cuba government. Late, he quit smoking in 1985 for health reasons.

Ignitated Cold War

Not a lot of people know this but Castro played a lot of evil games during the Cold War people, manipulating people in order defeat US. The tiff between US and Cuba was known to the entire world then and now and it all started with Castro overthrowing the American military Imperialist Batista and later nationalizing all United States owned factories, businesses, oil-refineries and Casinos. America the reiteriated with Bay of Pigs Invasion and also The Cuban Missile Crisis, but failed in defeating Castro, that made the US government all the more angry, thus, becoming 2 of the major attacks in the cold war. Fidel, then applied all his power and influence, supporting the Soviet Union against The United States, yet America won the cold War and consequently World War 2 and rose as the world most powerful nation, which was a huge defeat for Fidel Castro.

3rd longest ruler of the state

A tough fight and revolutionary spirit of Fidel that made him the Prime Minister of Cuba, lasted from the year 1976 to 2008 which is more than half a decade, where he outlasted 9 US presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton. Thus, he stands 3rd on the list of longest serving head of the state after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and the King of Thailand.

A revolutionary

Fidel was a revolutionary cuban leader who got intrested in politics while persuiing law at University Of Havana as an Anti-imperialist politician. As is the fate of every revolutionist, he too was imprisoned for about 2 years after his failed attempt to overthrow the Batista regime, but that did not discourage him. In Mexico he formed the guerrilla group and then returned to Cuba with a full-fleged force and was finally successful in overthrowing the Batista empire on January 1, 1959, later, emerging as the Fierce Cuban Prime Minister.

A Dictator

As is known by all, that Adolf Hitler that the most ruthless dictator the world has ever seen and Fidel Castro’s leadership style were compared with that of Hitler and the cuban public paid its price.Castro was infamous for his policies that included, nationalization of Cuba’s private commerce and industry and institutionalization of land reforms, but the term dictator suited him most because he disabled people of their civil rights, independent newspapers were shut down, labour union’s right to stike was withdrawn from them and even religious institutions were harrased, strangling food production, he impoverished the vast majority of his people.

Thus, The Human Rights Watch accused him and his government for constructing a “repressive machinery”

Most Influential personality

Not only was Castro an influential leader of Cuba, but he was also recognised worldwide for his achievments and thus, he made it to the Top 100 most influential people of the World in the Time Magazine for its 2012 editions. He was also garnered with other prestigous awards such as “The International Lenin Prize for strenthening Peace among Peoples”, “Hero of the Soviet Union”, “Order of Lenin”, “Collar of the Order Of Merit”, “Order of Courage”, “Grand Order of the Star of honor of Socialist Ethiopia”, “Dimitrov Star” and various others.

9 children from 5 women

Alongside, being the head of the state, Castro was the head of a huge family as well. A lot of Castro’s personal life secrets popped out when one of Fidel’s bodyguard who served him for 17 years launched a book called ” The Double life of Fidel Castro”, where he disclosed all of Fidel’s affairs, cheats, mistresses and children. He claimed that he had a total of 9 children from 5 different Women.(Ladies man, Was he?)

Recordholder for the Longest Speech

Although each and every public speech made by Fidel castro was remarkably powerful and created longlasting impact on his audiences, but he made history on September 29, 1960 where he became a Guinness Book worldrecord holder for the longest speech ever delivered at the United nations that was 4 hours and 29 minutes long. Yet, this was not Fidel’s personal high as he had also given a 7 hours long speech in Cuba itself.

Sponsored Terrorism

Under his reign Cuba became the first communist state in the western hemisphere where his communist dictatorship went on to sponsoring terrorism throughout Cuba in allignment with other such dictating leaders. Tons of people di3ssapeared and around 20% of the cuban population fled into exile in the wake of widespread terrorism from their hometowns. Some reports also claimed that, he too had concentration camps and prisons like that of Hitler and filled them with his own people at an unprecedented rate. Brutal and tortorous killings were all, normal day-to-day business for him.

Survived 634 assasination attempts

Since Castro was open and radical as a leader and brutal towards his enemies, his enemies also reverted back in the same manner. Cuban history states that Castro was successful in dodging 634 assasination threats from various parts of the world. Some reports also suggest that obscure assasination plans such as infecting his diving suit with a fatal fungal spiecy, poisoning his cigars with Botox, sucide bombings etc were all plotted against him. He also managed to escape attacks from The CIA.(Being Famous, hurts).