chill these thugs have nothing new to say they are murderers or accomplices .....soon we will be going to shit on Fidels grave it wont be long now ....Then you will only have Nutty Hugo and Danny the Diddler to idolize in your little make believe world .....when are you going to grow up and get a job

Thats was a really good Documentary, im trying to find the link to the whole documentary , when i find it i will post it.

Batista’s Cuba


Right how do you classified Batista’s police and security forces then? Angelitos?

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/a/08fbatista_2.htm

The Batista era was a golden age of tourism for Cuba. North Americans flocked to the island for relaxation and to stay at the famous hotels and casinos. The American mafia had a strong presence in Havana, and Lucky Luciano lived there for a time. Legendary mobster Meyer Lansky worked with Batista to complete projects, including the Havana Riviera hotel. Batista took a huge cut of all casino takings and amassed millions. Famous celebrities liked to visit and Cuba became synonymous with a good time for vacationers. Acts headlined by celebrities such as Ginger Rogers and Frank Sinatra performed at the hotels. Even American Vice-President Richard Nixon visited.

Outside of Havana, however, things were grim. Poor Cubans saw little benefit from the tourism boom and more and more of them tuned into rebel radio broadcasts. As the rebels in the mountains gained strength and influence, Batista’s police and security forces turned increasingly to torture and murder in an effort to root out the rebellion. The universities, traditional centers of unrest, were closed.

Legacy

Batista was corrupt, violent and out of touch with his people (or perhaps he simply didn’t care about them). Still, in comparison with fellow dictators such as the Somozas in Nicaragua, the Duvaliers in Haiti or even Alberto Fujimori of Peru, he was relatively benign. Much of his money was made by taking bribes and payoffs from foreigners, such as his percentage of the haul from the casinos. Therefore, he looted state funds less than other dictators did. He did frequently order the murder of prominent political rivals, but ordinary Cubans had little to fear from him until the revolution began, when his tactics turned increasingly brutal and repressive.

The Cuban Revolution was less the result of Batista’s cruelty, corruption or indifference than it was of Fidel Castro’s ambition. Castro’s charisma, conviction and ambition are singular: he would have clawed his way to the top or died trying. Batista was in Castro’s way, so he removed him.

That’s not to say that Batista did not help Castro greatly. At the time of the revolution, most Cubans despised him, the exceptions being the very wealthy who were sharing in the loot. Had he shared Cuba’s new wealth with his people, organized a return to democracy and improved conditions for the poorest Cubans, Castro’s revolution might never have taken hold. Even Cubans who have fled Castro’s Cuba and constantly rail against him rarely defend Batista: perhaps the only thing they agree on with Castro is that Batista had to go.

http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/batist.htm

Fulgencio Batista

In 1934 Fulgencio Batista took over the Cuban government in what became known as "The Revolt of the Sergeants." For the next twenty-five years he ruled Cuba with an iron fist, and the full blessing and endorsement of the United States government, who feared a social and economic revolution and saw him as a stabilizing force with respect for American interests.



Batista established lasting relationships with organized crime, and under his guardianship Havana became known as "the Latin Las Vegas." Meyer Lansky and other prominent gangsters were heavily invested in Havana, and politicians from Batista on down took their cut.

Through Lansky, the mafia knew they had a friend in Cuba. A summit at Havana's Hotel Nacional, with mobsters such as Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, Santo Trafficante Jr., Moe Dalitz and others, confirmed Luciano's authority over the U.S. mob, and coincided with Frank Sinatra's 1946 singing debut in Havana. It was here that Lansky gave permission to kill Bugsy Siegel.

Many of Batista's enemies faced the same fate as the ambitious Siegel. Nobody seemed to mention the many brutal human rights abuses that were a regular feature of Batista's private police force. Nobody, that is, except the many in Cuba who opposed the U.S.-friendly dictator.

Batista was ousted by Castro and the Cuban Revolution and left the country on January 1 1959. He died in 1973.

"STUPID COMMIES"

Chill dig this picture of all your heros except the guy that has the chimi you like so much .....they are all losers

But GC all those guys have so much in common with your icon buddies, how can you call them losers ?

I'm glad the Communist movement never took over in DR, but I think this embargo is another one of these Cold War-hangover errors. It isdecades now...what is the point if it didn't work in the first place? It has become ineffectual ideological grandstanding that actually makes US look bad and surrender some moral high ground in my eyes.

Manhat:

I dont think the communist movement would of taken hold in DR... and dont think that Bosch nor Francisco Alberto were commies, even Jose Fco Pena was a commie.....

But an embargo on allmighty Cuba????!! puh-leaze!!!

Its ridiculous!