What! No Castro thread?

[JohannGE]

only kidding.


Regarding Castro's early release after the Moncada barracks attack...
Does any one know what the "international pressure" often quoted as the reason for the amnesty of May 1955 consisted of? Diplomatic or anything more serious?

[PRC-UTE]

I don't know what international pressure there was. according to Fidel, former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas intervened on behalf of the prisoners.

[JohannGE]

I don't know what international pressure there was. according to Fidel, former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas intervened on behalf of the prisoners.

I have often wondered why there is apparently so little known about this small but significant detail. It crops up again and again whenever reading about or watching films on Cuba or Fidel. It is passed over with a vague mention of "international pressure". As it is an issue on which all that followed is dependant I find this very curious.

Batista didn't usually show any reluctance to eliminating opposition when he had the chance and there must have been many opportunities to remove the threat of Castro before any "international opposition" had a chance to rally.

If the "international pressure", as might be assumed, was from Batista supporting Washington, it is even more surprising that any pressure would be in favour of early release.

I have heard the rumour that Fidel was not even pressent at the attack of the Moncada Barracks but even if true this would not explain the incredible leniency he later recieved.

I get the impression that we are lacking some essential fact to explain this anomoly.

[PRC-UTE]

I have often wondered why there is apparently so little known about this small but significant detail. It crops up again and again whenever reading about or watching films on Cuba or Fidel. It is passed over with a vague mention of "international pressure". As it is an issue on which all that followed is dependant I find this very curious.

Batista didn't usually show any reluctance to eliminating opposition when he had the chance and there must have been many opportunities to remove the threat of Castro before any "international opposition" had a chance to rally.

If the "international pressure", as might be assumed, was from Batista supporting Washington, it is even more surprising that any pressure would be in favour of early release.

I have heard the rumour that Fidel was not even pressent at the attack of the Moncada Barracks but even if true this would not explain the incredible leniency he later recieved.

I get the impression that we are lacking some essential fact to explain this anomoly.

I made a mistake- I double checked what I said before and had things confused. The Mexican ex-President intervened to get Fidel and his comrades released while they were under arrest in Mexico, just before the invasion aboard the Granma. Sorry for the mix up

[PRC-UTE]

and you're right that it seems we're missing some detail here. we all know the famous story of the black officer who protected Castro when he was arrested. how he survived after that is indeed puzzling.

[PoWR]

Where is this "international pressure" quote coming from? It was internal pressure that forced Batista to release the 26 July prisoners.

[JohannGE]

Where is this "international pressure" quote coming from? It was internal pressure that forced Batista to release the 26 July prisoners.

That is a good question. It is the impression I have gained from various documentries and books I have read over the years. This may well have been an incorrect impression though I am sure it has been offered. I may also have confused details of Barquín's release with Fidel's. A quick google in search of references turns up various explanations from unspecified political pressure, pressure from Fidel's Jesuit teachers and mothers of prisoners to an act of reconciliation by Batista! :blink:

Thanks for pointing out my missunderstanding.

I still find the release very mysterious in the light of Batistas reputation for the bloody supression of opposition.

[PoWR]

Batista was trying to rehabilitate his image to diffuse popular anger and opposition to his dictatorial tendencies.

When he was release, Fidel faced very real threats of death along with intimidation.

[PoWR]

Read "Aldabonazo: Inside the Cuban revolutionary underground" by Armando Hart. It may help you clarify things.

"The government tried to use the amnesty to present itself as the 'dove of peace,' but its actions revealed this claim to be a total farce." - Armando Hart

[JohannGE]

Thanks for that PoWR. I will try to get the book through the library (unlikely) as being currently on the scrapheap of surplus labour I can't afford to buy it. It does look an excellent book though. A couple of good reviews for anyone else interested here:-

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Aldabonazo/Armando-Hart/e/9780873489683

I find it incredible to believe that Batista could believe that he would transform his standing to a worthwhile extent with such a gesture. Even if it were succesfull, I would have thought that the danger of releasing someone commited to his overthrow would outweigh any small gain. Unless of course, as it apears he did, he intended to have him killed on the outside.

I suppose if the murder of Castro after his release had been acheived, it would seem perfectly rational. With Castro's flight to Mexico though it has to be one of the worst examples of shooting oneself in the foot in history. The "dissapearence of Castro and his comrades while in custody and the continuation of ruthless oppresion of dissent in the country, and he may have held onto power. At least untill another Castro came along.