VOL 60: Fidel Castro, The Cuban Leader Who Survived 600 Assassinations
Discover the incredible story of Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader who somehow survived over 600 assassination attempts.
Today at a Glance
Fidel Castro
The greatest foe of America
Was Escalante exaggerating?
Who didn't assassinate Castro?
Past Greats 👴
Random Tech Fact
Quote of The Week
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
— — —
Winston Churchill
Fidel Castro
About 17 years ago, Fabian Escalante, the former head of Cuban intelligence, revealed to a British documentary team that the CIA had attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro (1926-2016) more than 600 times over a period of about 40 years.
Despite being in the public eye for most of his long life, Castro managed to survive numerous assassination plots. Escalante disclosed that the attempts on Castro's life involved a range of tactics, including snipers, baseballs filled with explosives, cigars tainted with poison, and pistols disguised as news cameras. However, all of these attempts failed.
Fidel Castro, the father of the Cuban revolution, established the first communist state in North America after leading the overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades until handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. Over the course of his leadership, ten different US presidents served, most of whom viewed Castro as a ruthless dictator and an even worse communist than the Soviets.
Over the decades, Castro became one of the longest-ruling heads of state in the world, and his regime achieved success in reducing illiteracy, ending racism, and improving public healthcare. However, the regime was criticized for limiting economic and political freedoms, and the relationship between Cuba and the United States became very hostile, with notable events like the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. This crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union dangerously close to a nuclear confrontation during the Cold War and was the closest the two superpowers ever came to nuclear war.
The greatest foe of America
Castro is considered to be the most hunted man in history due to his oppressive actions against the United States and his reputation as a manipulative leader towards other nations. He even holds the Guinness World Record for the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations, which he gave on September 26, 1960. According to the UN, the speech lasted 4 hours and 29 minutes.
This marked the beginning of assassination attempts, with the CIA leading the majority of them. Given that the UN was so interested in Castro during the Cold War, America was concerned about the impact he could have on the rest of the world, or at least Western Europe, so he had to be eliminated.
Was Escalante exaggerating?
It's difficult to know for sure, but based on information from CIA reports that have been made public, as well as the accounts of some people who attempted to assassinate him, it seems that the agency made numerous attempts to kill Castro. However, not all of these plans were carried out, and many of them were simply ideas that were never put into action. When the CIA's plans were put to the test, they often failed. It's likely that the people who came up with these strange ideas, such as exploding cigars and wetsuits designed to eat flesh, were nameless inventors. It's also possible that the work environment at the CIA involved some pretty bizarre discussions and ideas.
A series of press exposes in the 1970s prompted a government probe into the CIA's abuses of authority. President Ford outlawed political assassinations in 1976, but Escalante claims they continued for another two decades, including the 1990s under President Clinton.
Who didn't assassinate Castro?
According to Escalante, the following are the assassination attempts made by the US administration:
President Eisenhower: 38
President Kennedy: 42
President Johnson: 72
President Nixon: 184
President Carter: 64
President Reagan: 197
President Bush Sr.: 16
President Clinton: 21
“If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal,” Castro liked to tell interviewers.
In July 2015, President Obama attempted to improve relations between the two countries by lifting a trade ban that had been in effect since 1960, when U.S.-owned enterprises in Cuba were nationalized without compensation. In 2016, he also became the first sitting president to visit Cuba since 1928.
President Donald Trump reverses parts of President Barack Obama's Cuban policies, barring private people-to-people travel and prohibiting US economic transactions with Cuban military-run organizations. Upon leaving office, Trump reinstates Cuba on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move Obama had reversed as part of his thaw on Cuban relations.
Castro died at the age of 90 on November 25, 2016. His death was announced on state television and later confirmed by his brother Raúl.
PAST GREATS
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER (February 1788 – September 1860)
Arthur Schopenhauer was a 19th-century German philosopher who is known for his pessimistic views on human existence. He believed that life is filled with suffering and that the world is essentially meaningless, and that the only way to find meaning and happiness is to transcend the individual ego and embrace a state of detachment and inner peace. Schopenhauer's ideas were highly influential in the development of existentialism and have had a lasting impact on philosophy, literature, and psychology.
Despite his pessimistic worldview, Schopenhauer was a prolific writer and produced several influential works, including "The World as Will and Representation" and "On the Suffering of the World." He was also an important influence on other philosophers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, who was initially inspired by Schopenhauer's ideas before ultimately rejecting them. Schopenhauer's work continues to be studied and debated by scholars around the world, and his contributions to philosophy and literature remain an important part of the intellectual history of the Western world.
Random Tech Facts
Think you spend too long in front of a computer? Well, the average 21-year-old would have already spent at least 5,000 hours, or over 208 days just playing video games.
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