August 6, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved CubaÕs Fidel Castro, scourge of the U.S., turns 75 LONDON, August 6, Graphic News: FIDEL CASTRO, the grand old man of anti-imperialism and AmericaÕs enduring bogeyman, is closing in rapidly on his 75th birthday. Yet there must have been times when he thought he would never reach his 40th. Indeed, if the CIA had had their way, he wouldnÕt have done. Their efforts to remove the Cuban leader since he first took power in 1959 have been a mixture of the determined, the sinister and the faintly ridiculous. The Bay of Pigs invasion, in which Cuban expatriates were encouraged to enlist the support of their countrymen to overthrow Castro, was regarded as an expensive fiasco. Attempts in the ensuing years tended to focus on his fondness for cigars. Efforts were made to poison them, lace them with a powerful hallucinogen so he would have an embarrassing ÒtripÓ in public, and even booby-trap them with explosives. When these ploys failed, the CIA toyed with the idea of placing an exploding conch shell at one of CastroÕs favourite scuba diving spots. But the most visionary proposal came from General Edward Lansdale. He suggested sparking a counter-revolution by spreading the word on the devoutly Catholic island that the Second Coming was imminent, that Castro was actually the anti-Christ and that the Cubans should rise up and rid themselves of their satanic leader. Absurd as it sounds, this idea contained an element of truth for many Americans who regard Castro as the devil incarnate. They blame him for bringing the world to the brink of nuclear conflict in 1962 when President Kennedy mounted a naval blockade of Cuba in a successful bid to get the Soviet Union to remove the long-range ballistic missiles it had positioned there. It is difficult to believe more than 40 years on that when Castro first came to prominence as a charismatic young rebel leader, he was seen as his countryÕs saviour. He led the movement to depose the hated Batista regime and hopes were high when he and his followers marched into power on New YearÕs Day, 1959. But he quickly showed the true extent of his communist credentials, and Americans discovered they had an implacable enemy in their own backyard. They responded by introducing a strict trade embargo and relations have remained strained for almost two generations. The problem of Cuban refugees and a history of aerial skirmishes have kept the mutual antipathy simmering. But if nothing else, Fidel Castro has proved to be one of the 20th centuryÕs great political survivors. And Another Thing: Castro once dreamed of playing major league baseball in the United States and still watches the game closely. His favourite team is the Atlanta Braves. /ENDS Sources: www.cnn.com; www.historyhouse.com; www.patriagrande.net