Fidel Castro turns 90

FLORIDA (U.S.)

Miami

Straits of Florida

Mariel

Havana

Pinar del Río

CARIBBEAN SEA

Santa Clara

Bay of Pigs

CUBA

100km 62 miles

Camaguey

Sierra Maestra

Guantanamo Bay (U.S.)

Santiago de Cuba

Aug 13, 1926: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz born to wealthy sugar planter and maid

1945-50: Becomes involved in revolutionary politics while studying law at University of Havana

1952: Candidate for Congress, but election is cancelled after coup led by General Fulgencio Batista

1953: Castro leads unsuccessful revolt in July 26 attack on Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Castro and younger brother Raúl taken prisoner – released two years later as part of general amnesty

1955: Relocates to Mexico to reorganize 26th of July Movement into disciplined guerrilla force

Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebels land in Cuba from yacht Granma, but are ambushed. 12 survivors – including Raúl and Ernesto “Che” Guevara – take to Sierra Maestra mountains
to wage guerrilla war

1959: Castro leads 9,000-strong guerrilla army into Havana,
forcing Batista to flee

1960-61: Forges close alliance with Soviet Union, led by Nikita Khrushchev. U.S. breaks off diplomatic relations
and imposes commercial embargo after Castro nationalizes
all U.S. interests

1961: U.S. sponsors abortive invasion by 1,300 CIA-trained
Cuban exiles at Bay of Pigs – misjudging support in Cuba
for Castro

1962: Presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba brings world to
brink of nuclear war. Cuban Missile Crisis only resolved when Soviets remove weapons after President John F. Kennedy secretly agrees to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey

1975-1989: Castro sends troops to support Communist forces in Angola, Ethiopia and Yemen

1976: Communist Pary of Cuba approves new socialist constitution - Castro elected president

1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castro allows exodus of 125,000 Cubans to U.S. via port of Mariel

1991: Collapse of Soviet Union leads to crippling financial hardship. To boost economy, Castro allows some economic liberalization and free-market activities while retaining tight political control

1998: Castro welcomes Pope John Paul II in first visit by
pontiff to Cuba

2002: Castro blasts U.S. for detaining prisoners in “concentration camp” at Guantanamo Bay

2003: Black Spring crackdown on dissidents draws international outcry

2008: Ill health forces Castro to stand down as president
at age of 81. Power handed to brother Raúl, 76

2015: The U.S. and Cuba restore diplomatic ties after 54 years, paving way for visit by President Barack Obama

Apr 2016: In failing health, Castro exhorts Communist Party members to ensure his ideas survive

Source: British Encyclopaedia

Pictures: Alberto Korda, Getty Images, Associated Press