Revolutionary Monsters by Donald T. Critchlow

Author:Donald T. Critchlow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regnery History
Published: 2021-09-28T00:00:00+00:00

The arrest drew international criticism. Even friends of the revolution Jean-Paul Sartre, Octavio Paz, and Mario Vargas Llosa protested. The interrogation of Padilla proceeded. Tapes of Padilla making disparaging remarks about Castro in private conversation were played. Tapes of his wife were played. Padilla collapsed. In the hospital, Fidel came to visit. The guards were dismissed. Castro told Padilla that his criticisms were playing into the hands of counterrevolutionaries abroad. Faced with a long prison sentence, Padilla prepared a long, groveling public confession. Abroad many found Padilla’s confession cowardly, reminiscent of the Moscow show-trials. A few found in the confession subtle parody. Castro, for his part, denounced those “false intellectuals” and pseudo-leftists living abroad who converted “snobbery, extravagance, homosexuality[,] and other social aberrations into expressions of revolutionary art.”45 Padilla was finally allowed to leave the country in 1980.

Castro portrayed himself as the beacon of socialism in the Third World and Latin America. His hopes for socialism soared when his friend and ally Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile in 1970. Castro had scorned the belief that revolutionary socialism could come through elections, but Allende came to power by the ballot box. Castro visited Chile in 1971, a year after the election, to cement relations between the two countries. His visit was supposed to last a week; he ended up staying over three weeks. He encouraged support of Allende’s attempt to nationalize major industries.

Castro’s prolonged presence aggravated tensions within the country. An anti-Castro demonstration turned violent as protesters shouted for Castro to leave the country. Castro told Allende that he should begin purging the Chilean armed forces. On September 11, 1973, the military, supported by the CIA, moved against Allende. As troops surrounded the presidential palace, Allende committed suicide. A military junta took power and remained until 1990. Castro had lost a critical ally in Latin America.

Castro did not give up his revolutionary hopes. He persuaded Nicaraguan revolutionary groupings to consolidate into the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which in 1979 overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza. Castro sent doctors, teachers, and security forces to aid the Sandinista government. A Cuban military mission headed by General Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez reorganized the Nicaraguan army. Castro gained further confidence that he was riding the tide of history when the left-wing New Jewel Movement came to power in the small Caribbean island of Grenada. Castro sent three hundred construction workers to build an enlarged airport on the island, capable of handling large military aircraft. Castro was thus secretly aiding revolutionary movements throughout Central America with training, advisors, and arms.

At the same time, Cuban military presence in Africa was fully evident. Cuban troops were engaged in combat in Angola, Ethiopia, and other African countries. Castro had a godlike stature to revolutionaries around the world.

The tide began to turn against Castro in the 1990s. In 1989, U.S. Marines invaded Grenada and overthrew the revolutionary government. In Nicaragua, U.S.-backed counterrevolutionaries, the Contras, launched a vicious campaign against the Sandinista government. The Sandinistas returned in kind.

Things started to go bad

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