9781422279816

Cuban revolutionaries celebrate in the streets of Havana after their triumph over the Batista government, January 1, 1959.

majority of Cubans, and it caused the United States to cut off military aid to Batista’s regime. By late 1958 Castro’s revolu- tionaries had gained the upper hand, and on New Year’s Day 1959, Batista fled the island. Broken Promises Castro had promised democracy, a free press, and respect for individual and political rights, and it’s said that 9 in 10 Cubans supported his revolutionary government in 1959. Before too long, however, many Cubans began to grow wary of the new regime. The government shut down independent media. It harassed and imprisoned critics. Promised elections were never

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The Opening of Cuba, 2008-Present