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Castro launches armed struggle against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. But attack on Moncada barracks fails.
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Castro, who stated “History will absolve me” at his trial, is given amnesty and leaves prison for Mexico.
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Castro and 82 other rebels land at Playa Las Coloradas in Granma yacht. Cuban army easily outnumbers and rout rebels, but survivors take refuge in Sierra Maestra mountains where Castro, his brother Raul Castro and Argentine Ernesto “Che” Guevara -- regroup and launch a guerrilla war.
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Fall of Santa Clara, after rebel attack led by Che Guevara. Batista troops end military resistance.
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Castro enters Havana after triumphal journey across Cuba. As supreme “Comandante” of the armed forces, he begins the political, economic and social transformation of Cuba, launching agrarian reform and nationalizing most foreign and local businesses.
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Castro named prime minister.
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U.S. breaks diplomatic ties with Havana (Cuba)
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Castro declares his revolution socialist.
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Castro directs troops in defeat of invasion attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles at Bay of Pigs.
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Missile Crisis. Presence of Soviet warheads in Cuba provokes standoff between Moscow and Washington. Many fear nuclear war, but Soviet Union decides to withdraw missiles after President John F. Kennedy imposes naval blockade.
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United States imposes full economic embargo.
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Castro founds new Cuban Communist Party and is named First Secretary.
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Castro sends troops to Angola to help left-wing government fight South-African backed rebels.
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Castro becomes president, ratified by newly-created National Assembly.
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Castro government ends ban on use of U.S. dollars, one of a series of limited economic openings that government says are aimed at saving revolution.
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Hundreds of Havana residents riot in biggest anti-Castro disturbance since revolution.
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More than 35,000 people leave Cuba in flimsy rafts and boats during summer crisis, prompting a migration agreement with the United States to allow a minimum of 20,000 legal entry visas to Cubans annually.
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Castro leads march by one million Cubans along Havana waterfront in campaign to defend socialist system in face of growing dissent and U.S. pressures.
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Castro forced to hand over the reins of power to his brother Raul after undergoing emergency surgery to stop intestinal bleeding caused by undisclosed illness.
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Castro hints he will not cling to power or block rise of younger leaders in message read on television.
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Almost 19 months since he last appeared in public, Castro said he would not return as head of state and government.
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The government of the US-led by Barack Obama and Cuba claims the intention to normalize relationships.
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President Obama of the USA and president Rául Castro of Cuba meet for the first time.
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Fidel Castro dies at 90 years old.