Word: castros
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
From the hoarse throats of 250,000 Cubans jammed before the presidential palace in Havana rose the chilling cry: "Pa-re-don! To the wall! To the firing squad!" By whipping up a frenzy of hatred, Fidel Castro last week got mob approval for a resumption of the drumhead justice that earlier put to death 551 Cubans accused as supporters of ex-Dictator Fulgencio Batista. Now the blood purge would be aimed at defectors in the band of barbudos (bearded ones) who lifted him to power, of whom hundreds are now in prison...
...Castro's younger brother, Raul, was detailed to warm up the crowd before Fidel himself appeared. "None of our prisoners are tortured," he cried. "But when necessary, we execute them." The crowd of peasants and union members, released from work for the day and trucked in from outlying provinces for the show, screamed its delight. At the appearance of Fidel himself, who landed in a helicopter carrying a new Belgian rifle (one of 24,000 he recently bought for his troops), the mob chanted for eight solid minutes...
...Life Is not important." "People of Cuba!" cried Castro, his shirt gaping over his potbelly, his eyes rolling. "Life is not important. All that is important is the destiny of the nation. All those in accord with re-establishment of the revolutionary tribunals, raise their hands." A quarter of a million hands shot up, machetes clinked in the air, and again came the chant...
...Which last week seized 20,000 acres from Ramon Castro, who a year ago bought Fidel's share of the family holdings...
Unappeased, Castro called a "rally of 1,000,000 Cubans" in Havana this week to protest the flights. And he gave in at last to an old Communist request: "We must train and arm the peasants and workers. I don't believe all those lies against Communism," he went on. "They tell the same lies against...