Fidel Castro

No one familiar with Fidel Castro's oratory and ego is surprised that his autobiography runs more than 600 pages and concedes neither error nor excess during his nearly 50 years ruling Cuba. What has surprised analysts has been his conciliatory approach to some of his erstwhile adversaries, including Presidents Kennedy, Clinton and Carter, the latter of whom he termed "a man of honor, an ethical man."

Ena Santamaria's home is a theater showing the daily life of Cuba, a microcosm of a land that combines sadness and joy, promise and disillusion, dreams and reality. It is a tiny room, formerly the entry to what had been a three-bedroom house in Miramar, which was the neighborhood of Cuba's elite before Fidel Castro officially ended social distinctions.

With little prospect for change in Cuba on the horizon, inklings of discontent have begun to surface on the communist-ruled island that analysts say could spread unrest or incite mass migration. No interpretation of the parliamentary decisions following the resignation of Fidel Castro signals a likelihood of more economic opportunity or personal freedom -- the two greatest sources of young Cubans' dissatisfaction.

Juan Almeida Bosque, a comrade of Fidel Castro since the start of his guerrilla struggle more than half a century ago, died of a heart attack Friday in Havana, government media announced. He was 82. One of three surviving rebel leaders who still bore the title "Commander of the Revolution," Almeida was a major figure in the battle to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and through the early years after the Jan. 1, 1959, triumph of the revolution. His death "is a reminder of what everyone knows, which is that the original generation is in its final laps," said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Washington-area think tank the Lexington Institute.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro's decision to step down as head of state after nearly half a century could signal the passing of power to a new generation and fresh hope for the island nation through economic reforms. Tuesday's resignation letter, which includes candid disclosures about his flagging health, was an unequivocal indication that the 81-year-old revolutionary is choreographing his own succession and leaving on his own terms.

Ramon M. Barquin, a Cuban military officer who was imprisoned after leading an unsuccessful coup against Fulgencio Batista in 1956, died of cancer March 3 at his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 93. Barquin was the Cuban military attache to Washington from 1950 until 1956, when Batista summoned him to return to the island nation to lead its army. The island was simmering with opposition to Batista's suspension of its constitution, repression of political dissidents and failure to call elections.

Former President Fidel Castro said it was "stupid" to think Cubans were involved with Colombian rebels whose camp was bombed in a cross-border raid in Ecuador early this month. In a statement released Saturday, the 81-year-old Castro dismissed allegations reportedly being investigated by Mexican authorities that Cubans were linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara said Monday that new Soviet revelations about the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, including the presence of hitherto unknown Soviet short-range atomic weapons in Cuba at the time, indicate that the two nations were much closer to a nuclear conflict than was previously realized. McNamara made the statement after returning to Washington from a four-day closed-door meeting in Havana of former U.S.

Leave it to Sen. Jesse Helms to cook up one more provocation with Cuba. He did, after all, co-sponsor the Helms-Burton law, which stiffened the embargo against Cuba by penalizing countries that trade with the island nation. Now, the North Carolina Republican has introduced a bill that would send $100 million in funding and communications equipment to opposition and dissident groups in Cuba. Por que no? some might ask. Why not help the people of Cuba fight Fidel Castro?

Cuba has unveiled what it says is a recent photo of former President Fidel Castro, showing him looking healthier than in other pictures since he underwent emergency surgery three years ago. The photograph is the centerpiece of an exhibit that opened Wednesday dedicated to the former leader. His 83rd birthday is today. Curator Arturo Suarez said the large image was taken by Castro's son Alex, who he said is a professional photographer. Wearing a blue baseball cap, a white sports jacket and black shirt, Castro looks better than in other shots that have shown him looking gaunt since he gave up the presidency.

In January, Fidel Castro takes over Cuba. In February, Texas Instruments seeks a patent for the integrated circuit, a.k.a. the microchip. Alaska and Hawaii gain statehood this year. The U.S. and Russia rush their space programs forward. G.D. Searle seeks approval for use of Enovid as a contraceptive -- "the pill." The first Barbie doll is unveiled at a New York toy show. "The Sound of Music" opens on Broadway. New film releases "Ben-Hur," "Some Like It Hot" and "North by Northwest" do boffo box office.

Political and civil rights abuses committed by the Cuban government have continued unabated in the three years since Raul Castro took over from his older brother, Fidel. U.S. travel and trade bans, therefore, must be lifted. Although these conclusions -- both included in the recent Human Rights Watch report, "New Castro, Same Cuba" -- may seem incongruous, they are not. Rather, they illustrate that the economic pressure that failed to yield either regime change or human rights reforms over more than four decades of Fidel Castro's rule is just as ineffective today as it has always been.

On July 27, 2006, Fidel Castro nearly died during emergency intestinal surgery to stem internal bleeding caused by chronic diverticulitis. Since then, Cuba-watchers and obituary writers have been on high alert awaiting his demise. Yet, more than three years later, Castro soldiers on, approaching his mortal end with the same zeal he lavished on his life. The 83-year-old appears to have adjusted to his medically mandated retirement, enduring various surgeries and their attendant complications.

Juan Almeida Bosque, a comrade of Fidel Castro since the start of his guerrilla struggle more than half a century ago, died of a heart attack Friday in Havana, government media announced. He was 82. One of three surviving rebel leaders who still bore the title "Commander of the Revolution," Almeida was a major figure in the battle to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and through the early years after the Jan. 1, 1959, triumph of the revolution. His death "is a reminder of what everyone knows, which is that the original generation is in its final laps," said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Washington-area think tank the Lexington Institute.

Fidel Castro chatted live via speakerphone with graduating medical students in Nicaragua in the latest of a series of media events showing off the former Cuban leader looking more robust. The 83-year-old Castro, who hasn't been seen in public since falling ill three years ago, called during the graduation ceremony to congratulate the 44 doctors who had studied in Cuba. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega interrupted a graduation speech to put Castro's call on a speaker for the crowd to hear.

Cuba has unveiled what it says is a recent photo of former President Fidel Castro, showing him looking healthier than in other pictures since he underwent emergency surgery three years ago. The photograph is the centerpiece of an exhibit that opened Wednesday dedicated to the former leader. His 83rd birthday is today. Curator Arturo Suarez said the large image was taken by Castro's son Alex, who he said is a professional photographer. Wearing a blue baseball cap, a white sports jacket and black shirt, Castro looks better than in other shots that have shown him looking gaunt since he gave up the presidency.

Cubans accustomed to hours-long speeches, thousand-word essays and lengthy interviews can now get Fidel Castro at a glance, thanks to a new dictionary of El Comandante's teachings. "Unemployment" and "History" are among the myriad words for which the 339-page paperback provides definitions based on snippets of speeches, columns and statements dispensed by Castro during the 49 years he governed the communist-run island. The work was compiled by Salomon Susi Sarfati, an oratory analyst at the Cuban Communist Party's high ideological school.

A Miami judge awarded more than $1 billion in damages to a Cuban American who was involved in the 1967 capture and killing of revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Adrian said he was sending a signal to the Cuban government. The award may be impossible to collect, but attorneys involved in the case insist they'll try. The award came in a lawsuit filed by Gustavo Villoldo, who blamed Guevara, Fidel Castro and others for his father's 1959 suicide in Cuba.

Re "Two for the road," editorial, May 15 The editorial suggests that Dick Cheney and Fidel Castro should spend more time with their families. I think their families are thrilled they're so busy. What makes you think they like them any more than the rest of us do? Margaret Mackel Pasadena :: The Times is irked that Cheney has the guts to give President Obama a bit of the criticism he so urgently deserves, so it ludicrously links Cheney with Fidel Castro as a pair who should step aside and shut up. Cheney despises Castro and all dictators, while Obama has been cozying up to Castro and every other dictator within reach of Air Force One since he took office.

No sooner did Cuban American relations hit their warmest notes in half a century than former President Fidel Castro stirred from retirement to say: Not so fast. The 82-year-old Castro tossed cold water on U.S. interpretations of his brother Raul's overture to President Obama last week. His successor as Cuban president had offered to discuss "everything, everything, everything" -- from human rights to political prisoners -- with his U.S. counterpart.