On July 26, 1953, a ragtag band of 160 Cubans tried to trigger an uprising against Dictator Fulgencio Batista by attacking Santiago de Cuba's Moncada Army barracks. The chancy venture was squashed, and half of the partisans were killed. Among those imprisoned was 25-year-old Fidel Castro, a lawyer turned revolutionist, who drew a 15-year sentence. In an act more merciful than wise, Batista granted Castro amnesty after only two years. In 1956, after a brief Mexican exile, Fidel was back in Cuba with another guerrilla band; but this time he was not to be caught. Two years later, he...
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