History UsefulNotes / FidelCastro

* CigarChomper: Castro without a cigar in any of his portrayals just doesn't seem to be Castro, even after he quit smoking them in 1986.

* CigarChomper: Castro without a cigar in any of his portrayals just doesn't seem to be Castro.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive of US economic domination. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were... complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon, visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling Cuba's Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world. More infamously, this and other factors led to an amicable relationship with UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco, although Castro had no illusions to what Franco's ideology really was and criticized him when he saw it fit.

Although Cuba remains a poor country with very limited political and economic freedom, Castro's regime did much to improve public education, sports and particularly public health. Cuba still exports doctors to many Latin American countries and has an average life expectancy on par with your average first world country. On the other hand, a lot of basic living commodities are rationed, many buildings are in a poor state of repair, internet access is extremely limited, journalists are treated badly, press freedom is almost non-existent, and the human rights record of the government is poor, particularly regarding incarceration rates, as Castro was notoriously fond of short-term arbitrary detention in terrible prison conditions for all his critics, with bouts of psychological torture to boot. However, the human rights record has improved over the years albeit ''very slowly'', and is at least significantly better than the average dictatorship nowadays. The country does have a good rating on the [[http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-2010-human-sustainable-development-index/ sustainable development index]], though this likely has more to do with the poverty than conscious government policy (i.e. they waste little resources because many things are in short supply, and their living standards are low so they don't consume much anyway).

Castro was also a central figure in the [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Cuban Missile Crisis]] and he was the one player in the incident most ready to launch the missiles if the Americans dared invade (as well as mobilizing the entire army beforehand), only to be barely restrained by his Soviet partners. However, Castro only wanted to launch the missiles [[EveryoneHasStandards as an absolute last resort]]. Khrushchev also openly treated Cuba as a pawn in the whole matter despite previously buttering Cuba up as a trusted Soviet ally, and locked Cuba out of the negotiations, something Castro absolutely despised as a Cuban nationalist, and never forgave the Soviets for. As a result, Cuba aligned closer to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement Non-Aligned Movement]] than the Warsaw Pact afterwards, despite still being a Soviet ally. Through the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, Cuba relied on Soviet support, and when that was cut off Cuba faced a major economic crisis (mostly due to a lack of oil). Later on, Castro admitted that he now regarded JFK as a WorthyOpponent and honorable man.

* ChummyCommies: In a handful of works more sympathetic or nuanced towards him, Castro is portrayed as a brilliant revolutionary leader who had to resort to authoritarian methods to ensure his nation's survival, or originally had genuine faith in democracy but became convinced he'd found his ideological grounding for his own nationalism through communism. In general, his revolution is seen as completely justified by most historians and even some exile accounts, just that they all criticize the authoritarian direction it took and Fidel breaking most of his promises after his victory.

Contrary to popular belief, Castro appeared to be genuinely keen on democracy and was effectively a left-wing nationalist during the revolution, and only later found the direction for his own nationalism in communism. He started his political career off as a radical social democrat working for the like-minded populist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Orthodoxo Ortodox Party]] (many 'Ortodoxos' later joined M-26 -7's ranks), and promising a democratic Cuba with the restoration of the famous 1940 Constitution. After his victory on January 1st, 1959, Castro began getting interested in communism when he met with Cuban communists - who had previously scorned him as a bourgeois hipster all throughout the revolution - to form a working left-wing government. Worsening relations with America over nationalization of American business properties in Cuba, and an embargo by the Eisenhower administration led Castro to begin looking towards the Soviet Union for support, destroying the revolutionary alliance as he exiled or imprisoned anyone who was opposed to the now pro-Soviet direction of the revolution. But it took the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion in 1961 for Castro to officially declare himself and the revolution communist.[[note]] From then on, he was ''very insistent'' that he had always been a communist from a young age, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.[[/note]] He then set up a communist state with himself as the GloriousLeader[[note]]He held his post-1959 position as Prime Minister for many years despite Cuba remaining a presidential republic. Only in 1976, when a new communist constitution was drafted, did Castro become president.[[/note]] transformed Cuba into an authoritarian one party state under Marxism-Leninism, and ruled the country as dictator until 2008, when he officially stepped down due to ill health. He was succeeded by his much quieter younger brother, Raúl (who has been second-in-command for decades). But until his death, Castro was ''the'' face of Cuba, and his left-wing nationalism (now taken in a communist direction) ensured that he had the respect of the Cuban populace, even those who privately disagreed with the communist system. Both his admirers and actual supporters alike are known as ''Fidelistas'' in Spanish, and ''Castrists'' in English.

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* ChummyCommies: In a handful of works more sympathetic or nuanced towards him, Castro is portrayed as a brilliant revolutionary leader who had to resort to authoritarian methods to ensure his nation's survival, or originally had genuine faith in democracy but became convinced he'd found his ideological grounding for his own nationalism through communism. In general, his revolution is seen as completely justified by most historians and even exile accounts, just that they criticize the authoritarian direction it took and Fidel breaking most of his promises after his victory.

* Inspires the historical figure of [[DirtyCommunists Santos Espinosa]] in ''VideoGame/FarCry6'', who was a communist professor turned guerrilla fighter. Like Castro, Espinosa was allied to the Soviet Union and became Yara's new dictator after overthrowing the previous one. Interestingly, Espinosa appears to be Castro with no redeeming traits - abandoning his own ideology in his final years to sell the nation out to foreign companies and capitalism, and becoming so bad that his closest allies all regret supporting him in the first place by the present day.

* For the Website/SCPFoundation, Castro is a HumanoidAbomination monitored under the number "SCP-3874". His supernatural attributes are unclear but are speculated to have allowed him to survive so many murder attempts, either because of invulnerability, clairvoyance, or reality-warping. [[spoiler:After his death, the Foundation manages to steal his corpse and perform an autopsy, as well as interviewing his brother Raul to gather information. It turns out he apparently was just a perfectly-normal, albeit insanely-lucky, human being.]]

----

* Inspires the historical figure of [[DirtyCommunists Santos Espinosa]] in ''UsefulNotes/FarCry6'', who was a communist professor turned guerrilla fighter. Like Castro, Espinosa was allied to the Soviet Union and became Yara's new dictator after overthrowing the previous one. Interestingly, Espinosa appears to be Castro with no redeeming traits - abandoning his own ideology in his final years to sell the nation out to foreign companies and capitalism, and becoming so bad that his closest allies all regret supporting him in the first place by the present day.

Castro also made [[EnemyMine some surprising and intriguing alliances]] with leaders supposedly at the opposite end of the political spectrum to him: the UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco (notwithstanding Fidel's Republican sympathies, the two men actually had a lot in common - shared Galician heritage, mutual suspicion of the USA, similar social conservatism and dislike of UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista's hedonistic rule), the brutally anti-communist [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine junta]] (Castro strongly supported what he saw as the 'anti-imperialist' invasion of the Malvinas) and the fundamentalist [[UsefulNotes/IranianRevolution Ayatollah Khomeini]] (mutual suspicion of the US again, nations suffering from US sanctions, and coming to power via a popular revolution).

* In ''Website/SCPFoundation'', Castro is a HumanoidAbomination monitored under the number "SCP-3874". His supernatural attributes are unclear but are speculated to have allowed him to survive so many murder attempts, either because of invulnerability, clairvoyance, or reality-warping. [[spoiler:After his official death, the Foundation manage to steal his corpse and perform an autopsy, as well as interviewing his brother Raul to gather information. It turns out he apparently was just a perfectly normal human being.]]

Aside from the infamous executions of FormerRegimePersonnel without trial at La Cabana prison (overseen by Che himself), Castro was notoriously homophobic even for the 1960s, with homosexuals being thrown in labor camps immediately after the revolution while others were expelled from the country. That said, Castro did take personal responsibility many years later, declaring that his attitude to LGBT rights was wrong in his autobiography, and outright declaring that he was wrong in his homophobia in 2010.

Although Cuba remains a poor country with very limited political and economic freedom, Castro's regime did much to improve public education, sports and particularly public health. Cuba still exports doctors to many Latin American countries and has an average life expectancy on par with your average first world country. On the other hand, a lot of basic living commodities are rationed, many buildings are in a poor state of repair, internet access is extremely limited, journalists are treated badly, press freedom is almost non-existent, and the human rights record of the government is poor, particularly regarding incarceration rates, as Castro was notoriously fond of short-term arbitrary detention in terrible prison conditions for all his critics, with bouts of psychological torture to boot. However, the human rights record has improved over the years albeit ''very slowly'', and is at least significantly better than the average dictatorship nowadays.

Aside from the infamous executions of former officials and dissidents without trial at La Cabana prison (overseen by Che himself), the Castro regime has become infamous for homophobia in past decades, with homosexuals being thrown in labor camps immediately after the revolution while others were expelled from the country. That said, Castro did take personal responsibility, declaring that his attitude to LGBT rights was wrong in his autobiography, and outright declaring that he was wrong in his homophobia in 2010. The country does have a good rating on the [[http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-2010-human-sustainable-development-index/ sustainable development index]], though this likely has more to do with the poverty than conscious government policy (i.e. they waste little resources because many things are in short supply, and their living standards are low so they don't consume much anyway).

Castro also made [[EnemyMine some surprising and intriguing alliances]] with leaders supposedly at the opposite end of the political spectrum to him: the UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco (notwithstanding Fidel's Republican sympathies, the two men actually had a lot in common - shared Galician heritage, mutual suspicion of the USA, similar social conservatism and dislike of UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista), the brutally anti-communist [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine junta]] (Castro strongly supported what he saw as the 'anti-imperialist' invasion of the Malvinas) and the fundamentalist [[UsefulNotes/IranianRevolution Ayatollah Khomeini]] (mutual suspicion of the US again, nations suffering from US sanctions, and coming to power via a popular revolution).

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were... complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling Cuba's Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world. More infamously, this and other factors led to an amicable relationship with UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco, although Castro had no illusions to what Franco's ideology really was and criticized him when he saw it fit.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling Cuba's Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world. Infamously, this led to his ambicable relationship with Franco, although Castro had no illusions to what Franco's ideology really was and criticized him when he wanted to.

* RebelLeader: Aside from his friend Che, Castro remains an iconic example all throughout the world, and even his enemies admitted that he was a highly competent military leader during the Revolution. The otherwise negative exile historiography all states that he was genuinely charismatic and a brilliant commander during the Revolution.

* ChummyCommies: In a handful of works more sympathetic or nuanced towards him, Castro is portrayed as a brilliant revolutionary leader who had to resort to authoritarian methods to ensure his nation's survival, or originally had genuine faith in democracy but became convinced he'd found his ideological grounding for his own nationalism through communism.

Castro died on November 25th, 2016, of unannounced causes. Ironically enough, his death on November 25 was Black Friday in America, a very consumerist capitalist holiday. It was also the birthday of far-right Chilean dictator UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet, leading to many jokes to the effect that Pinochet's birthday wish had finally been granted. [[CallBack On the less ironic note, he passed away on the very day]] [[BookEnds that he and his comrades sailed to Cuba to begin the most important section of their revolution]]. November 25 was also the birthday of Armenian communist Monte Melkonian, funnily enough. There remains a small group of people who believe Castro had actually died months to years before the announcement, with it being withheld for various reasons depending on who you ask.

During the Cold War, Castro's regime heavily involved itself in anti-colonialist struggles in Africa. Cuba involved itself with liberation struggles in Mozambique, Namibia, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Guinea-Bissau, and Angola. Cuba's intervention in the Angolan War against Portugal was especially decisive, since it played a part in the end of the Portuguese empire and its transition to democracy, secured Angolan independence, as well as the independence of Namibia, and checked a potential invasion by Apartheid South Africa. Castro also provided much support and inspiration for Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress, and he dispatched doctors across Africa to provide aid to the poor. For these reasons, [[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/03/fidel-castro-anti-colonialist-legacy-201433103015396232.html Castro and Cuba in general have a heroic reputation in Africa]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sBcU1YzIxQ and Nelson Mandela considered Castro his friend and mentor]]. However, Castro also provided military support for the pro-Soviet [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg 'Derg' military junta]] in Ethiopia, which was widely condemned for its cruelty, corruption, ineffective governance, and worsening an ongoing famine with its thuggish policies.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''[[ExplosiveCigar exploding cigars]]''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling their Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world.

[[caption-width-right:350:El Comandante, 1959]]

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''exploding cigars''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of entertaining personal ideas about God himself.[[note]]His religious views were complicated. Castro denied to have ever been a believer and was a critic of Christianity for social and political reasons, but he once wrote his belief that "God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice" and often compared his own political ideas to Christian precepts.[[/note]] The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling their Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world.

-->-- '''Fidel Castro'''

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''exploding cigars''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of openly stating to be himself a believer in God. The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]] Also, although a fundamental anti-colonialist and an admirer of Cuban independence leader José Martí, Castro was also a strong proponent of ''Hispanidad'', extolling their Spanish heritage and calling for the union of all Spanish-speaking peoples in the world.

Naturally, Castro quickly became an enemy of the US. The CIA tried in various ways to get rid of Castro, including multiple assassination attempts (including some rather odd methods like ''exploding cigars''), the UsefulNotes/BayOfPigsInvasion on 1961, and an economic embargo since 1962 (this is still in effect, though UsefulNotes/BarackObama has worked to lighten the restrictions--even allowing visitors to bring home 100 dollars' worth of Cuban cigars), he [[AssassinOutclassin nevertheless survived]]. Castro was also excommunicated by [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John XXIII]], as Cuba under his command was far less religious than other Latin American nations due to the Catholic and Protestant churches generally being opposed to communism and supportive US economic domination respectively. Ironically, his own stance towards religion was far more moderate than other Communist nations, to the point of openly stating to be himself a believer in God. The Cuban government actually began a careful rapprochement with the Church in the 1970s, and changed its constitution to declare the state a secular one as opposed to state atheism. This is a fact acknowledged when Pope John Paul II, a famous anti-communist icon visited Cuba under his tenure, and condemned the US Embargo. Years later, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-castro-church-idUSKBN13L0N6?il=0 Pope Francis played]] a role in brokering the US-Cuban Thaw.[[note]]Of course, Havana and Washington had been doing backchannel negotiations for many years in secret.[[/note]]

Castro also made [[EnemyMine some surprising and intriguing alliances]] with leaders supposedly at the opposite end of the political spectrum to him: the UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco (notwithstanding Fidel's Republican sympathies, the two men actually had a lot in common - shared Galician heritage, mutual suspicion of the USA, similar social conservatism, Christian beliefs and dislike of UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista), the brutally anti-communist [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine junta]] (Castro strongly supported what he saw as the 'anti-imperialist' invasion of the Malvinas) and the fundamentalist [[UsefulNotes/IranianRevolution Ayatollah Khomeini]] (mutual suspicion of the US again, nations suffering from US sanctions, and coming to power via a popular revolution).