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[in Spanish] Cuba has always been
fighting for its freedom.
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[in Spanish] 100,000 died,
and even though we lost the war,
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the country had changed.
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There is little question
that Meyer Lansky
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had thoroughly corrupted Batista.
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It's not a lie.
They didn't promise anything.
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They promised a revolution
and they did a revolution.
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[in Russian]
These guys were bound to become
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either martyrs, or national heroes.
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Una revolución!
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-Fidel Castro!
-[cheering]
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He told Khrushchev, "You should unleash
the entire Soviet nuclear arsenals."
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Apocalypse.
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[in German] Cuba will never bend its knee.
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Today, the island of Cuba
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is one of the last outposts
of socialism in the world.
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But immediately after
Fidel Castro's revolution,
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this was by no means predictable.
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During his struggle against the
dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista,
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Castro expressly claimed
not to be a communist.
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It was not hammer and sickle
he had fought for,
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but to finally free his homeland
from all outside influence.
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So why did he authorize the presence
of 43,000 Soviet soldiers on the island?
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How did the United States' embargo
begin, still in place today?
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And how did Castro's friend,
Che Guevara,
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come to die alone and abandoned
in the mountains of Bolivia?
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Fidel Castro embodied
the age-old dream
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of a free and independent island,
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a dream the Cubans
have pursued for centuries.
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[in Spanish]
Cuba became independent very late,
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in comparison to other
Latin American countries,
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but then with all the more force.
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In less than a century, in 80 years,
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it underwent four
very intense revolutions.
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That makes it unique in Latin America.
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[in German]
You have to keep in mind one thing.
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They were independent,
but only from the United States.
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They pulled off this truly historic act
of liberation on January 1st 1959.
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They were successful, to this day.
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00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,320
Cuba only became
an independent country in 1902,
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and immediately fell under
the influence of the United States.
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The two countries
are just 90 miles apart.
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Cuba's exports, mainly sugar,
headed for the American continent.
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In exchange, American companies
built up the island's infrastructure,
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and controlled its economy.
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No Cuban politicians dared
to break with the US
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until Fidel Castro began expropriating
American companies in 1960.
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00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,280
And even though Castro kept
repeating that he was not a communist,
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his policies became
increasingly radical.
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[in German] This radicalization had not
been expected by most people,
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and I think this is one reason
why Fidel Castro
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was able to have the success he had.
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The old upper classes were not afraid
of the things that wound up happening.
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They hadn't imagined that there would be
a break with the United States.
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The American government reacted
by restricting sugar imports from Cuba.
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It was a serious blow
to Castro's economy.
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Thousands of Cubans sought exile,
most in the United States.
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Castro's government, meanwhile,
had to look for new trade partners.
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00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,800
In February 1960, Anastas Mikoyan,
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a member of the Soviet politburo,
visited the island.
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It was the beginning of Cuba's alliance
with the Soviet Union.
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[in Russian] The situation
changed gradually, not overnight.
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The relationship with the USSR
was formed over a long time.
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The Cubans had no choice because
without the Soviet Union's support,
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it would have been difficult
to remain independent.
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Fidel's brother, Raúl, and iconic
revolutionary "Che" Guevara,
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were both in favor of closer ties
with Moscow.
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00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,560
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
was from Argentina,
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and believed in the socialist
world revolution.
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He wanted to make Cuba
a tropical model state for communism
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and then export this communism,
especially to the Third World.
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Fidel Castro appointed him
minister of industry,
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and head of the central bank.
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Guevara's qualifications:
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he had written about communist
economic theories before.
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He was one of many improvised ministers
in Fidel's government.
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[in Spanish] Che was the only real
communist in Cuba, of all the leaders.
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He looked at me and said, "You know how
I became President of the National Bank?"
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I say, "I have no idea."
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00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,080
He said, "One time, I was sitting
in meetings with Fidel,
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and he asked for a dedicated communist,
I thought, and I raised my hand."
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"He was asking for
a dedicated economist."
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Che Guevara compensated
for his lack of knowledge
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with revolutionary zeal
and commitment.
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As minister of industry, he was known
for often working 16 hours a day.
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He allowed cameras to film him
as he toured Cuba's fields and factories,
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always hoping to inspire the people
to work hard.
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He was intelligent, very intelligent.
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He taught Fidel a lot of things,
Fidel depended on him.
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Fidel wanted him to take over the Banco,
Bank of Cuba.
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He said, "You have to sign
our new money!"
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And that's he went C-H-E
on every Cuban...
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He said, "That's enough of my banking."
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[in Spanish] Personally I didn't like him,
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because he seemed to me
like an Argentinian.
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He was very arrogant,
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but he was the only true revolutionary
among all of them.
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The Soviet Union provided Cuba with
a loan, and other economic support.
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This helped the island's economy
to get back on track.
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But the alliance with Moscow
was cause for concern,
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both among Cuban exiles
and the US government.
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Newly inaugurated US president
John F Kennedy
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had inherited a planned
military operation
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to topple Castro's regime
from his predecessor,
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and now had to decide
whether to implement it.
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The Bay of Pigs was going
to be an attempt
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to land a number of Cubans
into a place in Cuba,
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and then call upon the organization
of American State,
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use American troops and intervene.
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This was the original
Eisenhower programmer.
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As it evolved when Kennedy took over
in that same year in end of 1960,
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Kennedy didn't want
the US involvement,
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00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,000
didn't want to send the US Navy,
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00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,520
so he said, well,
let the 1,200 Cubans fight it out.
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After Kennedy gave his go-ahead,
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1,334 heavily armed Cuban exiles
landed on Cuba's south coast.
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But the Bay of Pigs invasion failed and
united Cubans behind Fidel Castro.
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The state-controlled media used
the occasion to vaunt Castro's merits
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as the defender
of national independence.
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Relations with the United States
seemed irreparably damaged.
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And Fidel Castro declared himself,
and Cuba, to be socialist.
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[in Spanish] The majority had faith
in this leader, in this messiah,
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whose name was Fidel Castro,
who had begun the revolution.
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Even when they set up socialism in Cuba,
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many people believed in it
and followed it.
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00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,920
[in Spanish] With the victory at
Playa Girón, we saw that it was possible,
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that the revolution could win.
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Of course, the enemy did not stay quiet.
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They kept training and preparing
themselves.
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00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:24,800
After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion,
the CIA changed its strategy.
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They now planned
to assassinate Fidel Castro.
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To carry out this plan, they contacted
several leading us Mafia figures.
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These men had lost
their lucrative casinos in Havana
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through Castro's revolution.
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They went to Mafia figures
to try to kill Castro.
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The reality is classic Mafia.
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00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,720
They took the government's money
but didn't try to kill him.
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Some of them were working with him
as counter or double agents.
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They hoped that by working with him,
they would get his casinos back.
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00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:05,840
It didn't work. You don't succeed
that way with Fidel Castro.
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00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,240
After failing to enlist the Mafia
to kill Fidel Castro,
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the CIA turned to Cuban exiles.
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Many of them had lost everything
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00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,120
when they fled Cuba after Castro
took power on the island.
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And the CIA, as well as the White House,
were growing desperate.
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[Dezenhall] The Kennedy administration
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was very much focused
on getting rid of Castro,
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but they also didn't want to
go to war over it.
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They did not want to start a world war,
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so the idea was to do things such as
what happened at the Bay of Pigs,
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having small groups going and invade,
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having the CIA try to poison Castro.
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During this time, Fidel Castro lived
well guarded in Havana's Hilton Hotel.
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00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:50,920
Having failed with all other plans before,
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the CIA now tried to enlist
Marita Lorenz,
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who had had a love affair with Castro
shortly after he took power.
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If Castro's death came at the hands of
a scorned former lover, they reasoned,
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00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,000
it could not possibly be traced back
to Washington.
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00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:11,200
They said I'm the only one that has
the keys to Fidel's suite, the uniform.
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00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:16,240
They said, "Would you go back?
Can you go back? Will he accept you?"
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I said, "Of course, yes.
I didn't do anything bad to him."
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And they said, "Would you go back
and put these pills in his food?"
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In February 1961,
Marita Lorenz returned to Cuba.
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In her possession
were the CIA's poison pills.
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Her CIA handlers waited in the lobby
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as Fidel's bodyguards accompanied
Marita to his suite.
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Before I saw Fidel, I was so nervous
being caught with the capsules.
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I put them in a cold cream jar, Pond's,
and I put them out in a bidet,
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and they went down and down and down,
slowly but surely.
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I felt guilty having them on me.
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If Fidel caught me with the pills,
I could get killed.
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He said,
"Did you come back down to kill me?"
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I said, "Yes." He said, "Here, kill me."
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"There's my gun here."
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He gave me the gun that was hanging
over the lamp, a .45.
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I said, "No I can't kill you.
You didn't do anything to me."
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"Why should I kill you?
Yours is not my life to take."
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And then we just hugged,
made love and I start crying,
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00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,120
mostly out of fear
because I didn't know what to do,
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whether to beg him to stay
or whether to run for it.
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The CIA guys were
downstairs in the lobby.
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When I was upstairs,
they thought I was killing Fidel,
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and they were downstairs,
reading their newspaper.
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And I saw them, I went past them
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and I was still crying like that,
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and they thought I was crying
because I killed him.
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But I was crying because
I was afraid of them.
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And I got on a Cubana airline
and went home.
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00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,680
Marita Lorenz returned
to the United States,
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00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:22,520
and thus another covert CIA operation
against Fidel Castro had failed.
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00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,960
It had began with the debacle
of the Bay of Pigs landing.
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Since then, it seemed that no matter
what the CIA tried to topple him,
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it only served to strengthen
his position further.
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The Cuban secret services became
more efficient at repelling each attack,
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00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,480
and every minor victory
was fully exploited
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by Castro's propaganda machine.
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00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:53,440
The Kennedys failed so often
because Cuban intelligence was so good,
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00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,640
they knew all the plots
the second they were conceived.
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00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,760
There are stories of Fidel waiting
on a jungle airstrip in Cuba
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for an American assassin
to secretly land there.
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00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,680
He would meet him at the airplane and say,
"Are you here to kill me? Go, try it!"
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00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,040
He was there before they were there.
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00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,160
They had infiltrated
so many of these groups
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00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,400
that there's no way we could've
been successful.
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00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,720
Cuban agents time and again
capture Cuban exiles
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00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,760
sent onto the island
to conduct sabotage.
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00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,840
The Cuban propaganda machine
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00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,040
would whip up public fury
about such attempts.
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00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,800
The slogan was "paredon":
up against the wall.
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00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:40,000
However, no reliable statistics exist
on how many people were executed.
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00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,240
[in Spanish] I participated
in foiling three attempts.
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00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,120
One was by the CIA,
and the other two we didn't know.
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00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,200
These attempts were realistic,
they really could have killed Fidel.
214
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,400
I don't know if there were more than
three real attempts.
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00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,360
In Cuba, they say there were 600 or 700
or so, which is nonsense.
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00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:04,680
It's not possible.
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00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,640
There is a Castro math if you will,
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00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:12,120
in terms of when you look
at even his own speeches
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00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:17,640
where he will say that he survives
so many assassination attempts,
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00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:22,760
another regime's officials will say,
"No, it was 700, almost 750."
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00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,160
They can't even get
the number straight.
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00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,800
Between assassination attempts
and US-sanctioned sabotage,
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00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,800
the conflict between Cuba
and the United States,
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between Castro and Kennedy,
escalated even further.
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00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,200
Castro threatened reprisals
if the United States
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00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,440
didn't stop their assassination attempts.
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00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,640
[Brian Latell] Fidel knew
that Kennedy was trying to kill him.
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00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,440
He said, "The American leadership
should know
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00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,480
that if they continue to try
to assassinate Cuban leaders,
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00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,720
the same thing could happen to them."
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00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,040
In addition to covert operations,
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00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,440
President Kennedy
also applied economic pressure.
233
00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,400
The United States extended
their embargo against Cuba,
234
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,560
from just banning weapons sales
235
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,680
to include nearly
all commercial enterprise.
236
00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,200
Minister of industry Che Guevara
set out once more
237
00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,160
to inspire the Cuban people
to work harder,
238
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,920
to make up for the embargo.
239
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,960
President Kennedy, however,
made one exception, for himself.
240
00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,600
The day before the embargo
went into effect,
241
00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,160
he had an aide buy every box of
his favorite Cuban cigars
242
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,680
to be had in Washington, DC.
243
00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,120
[Menier, in Spanish]
Cuba is a poor country.
244
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:37,800
It always has been and always will be.
245
00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:41,200
The embargo is logical.
246
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:46,200
If you intervene
in a country's businesses,
247
00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,960
like Fidel did with his expropriations
of US firms,
248
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,520
thousands and thousands of them,
249
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,640
then of course
they are going to react.
250
00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:58,000
But the embargo should be
in parentheses,
251
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,440
because if Cuba has dollars,
it buys wherever it likes.
252
00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,400
The main effect the embargo had
253
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,240
was to restrict Cuba's access
to the American banking system.
254
00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:12,720
Thus, trade with American companies
came to a halt.
255
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:18,400
The rest of the world, and especially
the socialist Warsaw Pact partners,
256
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,240
were not affected by the embargo.
257
00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,440
This meant that the embargo alone
258
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,640
was not enough to bring down
Fidel Castro.
259
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,440
As instructed by President Kennedy,
260
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,960
the US military planned a new invasion.
261
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:50,280
A full-size dry run of this was staged,
and filmed, in 1962 in Puerto Rico.
262
00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:58,680
The operation was called ORTSAC,
263
00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:00,880
"Castro" spelled backwards.
264
00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,200
[Menier, in Spanish] Fidel, and me too,
thought there would be another invasion.
265
00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:10,280
What chance did Cuba have
of fighting them? None.
266
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:14,200
They would sweep over the island,
they would have totally destroyed it.
267
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:18,040
But Cuba wouldn't have given up.
Let me tell you, at that time, in 1962,
268
00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:19,760
Cuba would not have surrendered.
269
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,880
We would all have died first,
including myself.
270
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,800
He was afraid the next time
271
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:31,800
it wouldn't just be brave, young Cubans
from Miami, intervening in Cuba,
272
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,560
it was going to be
the American military,
273
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,000
American Rangers
and the Airborne Divisions.
274
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,920
He was afraid he was going to be facing
something that he knew could defeat him.
275
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,920
The only protection he conceived of,
the only possible protection,
276
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,120
was to have Soviet forces
on the island defending him.
277
00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,040
Fidel Castro sent
his minister for industry,
278
00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:56,840
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, to Moscow.
279
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,280
Officially, it was to negotiate
new trade contracts.
280
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:07,320
But behind the scenes,
Guevara made a military pact
281
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,560
with Soviet prime minister,
Nikita Khrushchev.
282
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,160
Soviet nuclear missiles
were to be installed in Cuba.
283
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,240
They were to protect both the island
and the Soviet Union.
284
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:32,280
The United States had already installed
nuclear missiles in Turkey,
285
00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,840
which could reach Moscow
in a matter of minutes.
286
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,840
The Soviet missiles were intended
to be a counter-measure.
287
00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,040
As ordered by their general secretary,
288
00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:47,560
the Soviet military leadership began
to plan the operation in secret
289
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:51,760
and issued deployment orders to
a nuclear armed division in the Ukraine.
290
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:59,320
[in Russian] In May of 1962,
in divisional headquarters,
291
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,720
there was a rumor that we were
going to be sent somewhere.
292
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,120
The soldiers were told
that their deployment
293
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,800
would take them to the city of Anadyr,
in remote Siberia.
294
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,000
As no feasible land route connected
295
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,520
the 43rd Guards Missile Division's
home bases in the Ukraine with Anadyr,
296
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,920
the deployment would be via ship.
297
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,400
In may 1962, the division,
along with all its equipment,
298
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,800
was loaded in secret onto almost
300 commercial ships.
299
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,720
They crossed the Black Sea
and the Mediterranean.
300
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,000
Once they were in the Atlantic,
the soldiers realized
301
00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,000
they were not going
to Siberia after all, but to Cuba.
302
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:48,800
[in Russian] We really brought skis,
coats, boots and hats with us.
303
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,960
When we arrived at the port in Cuba,
and started to unload,
304
00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,720
Cubans ran to see what we had brought.
305
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,600
They wondered why
we had all those fur coats,
306
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,520
why we were unloading skis.
307
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,400
The Soviet soldiers had brought far more
than winter coats and skis to Cuba.
308
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,080
Their cargo included
36 nuclear warheads,
309
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,480
as well as missiles and bombers
310
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,360
to deliver them to targets
in the United States.
311
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,480
US spy planes discovered that Soviet
shipments to Cuba had intensified
312
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,560
but not the reason behind this increase.
313
00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,800
[Kurinnoy, in Russian] The Americans
started flying over our ships.
314
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,920
We were transporting
an automobile plant,
315
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,640
or that was the official story at least.
316
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,040
Other ships were carrying
agricultural equipment.
317
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:45,720
The crew was in civilian clothes.
318
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:53,000
The Americans flew over us all the time,
even at low levels.
319
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,280
At first, we were afraid of them.
Then we stopped caring.
320
00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:03,640
Altogether, the Soviet Union deployed
some 43,000 soldiers in Cuba,
321
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,760
in almost total secrecy.
322
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,120
They set up a number of bases
around the island.
323
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,360
Along with their nuclear cargo,
324
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,120
they also brought modern
anti-aircraft weapons
325
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,080
to defend themselves.
326
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,960
The Cuban government, despite
the secret nature of the operation,
327
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,760
gave the Soviet troops a warm welcome.
328
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,680
[Kurinnoy, in Russian]
Posters were hanging everywhere:
329
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:28,960
"Nikita, Fidel. Amigos."
330
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:34,320
And we hung these posters,
ourselves, too.
331
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,640
The Cubans were very kind,
very interesting people.
332
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,160
They would give you everything.
333
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,120
They treated us like their brothers.
334
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:50,560
The Soviet missiles were to be
made operational as soon as possible.
335
00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,280
Each of the 36 atomic warheads
deployed to Cuba
336
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,880
was equivalent to 50 times the power
337
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,280
of the bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
338
00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,720
In September 1962,
the deployment was completed.
339
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,400
Most of the missiles
were ready to launch.
340
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,160
Until now, the US government
had only ascertained
341
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,640
that the Soviet Union
had military advisors in Cuba.
342
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,920
The nuclear threat, however,
remained unknown.
343
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,760
The Soviets looked at Kennedy
as a young, naive,
344
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,880
didn't know what the hell
he was doing in the world.
345
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,840
He says, "OK, we'll put some missiles
in there and we'll show him."
346
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:32,040
On September 13th, 1962,
347
00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,760
President Kennedy
held a press conference.
348
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:39,400
A journalist asked how the USA would
react if Cuba had nuclear missiles.
349
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,400
This country will do
whatever must be done
350
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,480
to protect its own security...
351
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,600
[Brian Latell]
It was a gamble by Khrushchev.
352
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:51,800
His plan and his hope
353
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,160
was that they could get the missiles
into Cuba, secretly,
354
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,280
without the Americans knowing,
355
00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,640
that they could get them up and running,
they could become operational,
356
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,920
and then Khrushchev
planned to travel to Cuba,
357
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,360
with Castro, I guess, at his side,
358
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,720
to announce to the world,
but to the Americans,
359
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,440
"We are now at a position
of nuclear parity with you."
360
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,800
But shortly before Khrushchev's visit,
361
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,240
an American spy plane
photographed a missile site in Cuba.
362
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,240
The next day, President Kennedy
was shown the photo.
363
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,960
At that point,
neither he nor his advisors
364
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:37,920
knew the missiles were operational.
365
00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:48,120
JFK had to face the most difficult
decision of his presidency to date.
366
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,440
Kennedy met with his group of advisors.
367
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,920
It was called The Executive Committee,
the EXCOMM.
368
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,520
And Kennedy met with them on the morning
of October 16th in the White House,
369
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,360
and that's when most of these men
found out
370
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,560
that the Soviets in fact,
in collusion with the Cubans,
371
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:14,440
were in the process of developing
nuclear weapons facilities in Cuba.
372
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:19,240
Once he saw that the Russians had
introduced missiles into Cuba,
373
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,800
he decided that the security of
the United States was at stake,
374
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,520
that this would change
the balance of power,
375
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:30,160
that all the defenses of the US
were oriented toward the Soviet Union,
376
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,520
now they had to be oriented toward Cuba.
377
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:38,320
Kennedy's advisors proposed
a conflicting range of options.
378
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,200
His generals demanded
an immediate invasion of Cuba,
379
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,320
or at least the bombardment
of the missile sites,
380
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:52,240
preferably without a declaration of
war to guarantee the surprise effect.
381
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,000
A naval blockade was also mentioned
382
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:59,160
as a less aggressive solution
to stop further military deliveries.
383
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:05,680
But, according to international law,
a blockade, too, was an act of war.
384
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,760
JFK's brother, attorney general
Robert Kennedy,
385
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:10,960
was opposed to this.
386
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,560
He thought no action should be taken.
387
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,120
He believed the missiles
were not yet operational
388
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:20,400
and, in any case, were not
the Soviet Union's only nuclear threat
389
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,360
against the United States.
390
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:27,600
It was a moment when it could
have been world atomic war,
391
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,280
and Robert Kennedy said,
392
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:34,040
"Can we do to Cuba
393
00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:38,880
what Japan did to us at Pearl Harbor,
394
00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:40,400
and can we live with that?"
395
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,280
American intelligence reports soon showed
that the Soviets had deployed
396
00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,400
their tried-and-tested
medium-range missiles on Cuba.
397
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,920
This would allow them to hit most
targets in the continental US
398
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,880
with a degree of accuracy
that would be impossible
399
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,760
with their new and yet untested
long-range missiles,
400
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:00,920
based in the Soviet Union itself.
401
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,640
Even with this apparent threat,
Kennedy did not want to risk war.
402
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,800
But from a political point of view,
his back was against the wall.
403
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,160
One month previously,
he had promised an intervention
404
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,920
if such circumstances arose.
405
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,400
Numerous influential senators
and government officials
406
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,360
also demanded an immediate attack
on Cuba.
407
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,320
But Kennedy hesitated.
408
00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:30,920
On October 22nd, 1962,
409
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,320
Fidel Castro received an official
visitor from North Africa.
410
00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,560
The president of Algeria
and Fidel Castro
411
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,080
paraded in the streets of Havana.
412
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,800
Together, they demanded
a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons.
413
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,920
Not a word was said about
the Soviet Union's missiles in Cuba.
414
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,600
[in Spanish] In that moment,
Fidel was willing to blow himself up,
415
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,320
because Fidel is a megalomaniac.
416
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,000
Sometimes,
people don't understand this,
417
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:03,640
but he would rather die as
a Latin American superhero
418
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,960
than live like...
419
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,160
The same day, Kennedy made
the crisis official
420
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,040
in a television broadcast.
421
00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:21,360
To halt this offensive build-up,
a strict quarantine
422
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,040
on all offensive military equipment
under shipment to Cuba
423
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:26,800
is being initiated.
424
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:32,080
All ships of any kind bound for Cuba,
from whatever nation or port,
425
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:38,000
will, if found to contain cargos of
offensive weapons, be turned back.
426
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,280
The news shocked many Cubans.
427
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,760
The army prepared
to defend the homeland.
428
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,760
Fear of war spread rapidly.
429
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,960
[Masetti, in Spanish] I was a child.
My mother and father were never at home.
430
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:57,320
My father had been called upon
for the Missile Crisis.
431
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:03,400
He even participated in interrogations.
432
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,560
And I remember that there
was this climate of war
433
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,160
and we didn't really know
what was happening.
434
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,680
In order to protect
their nuclear missiles,
435
00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:16,160
the Soviet army had installed its most
advanced anti-aircraft defenses.
436
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:21,480
Their orders were clear: they could
only return fire if America attacked.
437
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:27,880
[in Russian] It's hard to say what guided
the military leaders of the United States,
438
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:33,840
why they began sending seven to ten
spy planes over Cuba every day.
439
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,920
They believed we wouldn't
shoot them down,
440
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,240
but they knew that we could.
441
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,960
But the Americans'
reconnaissance flights
442
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,480
now confirmed that
the missiles were operational.
443
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,880
Kennedy placed the us nuclear forces
on DEFCON 2,
444
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,800
the second-highest alert.
445
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,120
Khrushchev, meanwhile,
ordered his ships
446
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:56,760
to ignore the American quarantine.
447
00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,840
The world was on
the brink of nuclear war.
448
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:07,120
[in Russian] General Grechko
commanded the aerial defense forces.
449
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,640
His nerves were frayed.
450
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:15,920
He ordered a US plane to be shot down.
451
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,480
We knew it would have
very serious consequences.
452
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,480
An American plane was shot down
and the pilot was killed.
453
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:29,760
The US and Soviet governments accused
one another of wanting to start a war.
454
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,520
Behind the scenes, American and
Soviet diplomats were working hard
455
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,720
to find a solution to the crisis.
456
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,680
Fidel Castro soon learned
of these back-channel talks.
457
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,080
He felt betrayed that the great powers
were negotiating without him.
458
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:01,760
[Latell] Castro told Khrushchev,
459
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:03,960
"If the Americans intervene,
460
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,560
if they do
a military intervention in Cuba,
461
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,160
you should not wait
for them to attack you.
462
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,560
As soon as they intervene in Cuba,
463
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:17,280
you should unleash the entire
Soviet nuclear arsenal
464
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,440
against American targets."
465
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:21,920
Apocalypse.
466
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,080
Sirens, air-raid shelters, gas masks.
467
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,280
The world prepared
for an inevitable nuclear war.
468
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,880
[in German] I clearly remember
how the normal people
469
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,920
were afraid of war.
470
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:46,160
Because Kennedy himself
had threatened to use nuclear weapons.
471
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,000
We must never forget that.
472
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,760
And, yes,
Khrushchev was a hot-head, too.
473
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,080
On October 27th, 1962,
474
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,640
Soviet prime minister Khrushchev
proposed a deal to President Kennedy.
475
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,680
He was prepared to withdraw
his nuclear missiles from Cuba.
476
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,480
In exchange,
the USA would lift the quarantine,
477
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,000
and promise never to invade Cuba.
478
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,400
The US also had to withdraw
its missiles from Turkey,
479
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:18,720
but was allowed to keep this part
of the agreement secret.
480
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,160
Kennedy accepted the deal.
481
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:26,520
The threat of a nuclear war was over,
482
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,640
but Fidel Castro felt he had lost out.
483
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,560
[in Russian]
We agreed to remove missiles from Cuba.
484
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,120
Fidel and the Cuban people
were not happy.
485
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,280
"You brought the missiles here,
and now you suddenly take them back?"
486
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:46,520
[in French]
Castro, with his revolutionary zeal,
487
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:53,440
later called Khrushchev a faggot.
488
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,200
I think it's a term we're not
supposed to use any more,
489
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,960
but he said it;
it's "maricón" in Spanish.
490
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,520
In order to appease Fidel Castro
after the missiles were removed,
491
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,280
Khrushchev invited him
to the Soviet Union
492
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,920
on an official visit
in the summer of 1963.
493
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,600
The Cuban leader was given
a rousing welcome
494
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,160
like no other statesman before him.
495
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,320
Castro travelled around
the Soviet Union,
496
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,040
from Moscow to Leningrad to
the remote steppes of southern Russia,
497
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,640
and distant Siberia.
498
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:53,600
Castro was showered with presents,
including traditional tribal clothing,
499
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,560
and even a baby bear.
500
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,200
Everywhere he went, the propaganda
cameras were there to film him.
501
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,640
The vodka flowed,
and honors rained down.
502
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,840
[in Russian] Fidel was awarded
the title Hero of the Soviet Union,
503
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,159
and given the Order of Lenin in gold.
504
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:17,400
He was named
an Honorary Doctor of Science
505
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,360
at Moscow State University.
506
00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:24,760
Overall, the trip was triumphant,
and Khrushchev managed to soften
507
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:28,600
the negative impression of
his prior decision.
508
00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:30,560
Their relationship in general
was very warm.
509
00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:33,040
Hero of the Soviet Union
510
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,639
was the highest order
the country could bestow.
511
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:38,840
As a show of both acquiescence
and defiance,
512
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,719
Fidel would go on to wear it
proudly for many years,
513
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,719
but only when meeting
with Soviet officials.
514
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,600
One year later,
it was the industry minister,
515
00:34:48,679 --> 00:34:54,080
Ernesto "Che" Guevara's turn
to be invited to the Soviet Union.
516
00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:56,480
He thought Khrushchev
had been mistaken
517
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:58,920
to back down during
the missile crisis.
518
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:04,680
Guevara dreamed of worldwide
revolution, not of realpolitik.
519
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,560
[in French] Curiously, there was
a huge difference in interpretation.
520
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,960
Guevara thought that the Soviets
521
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,440
were not the idols of revolution
any more,
522
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,680
that they didn't do enough
to help the third world.
523
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,560
US president Kennedy, meanwhile,
524
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,400
sought to free the Cuban exiles
still in prison on the island
525
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,320
after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.
526
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,240
Castro was willing to let them go,
for a steep price.
527
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:33,000
[Suárez-Rivas, in Spanish]
Castro made us pay.
528
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:39,680
Those that he considered "lumpen"
cost $25,000.
529
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:45,920
The middle class cost $50,000.
530
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:52,680
For the richer men, $100,000 dollars.
531
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:59,360
And for each of the three leaders
of the brigade,
532
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:03,360
$500,000.
533
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:11,080
After sending over $53 million US
worth of food and medicine to Cuba,
534
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,080
the remaining members
of Brigade 2506
535
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:17,360
were allowed to return
to the United States
536
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,680
where they were welcomed
by President Kennedy
537
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,360
on December 29th, 1962.
538
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:25,800
[Rodriguez] I believe that
at the Orange Bowl,
539
00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,800
when he received our flag in custody,
540
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,800
and he promised to return that flag
very soon in a free Cuba,
541
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,840
that's when he did sign
his death sentence. He did mean it.
542
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:38,520
He opened the Armed Forces
of the United States for the Brigade.
543
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:42,080
The idea was to use us
in the new invasion of Cuba.
544
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:43,880
Despite this promise, however,
545
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:47,160
Kennedy did not authorize
further invasion plans for Cuba.
546
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:53,240
Instead, he tried to explore ways
for the US to co-exist with a Cuba
547
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:55,320
under Fidel Castro.
548
00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:59,160
But it was complicated without
official diplomatic relations.
549
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:05,280
Kennedy heard about the imminent
visit to Cuba by a French journalist.
550
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,480
[Daniel, in French]
He sat down at that famous oval desk,
551
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:15,840
and I was across from him,
fascinated and intimidated,
552
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,680
and he immediately said,
553
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,120
"They tell me you're going to Cuba."
So I said, "Yes."
554
00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,360
President Kennedy saw Jean Daniel
555
00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,480
as an opportunity
to send Fidel Castro a message.
556
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,560
[Daniel, in French] He says,
"You know, what you must understand,
557
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:40,240
something that Castro
doesn't understand,
558
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,560
and something that American people
especially don't understand."
559
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:48,960
"For me, communism is not my enemy.
I don't give a damn.
560
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,760
I'm not a communist, of course,
561
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:56,280
but for me, Castro's relations
with communists don't matter.
562
00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:01,120
So what does matter? War and peace."
563
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:05,040
The next day, Jean Daniel
flew to Havana.
564
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:06,800
But on arrival, he found out
565
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:09,280
that his interview with Fidel Castro
was postponed.
566
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,800
It would be weeks
before he could meet the Cuban leader.
567
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,280
On November 20th, 1963,
568
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,640
Fidel Castro suddenly showed up
at the journalist's hotel.
569
00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:21,560
He was aware of Daniel's meeting
with Kennedy.
570
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:23,840
[Daniel, in French]
We're across from each other,
571
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,600
and I see Castro, incredibly curious.
572
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:33,800
He kept saying, "How did he say that?
573
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:35,840
Did he emphasize that?
574
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,840
And what did he call me?
575
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,320
What was he saying about me?"
576
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,640
The conversation went on until dawn.
577
00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:50,160
The Frenchman had the feeling
578
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:52,800
Castro could be interested in
a deal with Kennedy.
579
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,240
The two men met again the next day.
580
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:03,440
[in French] They were serving
a big platter of seafood
581
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,320
when the telephone rang.
582
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:12,080
It was the president of Cuba,
Osvaldo Dorticos.
583
00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:19,000
He said, "Seriously wounded?" "Yes."
584
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:21,080
"Very seriously?" "Yes."
585
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,200
"Call me back."
586
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:28,680
Castro hung up and he said,
587
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,840
"It's very serious."
588
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,080
That was the first thing he said.
And then, while looking at me,
589
00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:38,600
"They're going to say it was us.
They'll say we did it."
590
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:44,480
It was the 22nd of November 1963.
591
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:48,360
President Kennedy was on
an official visit to Dallas, Texas.
592
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,880
At 12:30, gunshots rang out.
593
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,960
John F Kennedy was fatally wounded.
594
00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:57,960
The shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald,
595
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:01,160
had been in contact with
the Cuban embassy in Mexico.
596
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:06,640
He basically told the embassy personnel,
who are really Cuban intelligence,
597
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:10,360
that he'd kill Kennedy
for the revolution
598
00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:13,040
'cause he knew Kennedy
was coming to Texas,
599
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:17,840
and his exact words were,
"I'll kill that bastard Kennedy."
600
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:24,840
Oswald had lived in the Soviet Union
for more than two years.
601
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,400
He was a political agitator
more than a hitman.
602
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:34,440
Whatever chances there may
have been to ease tensions
603
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:36,320
between Castro and Kennedy,
604
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:39,760
none exist under Kennedy's successor
Johnson.
605
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,520
Cuba and the United States were,
and would remain, sworn enemies.
606
00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,640
On December 11th, 1964,
607
00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:53,360
Ernesto "Che" Guevara reiterated this
in a speech at the United Nations.
608
00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,360
But his criticism extended both
to the US and the Soviet Union,
609
00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:01,520
whom he saw as having strayed
from the course of world revolution.
610
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,840
[in French]
Che Guevara starts opposing Castro.
611
00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:14,240
It began when he questioned
if the Soviet Union's imperialism
612
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:19,080
was really that different
from American imperialism.
613
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:23,800
[in Spanish] Che Guevara was,
as we say in Cuban slang,
614
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:31,120
a tree that cast a large shadow
over Fidel.
615
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:39,040
Che Guevara was a man
who knew exactly
616
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:45,480
what communism was in practice.
617
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:50,280
On February 24th, 1965,
618
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,800
Guevara attended
a conference in Algiers.
619
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:56,760
He again severely criticized
the Soviet Union
620
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,000
and called for global revolution.
621
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,680
It would be his last public speech.
622
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,880
On returning to Cuba,
Guevara was coolly welcomed
623
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:08,080
by Fidel Castro
and Cuban president Dorticos.
624
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:17,840
[in Spanish] They went to a house
in Havana, and met for 40, or 42 hours.
625
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,120
When he came out,
626
00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:27,120
Che was no longer Comandante,
no longer a minister,
627
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:30,440
he was practically nothing.
628
00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:36,080
After resigning from office,
Che Guevara simply disappeared.
629
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,720
For months,
no one knew where he was.
630
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,840
When asked about his comrade
and former second man,
631
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,720
Castro said that Guevara would
reappear when he was ready.
632
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:54,120
In secret, Che Guevara continued to
work on spreading revolutionary ideas,
633
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:58,840
particularly in the Third World,
and above all, in Africa.
634
00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:01,680
He envisioned
many small-scale revolutions,
635
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:06,360
aimed at drawing the US and its allies
into wars that they could not win.
636
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,360
Guevara's first objective
was the Congo,
637
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,680
where he wanted to support the Simba,
a communist rebel group.
638
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:18,160
[in Spanish] The Congo idea
is related to Che's idea
639
00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:24,280
that war should be developed
on several fronts.
640
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:27,480
He had the experience
of the Sierra Maestra,
641
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:31,360
of how Fidel created
several fronts in Cuba
642
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:35,360
and forced the enemy
to disperse its forces.
643
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:42,880
[in Spanish] It's what he meant when
he said, "One, two, three, many Vietnams."
644
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:47,040
It was a revolutionary slogan from
an unforgettable historic moment.
645
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,360
But Guevara's revolutionaries
in the Congo
646
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:52,640
came up against serious difficulties.
647
00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:56,240
The rebels willingly accepted
the weapons he had brought from Cuba,
648
00:43:56,320 --> 00:43:59,960
but they were wary of Guevara,
as he was not Congolese.
649
00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:03,960
And he, in turn, underestimated
the complexity of the tribal rivalries
650
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,440
that divided the rebel groups.
651
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:08,840
[Masetti, in Spanish]
Fidel Castro knew perfectly well
652
00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:12,560
that it would have been very difficult
for the guerrilla movements to succeed,
653
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:18,800
because they were inspired by a false
interpretation of the Cuban revolution.
654
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:22,000
They thought that with a few men
and much determination,
655
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:25,800
a few military maneuvers
in the mountains and the cities,
656
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:27,160
they could take power.
657
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:34,440
Disease and fierce fighting
decimated Guevara's revolutionaries.
658
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:36,360
In November 1965,
659
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:39,400
only six out of twelve men
were left alive.
660
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:50,320
[in Spanish] When Che left Africa,
661
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,200
he was very sick.
662
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:56,720
He didn't go to Cuba.
663
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:00,960
He went to Prague, Czechoslovakia.
664
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:06,320
There's a place there called Karlovy Vary.
665
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:13,480
And there was
a Cuban doctor with him.
666
00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,000
He didn't want to go back to Cuba.
667
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:19,120
An emissary from Fidel Castro
668
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,200
finally managed to persuade Guevara
to return to Cuba.
669
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:25,760
Once back, he immediately turned
his sights on the next country
670
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:29,400
where he could stage a revolution.
Bolivia.
671
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:34,080
This poor South American country,
he reasoned,
672
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:36,560
would be fertile ground
for a revolution.
673
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:37,840
And once this happened,
674
00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:40,160
the United States
would have to intervene,
675
00:45:40,240 --> 00:45:42,440
triggering a popular uprising.
676
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:45,600
On November 11th, 1966,
677
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:49,680
Ernesto "Che" Guevara flew
to La Paz under a false identity.
678
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:57,680
He was accompanied by a veteran team
of Cuban revolutionaries.
679
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:05,680
[Alarcón, in Spanish] One of our main
objectives was to study Quechua
680
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:08,640
so we could communicate with
the region's indigenous people.
681
00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:13,200
Fidel had promised
682
00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:18,680
to do everything
683
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:24,520
to guarantee our safety
684
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:28,080
in Bolivia.
685
00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:34,520
He told us we were going to fight
686
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:38,520
for 10 to 15 years, at least.
687
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,240
Because we had to liberate
all of South America.
688
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:46,920
Fidel Castro promised the support
of the Bolivian communist party.
689
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:49,560
But the party did not want a civil war.
690
00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:53,160
The Soviet Union, too, declined all aid.
691
00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:58,000
In the end, Guevara was forced to move
his rebel group into the remote jungle.
692
00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:02,520
Here, again,
the guerilleros received no support.
693
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:05,240
And the local population did
not even speak Quechua,
694
00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:07,080
the language they had learned.
695
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:09,400
[in Spanish] When we got to Bolivia,
696
00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:14,840
95% of everything Fidel had promised
had disappeared.
697
00:47:16,240 --> 00:47:22,320
Firstly, we didn't go
to the Alto Beni region.
698
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,040
As if by magic, everything had changed.
699
00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:32,280
Despite everything,
Che Guevara ordered attacks
700
00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:34,000
against the Bolivian army.
701
00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:36,880
His men succeeded
in winning several skirmishes.
702
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:41,120
When the Bolivian president learned
who he was dealing with in the Andes,
703
00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:44,520
he asked for help from the United States.
704
00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,880
Guevara's plan to provoke a US invasion
seemed to be working.
705
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:56,880
In 1967, the CIA believed that
Che Guevara had been killed in Africa.
706
00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:01,440
Until the day
that they captured in Bolivia
707
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:04,160
Regis Debrais, the French journalist,
708
00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:08,120
and Ciro Bustos,
the Argentinian newspaper guy.
709
00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:12,000
They were the ones who confirmed
that Che Guevara was in Bolivia.
710
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:15,320
Once that was confirmed, and of course,
711
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:18,800
the Bolivian army had very little
training in anti-guerrilla operations,
712
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:20,720
they had no expertise whatsoever,
713
00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:24,000
that's when they immediately sent
a special forces unit from Panama.
714
00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:29,520
But the United States did not
send troops, only CIA agents.
715
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:33,240
They assisted the Bolivian army
in tracking down Guevara's group.
716
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:42,000
On October 8th, 1967,
they closed in on their target.
717
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:47,040
1,800 Bolivian soldiers
surrounded the guerilleros.
718
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,200
Che was wounded in the leg
and taken prisoner.
719
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:54,400
Guevara was interrogated
by Felix Rodriguez,
720
00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:56,480
a CIA agent, Cuban exile,
721
00:48:56,560 --> 00:48:59,160
and a veteran of
the Bay of Pigs invasion.
722
00:48:59,240 --> 00:49:01,200
[Rodriguez]
I stood in front of him and said,
723
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:02,960
"Che Guevara, I'd like to talk with you."
724
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:04,480
He looks at me very arrogantly.
725
00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,440
"Nobody talks to me,
nobody interrogates me."
726
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:09,120
I said, "Commander, I didn't come here
to interrogate you.
727
00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:11,600
Our ideas are different,
but I admire you.
728
00:49:11,680 --> 00:49:13,200
You used to be head
of a state in Cuba,
729
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:15,680
and you are like this because
you believe in your ideas,
730
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:17,720
even though I know they are mistaken."
731
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:19,800
I just came here to talk to you."
732
00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:22,040
So he looked to me for about
30 seconds, 45 seconds
733
00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:24,720
to see if I will laugh.
When he saw I was serious, he said,
734
00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:26,600
"Can you untie me, can I sit?"
735
00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:29,080
So I asked for a soldier
from the outside to come in
736
00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:31,600
and I told him,
"Untie Commander Guevara."
737
00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:34,280
He looked at me.
I said, "Untie Commander Guevara."
738
00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:35,920
So he went down, he untied him,
739
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,320
and we had little bench that was there
and we sat him in there.
740
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:42,520
It was kind of hard because
he had been tied down for a long time,
741
00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:45,040
so was hard for him to stretch
and be able to...
742
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:48,080
But we sat him there
and then we started talking.
743
00:49:48,160 --> 00:49:50,080
Felix Rodriguez claims
that his mission
744
00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:53,080
was to ensure Guevara's survival.
745
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:57,240
The CIA was aware of the divisions
between Che and Fidel Castro,
746
00:49:57,320 --> 00:49:59,280
and wanted to exploit it.
747
00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:02,760
But the Bolivian president,
in overall command of the operation,
748
00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:04,440
ordered Guevara executed.
749
00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:09,040
So I looked at him and say,
750
00:50:09,120 --> 00:50:12,600
"Is there anything you want for your
family if I can pass the message?"
751
00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:14,760
So I will say in a sarcastic way
he said,
752
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:17,720
"Well, you can tell Fidel
that he will soon see
753
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:19,880
a triumphant revolution in America."
754
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:22,000
And then he his changed expression
and he said,
755
00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:25,920
"You can tell my wife to remarry
and try to be happy."
756
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,400
He approached me, we shook hands.
757
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:32,120
The wound in his leg
didn't seem to bother him anymore.
758
00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:34,360
We shook hands,
then we embraced,
759
00:50:34,440 --> 00:50:37,600
and he stood at attention, thinking
I was the one that would shoot him.
760
00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:43,080
I left the room, and Mario Terán
was right next to Lt Perez.
761
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:45,480
I said, "This is an order
from your high command
762
00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:47,000
to eliminate the prisoner.
763
00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:49,080
Don't shoot from here up,
shoot from here down,
764
00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:51,160
because he is supposed
to die of combat wounds."
765
00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:53,880
On October 9th, 1967,
766
00:50:53,960 --> 00:50:57,520
Che Guevara was executed
by a Bolivian soldier.
767
00:50:57,600 --> 00:51:00,320
Nine days later,
on October the 18th,
768
00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:03,760
Cuban television announced the news.
769
00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:10,120
Fidel Castro made a martyr out of
his former revolutionary companion.
770
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:12,195
"The children of Cuba," he said,
"should strive to be like Che."
67973
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