Soviet Cuba: The secret origins of Castro's Power

Soviet Cuba tells the story of the Cuban Revolution from a completely new perspective, exposing the secret and deeply underestimated relationship between the Castro brothers and the Cuban Communist Party (PCC-PSP). In order to unravel these long-hidden connections, the author goes all the way back to the beginning of the story of communism in Cuba, outlining the origins of the PCC-PSP. He also reveals, for the first time in Cuban historiography, that the party had two faces. Within it, two parallel organizations coexisted: a traditional political party and a covert Central Nucleus of Soviet intelligence (CNSI).Despite being closely related, these two organizations often had markedly divergent objectives that would play out in radically different ways within the Cuban context. Each time this occurred, it was always the objectives of the hidden CNSI that prevailed, even if this came at the price of huge political mistakes. Missteps that included an unholy alliance with the tyrant Batista between 1938 and 1944, which ultimately cost the PCC-PSP dearly in terms of popular support and credibility, especially towards the end of the 1940s.On the other hand, and no doubt as a consequence of the intelligence work developed by the CNSI from 1925 onwards, the Cuban communists were able to count on an extraordinary list of agents and operatives embedded within the political, educational, cultural, repressive and military establishment of the Cuban republic.Ultimately, this enabled the CNSI to use Fidel Castro as a Trojan horse, the lead protagonist in an agrarian and nationalistic revolt. However, as the author shockingly reveals, Castro proved to nothing more than a puppet - a figurehead who was controlled (and used) by the CNSI. In order for this to come to fruition, however, it was necessary to keep the relationship between the CNSI and the Castro brothers a secret - one that has lasted until the publication of this book. Read more