Castro, Fidel: Nothing Can Stop the Course of History: Interview by Jeffrey M. Elliot and Mervyn M. Dymally

This interview covers US-Cuba relations, Cuba’s role in the fight against apartheid rule in South Africa, the overthrow of the Grenada revolution, and the social consequences of the foreign debt in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“In this interview with Professor Elliot and Congressman Dymally, Castro speaks directly to the American people on issues of vital importance, such as Nicaragua, Grenada, El Salvador, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and the economic crisis now brewing over Latin America’s inability to pay its foreign debts.” —Library Journal

Fidel Castro (1926–2016) – A student leader at the University of Havana from 1945. Founding member of the Orthodox Party in 1947 and central organizer of its revolutionary-minded youth.

Fidel Castro led the July 26, 1953, attack on the Moncada and Bayamo garrisons and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Released in May 1955 after a mass amnesty campaign, he organized the founding of the July 26 Movement. From Mexico, Castro prepared the Granma expedition, which returned to Cuba in December 1956. He commanded the Rebel Army during the 1956–58 revolutionary war and from May 1958 headed the July 26 Movement.

Castro was prime minister from February 1959 to 1976, when he became president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers. He was commander in chief of the armed forces from 1959 to 2008 and first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from its founding in 1965 to 2011.