Original subtitles

Castro has to go!

Castro has to go!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

On this beautiful Caribbean island,

Fidel Castro has led Cuba for over 40 years.

A socialist survivor in a capitalist world.

For some, he is a demon.

For others a symbol of resistance and social justice.

In 1996, at the age of 70, Fidel revisited his

childhood home with a longtime friend.

The world famous Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez.

Fidel began life in Biran, a farming

area far from Cuba's capital.

He was the third oldest of three boys and four girls.

Fidel's father Angel, who was an immigrant worker

from Spain, eventually became a wealthy sugarcane planter.

His parents are buried near the family home.

It was in this public school that

Fidel first studied as a child.

From this simple school, Fidel's family

sent him to a catholic boarding school in

Cuba's second largest city, Santiago de Cuba.

And then to the Jesuit run Belen high school in Havana.

At the University of Havana, where Fidel arrived in 1945

to study law, the political atmosphere was so highly

charged that it often turned to violence.

Students fighting against corruption and

injustice were targets of repression.

Fidel entered the fray.

Not as a communist, but as a radical nationalist

with a passion for social justice.

- He was married to a young woman

who was the daughter of one of the elites.

That marriage however, only lasted six years,

because he was imprisoned for his revolutionary activities.

And under considerable pressure from her family.

They were divorced.

He did however, have a son from that marriage.

In 1952, now a practicing lawyer,

Fidel ran as a candidate for the

orthodox party, an anti-corruption coalition.

Cuba's hero of independence,

Jose Marti, inspired the movement.

The election never took place.

General Batista, who had been in power before

staged a coup to prevent an orthodox party victory.

- And I knew Cuba before Fidel Castro.

I went there.

It was the playground of the mafia.

We had all the big jazz nightclubs

that Nat King Cole and myself

were petitioned to perform in.

I did not see democracy in Cuba.

As a matter of fact, if anything

I saw blatant racism and oppression.

After the Batista coup, all political

parties and constitutional rights were suspended.

The university was shut down.

But the students continued protesting.

Fidel began organizing a clandestine opposition group.

On the 26th of July, 1953, Fidel led an attack on the

Moncada garrison in Santiago de Cuba.

This marked the beginning of the

armed struggle against Batista.

The operation had hardly begun when

a group of Fidel's followers were

surprised by a military patrol.

Two of the 150 participants were women.

Abel Santamaria and Melba Hernandez.

61 were killed only six in combat.

The rest were tortured and murdered after their arrest.

Both women survived.

Fidel survived, thanks to a caring black officer.

Then began what would become the most

famous trial in Cuban history.

Fidel and 29 of his comrades were

imprisoned on the Isle of Pines.

Fidel for 15 years.

He defiantly named his political movement

after the date of the Moncada attack.

The 26th of July.

And smuggled out a manifesto based on his trial defense.

Entitled History Will Absolve Me.

It will become the inspiration for the revolution.

Fidel and his companions were freed after two years.

Batista giving in to popular protest, declared

a general amnesty for political prisoners.

Six weeks after their release, Fidel left for Mexico.

And there, with a group of followers, they planned

a new attempt to overthrow the dictator.

Looking for support, Fidel toured Cuban

communities in the United States.

In New York, New Jersey, and Florida.

Many sympathizers both rich and

poor contributed to his cause.

By the following year, 1956,

Fidel had assembled the nucleus of a gorilla force.

And felt ready to return to Cuba.

A young Argentine doctor, Ernesto "Che" Guevara joined them.

After the legendary 12 hour meeting, Che's life

became an important part of the Cuban Revolution.

82 people, including Che, set out for

Mexico on the cabin cruiser Granma.

An uprising in Santiago de Cuba was planned

to coincide with their arrival.

The synchronization of the uprising and landing failed.

The Batista military successfully

put down the revolt in the city.

The Granma arrived two days later than expected.

And the group landed in a mangrove swamp.

The 82 men scattered, but were

soon discovered by Batista's forces.

Fidel and a few others escaped and refused to admit defeat.

Of the original 82, only 21 managed to regroup

in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

This is where the gorilla war began.

And the initial group was able to survive and grow.

Che Guevara was the group's doctor.

Much of their support came from

the farmers in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

Some of them joined the gorillas and became commanders.

Both men and women soon joined Fidel's gorilla movement.

And despite traditional male prejudice,

a women's battalion was formed.

- One of the most important people in his life,

was a woman called Celia Sanchez.

She was the daughter of a rural physician.

Her father had provided free healthcare

to many of the poor, impoverished, rural people in the area.

And she was very much attracted

to Fidel's revolutionary movement.

Celia Sanchez remained

at Fidel's side for 20 years.

And held important government posts until her death in 1980.

Fidel and his commanders built up their

26th of July movement gorilla army

from a wide range of political allegiances.

Batista's forces were trained by the United States.

Which also armed them with tanks, artillery and aircraft.

They threw all that force against the gorillas

in a war that lasted two years.

- 26th of July had a strong underground

movement in the cities.

There were sabotage efforts against the Batista government.

And demonstrations and so forth.

The Batista government reacted very strongly.

Bodies were left by the side of the road.

Students, young people who were suspected

of being rebel sympathizers were shot.

Or in some cases, jailed and tortured.

As a result of all that, public opinion

turned massively against Batista.

An estimated 20,000 people were murdered

by government forces during the Batista dictatorship.

The rebels put out leaflets in a newspaper.

And by 1958 also had a radio station.

Keeping the people informed about developments.

Fidel's interviews with foreign journalists

ended rumors that he has been killed.

Aware of the importance of the media,

he made sure he was accessible to the press.

Even in English.

- Our political philosophy is

representative of democracy

and social justice in a well-planned economy.

In January 1959,

Fidel made a triumphal entry in Havana.

It had taken 25 months to defeat Batista.

With victory achieved, Fidel sought to

make Cuba a united and independent nation.

- I'll never forget that first speech

that he gave a few days after he had entered Havana.

I was watching on television.

But they released a flight of doves.

A symbol of peace.

But one of the doves fluttered up

into the air and landed on his shoulder.

There was a gasp because the pigeon

was the messenger of Oshun, said

to indicate the anointed one.

- Just 30 days ago Fidel Castro entered Havana

to be greeted by cheering mobs

as one of the greatest heroes in Cuba's history.

A week before that, General Batista and

his top aids had fled the country.

Leaving it to Castro, his rebel army, and their supporters.

Good evening Fidel Castro.

You must have had a very busy week.

How do you feel?

- Well, I feel really, feel well.

Just mostly tired.

- I'm told that you saw your mother

for the first time in four years this Christmas Eve.

That must have been quite a reunion.

What did she have to say to you.

- She began to cry at the beginning.

She could tell any war to me.

Hello Fidel Junior.

- Hi.

That's a very good

looking puppy you have there.

Is he yours?

- No.

Somebody gave it to my father for a present.

Uh huh.

When do you think you'll be visiting us again?

- Oh well I shouldn't lie.

I think when I have a chance.

Well, will that be

with the beard or without it?

- Well, it's possible if I go something

at this table with the beard.

Because I am not thinking now to cut my beard.

Because I am accustom to my beard.

And my beard means many things to my country.

When we have fruitful hard work,

promise of good government, I will cut my beard.

- The first people who left, I mean

in the first days after the revolution,

by in large were Batista supporters

and members of the Batista government.

Batista fled the island New Years Eve of 1959.

And many of his supporters followed immediately thereafter.

Those accused of murder and torture

who didn't flee the country were brought to trial.

The trials however, were criticized in the US media.

- I was following on television the

revolutionary trials that began right away.

Which were the beginnings of the

problems with the United States.

In fact a lot of the CIA's people,

or some of them at least, were on trial

for having been murderers and torturers of Batista.

The same year he came to power, Fidel

was invited to visit countries throughout Latin America.

He made passionate speeches.

Calling for unity among the peoples of that region.

He proposed the creation of a Latin American market.

Also in 1959, he embarked on a tour of the United States.

Hoping to promote a better

understanding of the Cuban Revolution.

- Did you ask for any economic assistance?

- No.

Here, you in the United States are accustomed to

see government coming for your money.

No.

I came for good relation.

For good understanding.

For good economical relations.

We are now a poor country, but in a rich...

Poor people live in a rich country.

What we want is to work in our rich country.

Vice President Nixon was sent to

meet the new Cuban leader after

President Eisenhower refused to see him.

Nixon later wrote a memo describing Fidel as a communist.

Who should be overthrown.

- Cuba is an obsession with American

leaders and it really doesn't matter whether

they're democrats or republicans.

It's almost a psychosis.

The United States is simply incapable of

dealing rationally with Castro.

When Fidel got to

New York, he had a warmer welcome.

Fidel gave a reception at the Cuban Embassy.

In 1960 he traveled to

the United States for a second time.

To address the General Assembly of the United Nations.

When the manager of the Shelburne Hotel

worried about adverse publicity, asked him to leave.

Fidel threatened to camp out on the grounds of the UN.

At the Hotel Theresa, world leaders visited him.

Nasser from Egypt.

And Nehru from India

Black activist Malcolm X also called on him.

As did the soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

On his return to Cuba, the first priority

of Fidel's revolution was the redistribution

of land through the Agrarian Reform Act.

Under Batista, foreigners had owned more

than 70 percent of the arable land.

Most of the sugar industry was in US hands.

At first, quite modest land expropriations were proposed.

They even included land owned by Fidel's family.

Besides land redistribution, the reform included healthcare,

education, housing, and road building in rural zones.

- Ya about a year after the agrarian reform

was introduced and some American properties.

Rural properties.

The King Ranch and so forth, were nationalized.

The Cuban government ordered the foreign refineries,

two of which were American, to refine Soviet crude oil.

I think their first inclination was to do it,

but they were encouraged by the

US treasury department no to.

So they refused.

They would not refine the Soviet crude.

The Cuban government then nationalized

those refineries, the oil companies in Cuba.

The United States retaliated for that

by cutting off the Cuban sugar quota.

And Cuba then retaliated that, by

nationalizing all US properties in Cuba.

And in October of 1960 the United

States imposed the embargo against Cuba.

So it was sort of one step led to another.

- Central to understanding the Cuban Revolution

is the relationship historically

between Cuba and the United States.

This was more than anything a nationalistic

movement that Fidel was able to capitalize on.

Where the people in Cuba, from the founding

of the country had struggled for a sense

of their own sovereignty and independence.

In addition to land reform,

Fidel placed education at the heart of the revolution.

Thousands of young people set out for the

most isolated parts of the island to teach

the farmers to read and write.

1961 was declared the year of education.

In the midst of false rumors that the

revolution would take children away

from their parents, the US State Department

and the Catholic Church organized what

was later called Operation Peter Pan.

Which airlifted 14,000 unaccompanied

Cuban children to the United States.

At the same time, other Cubans left for

the United States and joined the exile community.

- The CIA began to plan the assassination

of Fidel, and Raul, and of Che.

Whatever leadership they could get.

But especially Fidel.

So as to demoralize the Cuban people.

And make the Bay of Pigs invasion

more likely to be successful.

In 1961, John Kennedy

inherited the invasion plans from Eisenhower.

He allowed it to go ahead.

But vetoed the use of US combat forces.

As preliminary acts leading to the invasion,

saboteurs burned thousands of acres of sugarcane.

And the La Coubre, a Belgian freighter

carrying arms was blown up at a Havana dock.

A second bomb was timed to explode

as volunteers reached the burning ship to help the victims.

Over 100 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

Moreover, exiled Cuban pilots flying American

planes painted with Cuban insignia, bombed two airports.

Killing a number of civilians.

Again, Fidel called on the Cuban people.

On April 16th, 1961, in a dramatic speech

following the funeral of those who had been killed, he

made one the most important declarations in Cuban history.

The Bay of Pigs invasion, which was

launched from Nicaragua, ended in disaster.

The forces directed by the United States

met with intense, unexpected Cuban resistance.

And the battle ended in 72 hours.

The captured Cuban exiles were later

exchanged for baby food and medicine.

In the mountainous regions, opposition groups

financed by the CIA formed pockets of

resistance against the revolution.

But they were eventually overcome.

The overt war against the country

became a covert war against the man.

- It was a long running policy of the

United states government, not just of the CIA,

because they carry out the orders.

They don't determine who's gonna get assassinated.

But they carry out the orders.

And they had the orders from the higher ups

in the National Security Council, and the Eisenhower,

and Kennedy, and Johnson administrations.

- And there's the fact that they

haven't been able to kill him.

I mean, that must really be upsetting.

That they have not been able to kill this

man who has persisted in being exactly who he is.

For all of these years.

Against the mightiest power on the earth.

It's quite phenomenal.

- Faced with this massive hostility from the US,

the giant, the colossus to the north.

Who is he gonna turn to to protect his revolution?

Sweden?

India?

There was only one other power on the globe,

that could provide any promise that that revolution

perhaps could survive and last.

And that was the Soviet Union.

Cuba threw in its lot with the Soviet Union.

One year later, Khrushchev came up with

a plan to install Soviet missiles on Cuban soil.

- Castro reluctantly agreed to accept the missiles.

But then he said, at least if you're

gonna deliver the missiles, make it a public act.

But Khrushchev thought he could do it clandestinely.

And then he would spring it on the Americans.

US spy planes discovered the missiles.

Which brought he Soviet Union and the

United States to the brink of nuclear war.

The crisis ended when the President's brother

Robert Kennedy, negotiated a secret deal with Khrushchev.

The Soviet Union would remove the missiles

if the United States withdrew its missiles from Turkey.

And later promise not to invade Cuba.

- When Khrushchev then took the missiles out

without the courtesy of notifying Castro,

or consulting it with him, Castro was furious.

To mend relations between the two countries,

Fidel was invited to visit the Soviet Union.

His personal friendship with Khrushchev was also restored.

- Well he was caught in somewhat of a difficult dilemma.

Pragmatically he needed the support of the Soviet Union.

Because economically they were completely dependent.

So he then constructed a relationship with the Soviet Union.

Where he was constantly looking for ways

to assert independence from the Soviets.

Particularly in the foreign policy arena.

- There were earthshaking changes about to happen.

And Fidel's ability to give expression

to those historical changes.

Allowed him to emerge as the sort of

representative of the possibility of third world

countries moving away from the capitalist orbit.

Toward a different kind of future.

The Cuban Revolution, with Fidel

and Che at its head, became an inspiration to others

seeking political change in Latin America.

After a dramatic insurgent experience in the Congo,

Che led a gorilla group in the Bolivian jungle.

On October 8th, 1967 they were ambushed.

Che, who was wounded in the fighting

was taken prisoner and murdered the next day.

Members of the Bolivian army threw his body,

and those of his comrades, into a secret grave.

Fidel continued to support struggles all over the world.

In Vietnam, where Ho-Chi-Minh led a popular liberation

movement, Cuba sent sugar, rice, and blood donations.

And trained doctors, engineers,

teachers, and agricultural workers.

In 1970, Allende's Chilean Revolution

offered another model of change.

The peaceful road to socialism.

Fidel made a supportive tour of the country.

For the United States, the Chilean road

to socialism was no more acceptable than the Cuban one.

In 1973, the CIA backed a coup by General Pinochet.

Which led to President Allende's violent death.

Cuba backed the Sandinistas in Nicaragua,

who were victorious in 1979.

The assassination of his friend Maurice Bishop

in Grenada was a great blow to Fidel.

Internal divisions in Grenada opened

the way for the United States to invade.

Cuban construction workers were caught in the middle.

And some were killed and wounded.

With the change of the political climate

in Latin America, Fidel visits Ecuador.

30 years after Che Guevara was murdered in Bolivia,

his remains, and some of those who fought with him,

were finally found and returned to Cuba.

Their families were at the outpoint.

Che's daughter, who was five years old when he left.

And the man with whom he has always identified,

paid tribute to him and his gorilla comrades.

- If I was writing history, I would write about

the way in which Fidel is the leader of

one of the smallest counties in the world,

helped to shape the destinies of millions

of millions of people across the globe.

- It's not just Castro the man.

He carries with him a meaning.

A signification which is of tremendous

importance to people like ourselves

who are the marginalized of the world.

And Africa as a mother country

to so many Cubans, need it to be addressed

as part of the past of the world

wide thing of African liberation.

Right from the beginning,

Cuba's revolutionary ideals not only spread

throughout Latin America, but also forged

strong ties with National Liberation leaders.

Such as Sékou Touré.

Amilcar Cabral.

Julius Nyerere.

Samora Machel.

And Agostinho Neto.

In 1975, as Angola moved towards independence from Portugal,

the CIA, along with the apartheid government

of South Africa, tried to bring

down the new Angolan government.

At the request of the Angolan president,

Fidel sent 36,000 troops to keep the South African

forces from attacking Luanda, the capital.

For many Cubans, whose ancestors were

African slaves, the fight in Angola was

a way to repair a debt to history.

In 14 years at war, over 300,000 Cubans,

doctors, teachers, and engineers, as well as soldiers,

played an important role in Angola.

More than 2,000 lost their lives.

In 1988, Fidel sent in more Cuban troops.

For the decisive battle at Cuito Cuanavale,

and directed operations from Cuba.

The defeat of the South African Army drove a

large nail into the coffin of apartheid.

And helped advance the struggle of the South African people.

- Had it not been for the Cuban presence in Africa,

and in particular in Angola, the history

of Africa would have never been what it is now.

One of the greatest friends that Cuba has is Nelson Mandela.

And his appreciation for what the

Cuban people did, and Fidel Castro.

But I think if you don't understand that history,

then you'll never really understand the enormous

success and the importance of the Cuban Revolution.

Wow my President.

- My President.

- My brother.

- How are you?

- My brother.

- Very nice to see you.

Please sit down.

Please sit down.

Please sit down.

Now, one thing before we say anything.

Before we say anything,

you must tell me when you are coming to South Africa.

- The sooner the better.

- And we've had a visit from a wide variety of people.

And our friend Cuba,

which helped us in training our people.

Gave us resources to help out with our struggle.

Trained our people as doctors and so on.

You have not come to our country.

When are you coming?

- I haven't visited my South African homeland yet.

I want it, I love it as a homeland.

I love it as a homeland as I love

you and the South African people.

- When are you coming to South Africa?

- I think it will have to be today.

I will have to fly back with you.

- No you are very, very, very truth.

- You'll live in a tents and we'll

cash in the plane together.

Soon afterwards, Fidel did go

to South Africa, and on his way stop off in Namibia.

Where he was greeted by Sam Nujoma, the nation's leader.

In South Africa, Mandela was waiting.

Fidel was invited to address the South African parliament.

Let South Africa be a model of

the more just, and more humane future.

If you can do it, we will all be able to do it.

- Fidel is linked to the post colonial era

as the figure, who more than any I think,

symbolized independence and sovereignty of small nations.

Shaking off the yolk of the imperial powers.

And the fact that he has been there

for as long as he has and has been able to

magnify his role to really a global force.

From this tiny island base.

- It is easy to build a nation.

It is far more difficult to shape a society.

And this is what Cuba is doing.

It will lead all the time in the world.

It will lead all the humility, all the meekness,

all the generosity of spirit, to

itself and to others, to emerge.

In the 70s and 80s,

Cuba's battleground on the home-front was the economy.

Tremendous efforts were made to industrialize the country.

And create shared wealth, in spite

of the continuing US blockade.

Cuba was dependent on a single crop, sugar.

The Soviet Union promised to buy

as much as could be produced.

Fidel tried to spur the country on through personal example.

In the attempt to reach new harvest levels.

The paradox of Cuba's independence,

depending on support from the Soviet Union,

involved Fidel in a balancing act that lasted 30 years.

Help from the Soviet Union made it possible

for Cuba to maintain its advances in

universal education and healthcare.

And to promote sports and scientific development.

As well as greater industrial diversification.

- The gabbing of Fidel Castro has shown a world

that is teaming with billions of impoverished people.

That it is possible for a very poor country.

Emerging from sickness, and ignorance,

and corruption, and poverty of a Batista regime.

To within a few short years, educate all of its children.

To create a system of education that is comprehensive.

That reaches the entire society.

That abolishes illiteracy.

That is capable of export to other countries.

To help them learn to read, and write, and grow, and know.

By the mid 1980s, Fidel began to perceive

problems in the economy and industry.

Supplies of goods became sporadic.

And there was growing corruption.

The Cuban dream of an egalitarian society was in danger.

Fidel's response to the crisis was to personally oversee

every aspect of Cuban society.

He criticized, cajoled, and reorganized

in his own unique style.

Even during the most difficult crisis, Fidel

has always emphasized the development of sports.

Cuba now ranks among the top ten

countries in Olympic medals.

- Under Fidel Castro, Cubans became famous as artists.

As film makers.

As writers,

As baseball players.

As boxers.

As scientists.

And as soldiers.

So he took a country, and he made them somebody.

And there was a cost.

And that's the part I think that the American press,

and certainly his critics, emphasize.

- Cubans answer American critics and say

they don't show sufficient respect for human rights,

by saying they respect the most basic human rights.

Providing healthcare.

Enough to eat.

A place to stay.

The basic needs of life.

And as for civil rights, they respect those also they say.

But, that they will not tolerate anything against

the revolution, because the revolution

is supported by the people.

And then, came an unexpected blow.

One that will change life on the island.

The collapse of the Socialist Bloc.

Khrushchev had traveled to Cuba in

1989 to sign new trade agreements.

But within months, the Soviet system had collapsed,

and the agreements were worthless.

Fidel's revolution now faced its toughest challenge

since the early days in the Sierra Maestra.

Within two years of the collapse, the so-called

special period, severe rationing was introduced.

Fuel became scarce.

Export earnings fell by 60 percent.

And imports by 70 percent.

Productivity ground to a near

standstill for want of raw materials.

And many factories were closed.

Some chose to leave.

Many in Miami forecast Fidel's end.

- After the fall of the Soviet Union,

it was expected that Cuba would fall very quickly.

Within a year or two.

The socialist revolution in Cuba would be over.

I think it's extraordinary that

now a decade later, Cuba survives.

During this special period,

new agreements were signed with

Canada and European countries.

In the spheres of nickel, tobacco, bio-technology,

the pharmaceutical industry, and communications.

Tourism was given a big boost.

And a wave of hotel building began.

Fidel oversaw important tourism projects.

Checking many details personally.

Many joint ventures were established.

Especially with European countries.

And this became an important source of income.

Cubans know little about Fidel's personal life.

It is said that he has eight children.

And eight grandchildren.

And has been married for over 30 years.

- Most politicians would not wish

to discuss their personal lives.

It's their business.

It's their private business.

They don't have the luxury that

Castro does, simply to say no.

One of Fidel's closest friends

is Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

For over 40 years, the world has known

Fidel dressed in military fatigues.

At the suggestion of Garcia Marquez,

Fidel wore a traditional guayabera shirt

to a non-aligned conference in 1995.

He also began wearing business suits the same year.

Fidel gave up smoking his Havana cigars in 1985.

His only contact with cigars these days,

is when he signs boxes for celebrities

to benefit public healthcare in Cuba.

- The thing that surprises me about Fidel though

actually,

is that he can't dance.

I read that somewhere.

I don't understand it.

I think that's truly an interesting thing there.

And he can't sing either.

Oh, gosh well.

Good thing he's got all those other good qualities.

When Fidel turned 74,

he invited the Buena Vista Social Club

to help celebrate his birthday.

Most of these musicians are older than he.

He also invited Cuban doctors leaving to work in Haiti.

Fidel has always maintained relations

with important people from many parts of the world.

Ted Turner of CNN was given the Cuban grand tour.

Not even Fidel and Ted Turner are spared

the riggers of the special period.

Where fuel is scarce, and vehicles refuse to start.

- Castro was determined that Cuba

would be fully independent from the United States.

And in that he succeeded.

It now is.

In fact I would say that Cuba,

now for the first time in its history,

is completely independent.

No longer a Spanish colony.

No longer a protector to the United States.

No longer a client state of the Soviet Union.

It is on its own.

When Fidel was invited to

address the United Nations at its New York headquarters,

the US government was obliged to grant him entry.

Fidel was also invited to visit

some rather surprising places.

An invitation also came from the Wall Street Journal.

- Perhaps it is symbolic of changes in the world

as the big President of Cuba is at the Wall Street Journal.

- We saw at lunch.

Can I ask you quickly?

Just very quickly.

This is an old 1961 magazine.

Members of the US Security Force, who are

assigned to protect Fidel, wanted to have

their pictures taken with him.

You know women are very, mm.

Okay.

- Meticulous, yes.

You know Mr. Wallace I think.

I'm not sure you've formally met.

- I interviewed you first in 1960

when you were here Mr. President.

- And what happened?

What happened to democracy?

What happened to free elections?

- We discovered other formulas of democracy.

And we discovered a more honest formula

to have the people participate in their democracy.

We discovered that it was better than the Americas, so what?

Castro!

Castro!

Castro!

Castro!

Castro!

Castro!

- He's a nice man.

He's a beautiful man.

Alright.

Okay.

Alright.

Okay.

Okay.

- In Harlem.

The historical memory of Fidel

having met in the Theresa hotel with Malcolm

is still so much a part of Harlem culture.

That when I heard he was planning to visit

Harlem, I said no matter where I am.

Anywhere in the country.

Anywhere in the world.

I will definitely try to be in Harlem.

- Welcome to the Abyssinian Baptist Church

where we believe in truth and injustice, and equality.

Where we join with you in saying

Cuba yes, blockade no.

God bless you.

In 1998 it was announced

that the Pope would make his first visit to Cuba.

Fidel escorts an advanced party from

the Vatican on a tour of his office.

Pictures of Che and Jesus Christ adorned Revolution Square.

Fidel arrived for the Pope's mass

with the Vice President and Foreign Minister.

During the Pope's visit, the Cuban government

facilitated contact with the people.

The Pontiff denounced the US blockade of Cuba.

He also called on Cuba to open its doors to the world.

And in turn, for the world to opens its doors to Cuba.

While the Vatican called for an end to the blockade,

and the United Nations repeatedly voted

for the US blockade of Cuba to be lifted,

anti-Castro forces in the US congress

continued to tighten the economic screws.

- Now let me be clear.

Whether Mr. Castro leaves Cuba

in a vertical position, or a horizontal

position, doesn't matter to me.

That's up to him and that's up to the Cuban people.

But he must, he will, leave Cuba.

- We doing business with communist Chinese.

These are the guys that shot me.

Ya know?

And we've forgiven them for what they've done.

The North Koreans, they were the ones

that got me over there in the first place.

And we're doing business with them.

Vietnam.

We lost tens of thousands of Americans.

So if you wanna be angry with somebody.

And the Germans, and the Japanese,

and the Italians, if you wanna hold grudges count me in.

Because I don't like the way I was treated.

But if everybody's forgiven except

an island country that thought the

communist Russians would allow them

to put missiles there, and then they backed

out and took the missiles away.

How long do we punish all of Cuba?

The Miami Cuban community has agitated

for US opposition to Fidel ever since the revolution.

And continues to demonize him.

- The momentum towards greater engagement with Cuba

was spurred by the Elián González episode.

Because Americans saw that our policy

in fact was controlled by this little

group of hard-line exiles down in Miami

responding to their own views and interests.

And not to the interest of the nation.

And not to the interest of the United States as a whole.

What caused the conflict between

Miami and Havana to hit front pages

all over the world, was the saga of Elián González.

A six year old boy.

Elián's mother had drowned while

trying to get to the United States.

Elián's great uncle Lazaro González

took the shipwrecked Cuban schoolboy into his house.

And influenced by anti-Castro groups, refused

to return him to his Father Juan Miguel in Cuba.

This little boy became a cause for

Miami's anti-Castro exiled community.

But the vast majority of the American people,

favored Elián's return to his father.

The Cubans were outraged.

The people quickly took up Elián's cause.

Demanding that the boy be returned

to his father Juan Miguel.

Millions of workers, students, housewives, and grandparents

all over the country took part in demonstrations.

Even Fidel.

This issue united the country more

than any other since the revolution.

Juan Miguel and his immediate family travel to Washington

after the US courts ruled in their favor.

Fidel was there to see'em off.

It would take another three months

to finally bring Elián back home.

In all, Elián had been away from Cuba for seven months.

Fidel Castro overthrew a dictator at the age of 32.

Now at 74, he is still a rebel.

Defiantly confronting the most powerful nation on earth.

Still making speeches that last for hours.

Acknowledged as an important third world leader,

he is still playing a key role in world affairs.

- Fidel Castro is not any longer a realistic character.

He's a larger than life guy.

He's the most vicious, evil, person in the world

to a handful of Cuban Americans that are in Miami.

And who lobby the congress.

He's a monster who eats people.

And chews their heads off.

And then to other people he's a savior.

And to other people he's just a very interesting

and extremely clever

world leader.

And to somebody else he has huge historical value.

Because as you say, he's outlived nine American Presidents.

And because he's been in contact with

history in a way that almost

nobody alive has been.

He really has been there, done it.

Seen it.

And moved it.

Been a part of it.

Pushed it in some way.

- He is a redwood tree.

He's an old-growth redwood tree.

And all around him has been clear cut.

And he's still standing.

And they're lusting to go in and make that final cut.

And then we will have nobody really.

Ya know?

I mean not like that.

We'll have many other wonderful people.

And we ourselves will be whoever

and whatever we are, but he is an inspiration.