“U.S.–Backed Dictator” Batista, right?
Batista's coup against Cuban President Prio came on March 10, 1952. An axiom of academic and media "expertise" on Cuba is how the U.S. "backed" "dictator" Fulgencio Batista. In fact, I defy you to find me a media mention of Castro's predecessor without the obligatory prefix.
Well, here's Castro's first "Minister of Finance" Rufo Lopez-Fresquet, who like most Anti-Batistianos was tight with the U.S. State Dept. and the CIA:
"On the morning of March 10, 1952, after Batista's coup, we decided to visit the U.S. embassy to discover the reaction to Batista's seizure of power. The U.S. Charge d Affairs Albert Nuffer received me immediately. He was as surprised and as indignant as I at Batista's coup. Mr Nuffer assured me that if Pres. Prio held ground in any part of the island, however small, the U.S. would not recognize the Batista regime."
In fact, in Jan. 1959 the U.S. recognized Castro's regime more quickly than they had recognized Batista's 7 years earlier. In fact, The U.S. recognition of Castro's regime set a milestone in U.S. diplomatic history towards Latin America: Never before had the U.S. extended diplomatic recognition to a Latin American government AS QUICKLY as they bestowed this benediction on Fidel Castro’s. At the time of this U.S. benediction of his regime, Castro himself had not even entered Havana.
Here is the official U.S. Foreign Service despatch announcing that they had recognized the Batista regime on March 27, seventeen days after the coup
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/embassy/R5-1592-3-28-1952.pdf
It was done in part because during that Cold War era "Batista stated that he would watch the Communists closely and that if necessary he would take 'drastic measures' against them."
This State Department document
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/embassy/R5-1501-3-14-1952.pdf
shows that the opportunist Rufo Lopez Fresquet is a proven liar and a fraud. Immediately after the coup "It has been announced that Rufo Lopez Fresquet, previously Vice President of the Development Bank, has now taken over that organization as well as the National Bank as temporary president." The Batista collaborationist afterward became the Castro collaborationist.
Poor Martí. Co-opted and adulterated by practically everybody.
And I'm sorry, but Batista was quite the Latrine.
The good professor De La Cova fills in all the gaps, as usual.
Fidel Castro, when arrested after the Moncada attack, also sought out a photo of Jose Marti at the police station in Santiago de Cuba to stand under it, as Batista had done in Havana. Here is the image of the unshaved double-chinned future dictator
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/moncada/moncada25.gif