Unvanquished: Cuba's Resistance to Fidel Castro

Revolutions are not always the noble struggles that many idealistic people embellish them as. They are often sordid, bloody affairs in which one tyrant is replace by an even worse tyrant. The demagogues and megalomaniacs who lead such revolutions always claim to be acting on behalf of the poor, the working class, and the common people. It's these very same people who wind up victimized by the revolution that was supposed to liberate them. Enrique Encinosa shows us how Castro's Cuba was such a revolution by presenting us with first hand accounts of the people who suffered from it. Many of these people were tough, independent rural campesinos who had their farms taken by Castro and were forced to work as laborers on collective farms. They defied Castro and felt the awful wrath of his brutality. Encinosa turns alot of left-wing myths about Castro's glorious revolution on their head. In the beginning, the Cuban Revolution had little to do with socialism or communism. The different factions looked to Castro as their leader, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Castro sold out to the Soviets and betrayed many of his fellow revolutionaries who wanted a democratic revolution. Castro admitted that he lied to the people but that it was "for their own good". The CIA did not initiate the resistance against Castro. It was started by the very same people who helped Castro overthrow Batista who felt they had been betrayed by Castro. Many of these people turned to the U.S. for help because Castro was already receiving Soviet and East bloc military support to secure his power. Castro controlled the Cuban media and duped the world into believing he was a "David" who was taking on Goliath (the U.S.). The truth is, Castro was a puppet of the Soviet empire which enabled him to be Cuba's dictator. This was never a peoples' revolution. Another myth is Cuba's economic crisis being caused by the U.S. embargo which Castro used as an excuse for his own economic failures. Encinosa claims the embargo was more symbolic than real. The best human resources in Cuba were drained by fear and repression which gave Cubans little incentive to work. In addition, the government had to intervene in all labor disputes. Workers were not allowed to dispute with management or organize unions on their own behalf. Pretty convenient considering that the government owns the factories! The top people in the government became the new aristocracy in Cuba. The Marxist aristocrats were more oppressive and decadent than the rulers they had replaced. An exiled general in Castro's Cuban air force described how Castro and high ranking communist party members lived like kings while the Cuban people lived in misery. The lesson to be learned here (my own thoughts,not the author's) is that if you ever hear a demagogue spout off about how he's going to "liberate" you, grab your guns and head for the hlls. That's the guy you're going to need to be liberated from.

Academia claims that the basis for intellectual advancement is the un-biased pursuit of the truth. However, when it comes to events that challenge leftist and liberal views, there is a vacum of "openess and understanding" to opposing realities. This is the case with the study of Cuban socialism and the Cuban exiled community which opposes it. Academias' cover up and blatant manipulation of the exile point of view is a classic example of brainwashing in a massive scale. Anyone wishing to break away from Academia's stranglehold on the minds of the young, should read this book. You will begin to see the truth about what has happened in Cuba, and how it has been covered up in the US by the liberals and the left.

This book will likely be dismissed by the Castrophiles on the academic left who paint the Cuban exile community as a collection of ignorant fascists. Those who approach the text with moral sobriety and decency, however, will be moved by Mr. Encinosa's tribute to the Cuban martyrs who were either murdered, or suffered in Castro's gulags, while having been ignored by the world press. The romantic delusion that Cuba represents a good faith attempt to create a socialist society while defending itself against evil capitalists has been refuted over and over again by the brutality and mendacity of the system. Like Che Guevara's false archetype of the saintly revolutionary, the revolution itself was a pathetic lie and Cuba eventually became the playground for Castro's egocentric fantasies. I should know. During the revolution my father fought against Batista in the Escambray front and my maternal grandparents ran one of the largest safe houses on the island, which offered refuge to many who later became ranking members of the regime. Fortunately, my family recognized the nature of the beast early on and we fled paradise in 1965. Among the many stories that Mr. Encinosa recounts, one that Americans should become familiar with is the imprisonment of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, an Afro-Cuban physician who is currently wasting away in a Cuban prison. While the left is busy denouncing the detention of Islamic radicals at Guantanamo, Dr. Biscet, a Christian pro-life activist and advocate of Dr. Martin Luther King's teachings of nonviolent resistence, is serving a 25 year sentence. He previously served a three year prison sentence for holding a Cuban flag upside down during a press conference. After his conviction on April 7, 2003, Dr. Biscet was placed in solitary confinement in a tiny cell where he was denied sunlight for the first year of his imprisonment. He has been forced to live on handouts from other prisoners because the authorities refused to feed him, he lost several teeth and exists on the verge of starvation. Dr. Biscet's plight is a living synopsis of Castro's experiment in Carribean Stalinism and the motivation for the resistance movements described in the book.

A concise, but comprehensive look at anti-Castro resistance by Cubans inside and outside the island from 1959 to the present. Encinosa tells an important story that is rarely known outside of the Cuban exile community, as such it is an invaluable study for serious Cuba watchers. Of special interest, from a military history perspective, was the chapter on the mid-60's anti-Castro guerilla campaign centered in the Escambray mountains of central Cuba. This story is virtually unknown to the outside world, yet captures the courage and defiance to Communist rule, while detailing the uncompromising and brutal tactics Castro used in putting it down. I only wish that a more detailed examination of the Escambray campaign could someday be published. The book flows easily through the various decades, using numerous first-hand accounts of the bravery of those who resisted and the savagery of those who repressed them. Readers will also realize that many of those who took up arms against Castro, had previously supported him. Encinosa also details little known facts about Cuban domestic opposition to their overseas wars. Lastly, a discussion on resistance in the last decade brings to light the viciousness of the Castro regime, best captured in the comments of an individual who tried to set up an 'independent library'.This book is a great eye-opener that reveals the regime for what it is - repressive and unpopular. Very necessary in light of the constant, and effective propaganda that comes from the island as it tries to influence the more gullible and economic minded sectors of the US. A relevant read given today's developing events.

Using primary and secondary sources Enrique Encinosa offers an account of Cuban history from the democratic forces who lived it.It takes us from the 1950s to the present day in a concise yet detailed manner that lays out the evolving Cuban scene over the past half century. It is an enjoyable read that grabs you from the first page and keeps you enthralled until the very end. Nevertheless, it leaves you asking the nagging question: what next for the Cuban people?