"[January 1959, Habana, Cuba]" "The Opression.." "...has ended." "The joy is overwhelming..." "But still... ..there is alot to do." "There's a discrepancy, On a small island..." "A big revolution..." "No, I would have been dead." "Let me see.." "If I go closer..." "I have to look my best." "You ought to follow the orders given out by your superior officers." "Me too..." "The Palace Habana, Cuba" "I know it's late, but you have to sign these." "What?" "I can sign a few of them." "Let's do a couple." "I think that would be my speeches." "No, but when I write I try to establish a harmony between the words." "I try to combine the words, to ensure a cadence, a rhythm." "I could produce alot more simply by talking in public." "Only the lord knows how many thousands of stories I've told." "A minimum amount of time for administrative duties." "As much time as possible with my fellow comrades, talking about different issues." "Yes, in finding solutions to problems." "You have to gather information and familiarize with problems in order to find solutions." "I don't waste my time shaving." "This one time I estimated that I was saving  months, if you calculate 15 minutes of shaving per day." "When I was a young man I dedicated alot of time to sports." "I found a great pleasure trying out many different sports." "Today I do sports occasionally for health reasons." "This office is my track and field." "I count all the steps i take." "Right away." "First, I check my watch... then my pulse...." "And then I start walking." "What am I to do?" "I am a prisoner." "This is my cell." "I react calmly to good news even though I rejoice inside." "And for the bad news:" "I'm used to bad news." "Yes, some news are hard to deal with." "For example when I got the news that my mother had died." "I felt a very profound pain." "Or when I got the news of Che Guevara's death..." "Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967) Leader of the Cuban revolution." "Killed in Bolivia." "There are moments of very deep pain." "It's not only the news, but also some events that I've witnessed." "That's the first time we claimed someone to be deported." "Such illegal actions have been happening for a long time now." "We wanted to win a battle that didn't concern justice but rather politics." "I felt a special emotion when we received the father's request to claim for his boy to be sent back." "I realized from a legal point of view we would never win the case in court." "But first, I needed to know who the father was." "To undertake such a battle, I need to feel I am right." "They tried eight times." "The couple had eight miscarriages." "It was their 8:th try." "He Cried." "I felt sorry for him." "I felt right away that it was fair and that we had to do what was right." "And I was not wrong." "Actually it has never crossed my mind." "Never crossed your mind?" "Never." "No!" "Maybe it has something to do with my confidence." "I have never been asked that question." "Perhaps, it's due to the fact that already as a small child" "I had to solve important problems." "I was sent to Santiago, Cuba, when I was 5 or 6 years old." "That was my first hard experience." "I got used to solving my own problems." "No, she was my ally." "..when I demanded to be sent to a boarding school she was my ally." "My father had plenty of land and my parents used it as farmland." "But I demanded to be sent back to school." "That was my third battle." "During the second year on law school" "I got involved in an expedition to overthrow the regime in Trujillo, Santo Domingo." "Yes." "No, but they tried to torture me." "He knew that I didn't have either money or resources." "They underestimated us." "No, I don't believe in destiny." "I don't believe in that." "If I shared that feeling it would seem I had reached the end as a leader." "We have never given up our fight." "Not for one second." "And the day I die, whatever the reason" "I wouldn't think it was destiny that pushed me to that end." "Today I believe in a free Cuba in the future of our ideals." "And maybe that will be the great test of time." "Yes." "I admire Hemingway." "Maybe it was his philosophy?" "I would fight until I got killed." "And if the situation was such that my gun stopped working or my ammunition ran out" "My decision would be:" "Death!" "Without a doubt." "I have never been a believer simply because of the methods they used in school to persuade me about god, they were dogmatic methods." "Yes, I'm totally confident it is." "José Marti 1853-1895 Cuban national hero." "Neither of the two." "I always try to be rational." "I have a vision what relative glory can be like." "José Marti expressed it in a phrase:" ""All the glory of the world can be confined in a grain of corn"." "I have never thought about glory." "I have never been thinking about how I want to be remembered." "History is a relative thing." "The human species can be wiped out." "The sun could stop shining." "So what is then being a celebrity, or being famous worth?" "One day, nothing will exist anymore." "If it's not attained relatively soon.." "..then the human species will be obliterated." "We can't continue polluting the environment continue to exploit our natural resources and undermine the living conditions of man." "You don't even have to resort to mathematics." "Simple arethmics would indicate the present problems must be solved, or mankind won't survive." "Sometime during this new century common sense will win the war over greed and ignorance and that man will survive." "But in a very short period of time in 40 or 50 years, there will be almost 10 billion people." "It will not be worthwile to live on the planet we have left." "I think that society is somewhat helpless against drugs." "We have been able to protect ourselves from the widespread use of drugs." "We have reduced the drug abuse to a minimum." "Cuba is a country with one of the lowest percentage of drug users." "I think that natural drugs will be replaced by synthetic ones which are cheaper to produce." "A change, rather than a revolution, is possible  since the current order in my view is unsustainable." "May 1959, Nationalization of American companies in Cuba" "Number 24.." "United Fruit Company." "I have been critical, but it would work better here than in India." "I have mentioned it as an example of the tendency towards a homogeneous culture and the destruction of a cultural identity." "A culture derived from the nation with power and media control." "Variedades Obispo Cuban National Store, Habana" "1960" " USA introduces an embargo that still today is enforced." "This story is well known." "[1975" " FN Building] [New York City, USA]" "that the colony could be freed and the different groups could be organized." "The Cabinda province is filled with oil." "That's one of the reasons the imperialists want the power in Angola." "They organized the FNLA with a little help from CIA." "Some imperialists ask themselves.." "...why the Cubans are helping Angola." "[1975 Fidel Castro sends] [30 000 men to Angola]" "[As an answer to] [The Apartheid regime's invasion of Angola]" "They are used to countries co-operating just to get oil copper, diamonds or other natural resources." "No, our interests are not of any materialistic nature." "It's simply logicial that the imperialists don't understand that." "Their norms are based on chauvinism, nationalism och egotism." "We carry out our international duty when helping the people of Angola." "[The South African army] [Retreating from Angola 1988]" "That one is nice." "We have about 120 paintings." "We did not go to the museum." "Look at this." "The work he made." "Porto Carrero." "He painted the town." "This is the swamp..and the main land." "Hardly nothing." "I haven't watched a film for 10 years." "I have been busy all the time." "I haven't had any holiday." "Ever since the collapse of the social structure our patience has been tested numerous times the double blockade for instance." "I haven't had any time off." "I think so, but on video." "Yes, I saw "Titanic"." "On video as well." "That one you really have to watch on the big screen." "It was an interesting film." "Almost like a theatrical play." "Almost all of them, but I can't remember anymore." "I can't remember their names." "Sophia..." "The Italian." "Sophia Loren." "Yes, Sophia Loren." "I remember." "She was one them." "I'm also a big fan of Brigitte Bardot." "Charlie Chaplin." "I can watch his films over and over again." "The films of Cantinfla I can also see over and over again." "And I have seen some of Gérard Depardieu's films." "When he played the chef of Ludvig XIV, where he had to gain weight." "But he gained too much weight, and he remained fat." "He is extremely funny." "I have met him a couple of times." "You feel satisfied when you see the support you're getting." "But it seems to me, that in the last couple of years after the kidnapping of Elian Gonzalez we've had mass rallies" "Far greater than those during the inital part of the revolution." "Now people will think I'm a liar." "But I've told the truth." "The question about the feeble and the strong man hasn't been raised." "I don't read everything that's written about me in the states," "Maybe I'm answering this question subjectively." "Normally I'm very self-critical." "Maybe not concerning things I've done, or all my mistakes but when it comes to things I've could have done better." "Sometimes we're even ashamed of the things we've done." "But we have managed to do ten times more than other countries in Latin America." "[Eva "Evita" Peron" " Presidents Wife] [Argentina, 1945-1952]" "We found a country where 30 % of the population were illiterate and where 60 % had hugh problems reading and writing." "And I don't think I'm exaggerating if I say that 10% of the population were educated." "At the time of the victory of the revolution there were between 30 000 and 40 000 persons with an university degree." "Today there's 700 000." "It's one of the biggest victories of this revolution that even the prostitutes have university degrees." "Do you know how many prostitues there were before the revolution?" "100 000." "Now, there is way less." "One becomes aware of things we could have done better, when you discover the possibillites." "The camera man tells me it's better you're on this side." "I don't know." "I don't smoke any longer." "Maybe it's candy?" "I usually carry a gun with me, but I've removed it." "Luckily I don't carry any secret papers with me." "Maybe more in the past." "Back then I wasn't tied to the office as much." "[Latin American School of Medicine] [Habana, Cuba]" "There has always been doubts, when you use a scope it's very hard to get back to the target on the 2:nd shot." "It recoils, and you have to find the target very quickly." "I have never believed the theory that it was one man." "If you aim well, all you could acheive is one good shot." "The possibilites that it was a conspiracy are very high." "And the strange thing that the assumed killer was killed..." "It's all difficult to believe." "Yes, visit the school." "Walk around." "Can I leave my bag here?" "Yes, it's safe." "If you don't have secret papers." "Where are you from?" "Nicaragua." "Venezuela." "Guatemala." "It's free of charge for them." "Dominican-American, Thanks for letting me study here." "She is Dominican-American." "And during the years prior to the revolution a great number of women died in illegal abortions." "And others suffer from the consequences." "Today it's a mother's choice." "It's not common, because women of today are better educated." "They want to work, study and be a part of society." "I think we have spoiled their class for today so we're going to leave now." "He was a man with good intentions whose country needed improvements, not destruction." "He destroyed it." "[Conference Center, Habana, Cuba]" "[Fidel Castro Jr." " Nuclear Physicist] [Fidel Castro III" " Grandson, Student]" "[Juan Almeida] [Revolutionary leader]" "Did they say:" ""Castro doesn't know what he's doing"?" "Nobody ever complained about Castro." "Some complained about the living conditions and wondered what was supposed to follow." "We were inspired by independant Cubans who were brave warriors." "Máximo Gómez, Marti, Maceo, who organized an invasion... 30 years of machetes and horses." "They inspired us throughout." "The tactics we used was a product of mere observation and meditation and inspiration." "I met him the first time in march of 1959." "He was vice president." "We spoke to each other." "I explained to him the Cuban problems and my idea for the future." "He immediately wrote a draft." "In which he said that I was a communist." "Just talking about a land reform back then could get you listed as a communist." "I would say that from the very beginning" "I got the impression that he was just a hypocrite and just a petty politican." "Conceited." "He recommended an expedition to crush the Cuban revolution." "When we were deprived of the sugar quota the United States were left without market of sugar or oil." "It was a economo-political moment." "We had a sentiment of gratitude towards the Soviet Union but it was not yet a political commitment, or a military one." "The fact of the matter is that the expedition was organized in Guatemala, against Cuba prior to the invasion "Bay of pigs"." "So, then we were buying weapons from the Soviet Union." "Kennedy inherited the invasion plans from the Eisenhower administration." "Plans that were already in process of being executed." "Just after two months the invasion plans were set to work." "Kennedy was an inexperienced president." "He trusted the institutions too much." "[Stevenson, US Ambassadeur] [FN 1961]" "[April 1:st 1961]" "John F. Kennedy inherits a war." "against Castro's communist regime." "It culminates in the "Bay of pigs", where CIA-trained exile Cubans try to overthrow Castro." "The 3-day invasion is a hugh failure." "1200 attackers are taken prisoners." "Exile Cubans blame Kennedy for refusing air support." "The reason for having missils here is that the Soviet Union had information that  there was a plan to invade Cuba." "Even under the invasion he made very strong statements." "He talked about strategic missiles and insinuated that Cuba needed support." "And there was a moral issue to consider as well." "We did not like the idea of Soviet missiles here." "We had taken all necessary security actions rather than to have a Soviet military base situated here." "From a military point of view, the Russians didn't do a good job" "They allowed American planes to map the whole area and to locate the missiles." "They put our country in great danger." "We thought we were going to be obliterated." "That we were the first ones to be obliterated." "Socialism or death." "It might have been interpreted that way." "I didn't say: "Strike first" I said: "If this country is attacked.."" ""If this country with 40 000 Soviet soldiers are attacked.."" "I was sure that, after the bay of pigs that an American attack would just be a matter of time." "We did not have a Russian interpretor." "We only had a Russian ambassadeur who didn't speak very good Spanish." "I wrote the letter myself." "I doubt that he received a clear statement." "I can't imagine how the letter was translated at all." "Then, Chrusjtjov sent a letter where he defended himself towards the accusations." "He said that he had obtained guarantees from the United States that" "Cuba would not be invaded." "An oral agreement of course." "And he said that we had suggested to strike first." "[Oktober 1962] The Russian head of state Chrusjtjov places nuclear missiles on Cuba and builds a Soviet military base on the western hemisphere." "President Kennedy defends himself with an embargo and stops all transports of weapons from Soviet." "Kennedy was emotionally involved." "He believed what Chrusjtjov said." "It became a game of words." "Chrusjtjov used a naive and superficial statement" "[A. Gromyko] [Soviet Foreign Minister of affairs]" "based on his intentions with certain weapons." "He said that they were not intended for offensive use." "Therefor they were not offensive weapons." "No, we were simply afraid that they wouldn't be destroyed... ..and that we would suffer from the radioactive leakage." "After 13 days, the Russians agreed to remove the missiles if USA didn't invade Cuba." "That the Guantánamo base should be returned the removal of the blockade the end of terror attacks..." "Five issues altogether." "Yes, that is what they did, and that's what I wrote about." "They put our interests aside." "A great tension was created all around the world." "Nobody wanted a nuclear war over an American military base in Cuba, or an economic blockade against Cuba." "Nobody would have started a nuclear war over that." "We were inexperienced." "We could not pretend to have more experience than we had." "We didn't know anything about the balance of power." "At the time of the invasion, the revolution was just 2 years old." "By the time of the missile crisis it was three and a half years old." "It seems to me, we did what we had to do." "And we did it pretty well." "But i don't think we would have known just how erratic our allies could be." "They did not understand the 3:rd world or our operations there." "They just thought about tank brigades artillery och motorized infantry." "Troups in general." "Irregular warfare cannot be fought with that kind of troups." "They're only good for parades." "We have dedicated ourselves to irregular warfare and triumphed over traditional warfare." "It would at least have been an expected behaviour from the USA." "It was not the only American intervention." "Santo Domingo and some other places in Central America were intervened." "CIA existed back then of course." "Yes, everybody knew this." "Except the Americans." "Yes, all the Americans hear, is that it's a "communist regime" that's a "danger to the national security" And that's a sacred phrase." "Whenever that phrase is used, the effect is merely a reflex." ""US national security..."" "That's a sacred phrase." "No, there were Cubans that studied the experiences of the Vietnamese." "I don't think more than 20." "I'm not totally sure about this, but it was a small group of people." "There has later been rumors that we had security advisors there and that these advisors participated in torturing prisoners of war." "This is an absolute lie." "If this was true you could be sure that we would've taken those people to court." "Believe us or not." "I assure you that in 43 years of revolution" "..we have never used torture." "That principal we adopted since the war." "It was Batista's methods, and we would never use them." "The Vietnamese didn't want any foreigners in their army." "They never asked the Chinese or the Russians for help." "Yes." "Very nationalistic." "The Vietnamese were not criminals." "They didn't execute their prisoners." "You should know better than I." "You know that there were an invasion." "1500 soldiers. 1200 were taken prisoners." "The battle lasted for 68 hours." "Hundreds were injured, and more than a hundred died." "We were attacked by planes disguised as Cuban planes." "That was a source of irritation and a tremendous anger for the people." "I want you to tell me if any of 1200 prisoners were tortured." "I came there myself." "Ask anyone, ask Almeida." "Go to the streets and ask people if they've ever heard of anybody being tortured." "It doesn't fit our way of life, and it doesn't go together with our morals." "[Huber Matos, Major] [Sentenced to 25 years for treason]" "The merits of war were minimal." "The trial took place here." "I went to court with all the papers, all the evidence and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison." "He performed a treacherous act." "A dangerous act." "[Museum of modern art] [Habana, Cuba]" "If we tell them where we are going there will be alot of people." "We can tell mr Reagan... ..that we aren't scared of his threats." "What is a dictator?" "Does anybody really know?" "Is it bad to be a dictator?" "'Cause I have seen American governments" "Being friends with the biggest dictators that ever lived." "Karl Marx talks about the dictatorship within the proletarian movements" "Not of personal dictatorship." "I have always tried to solve the basic problems through persuation and moral authority." "You will not find a single picture from the last 43 years where the police is oppressing the people." "What do they mean?" "They deny me as a dictator?" "I don't see the similarity, but I do think that Evita Perón struggled for people's rights." "She fought for her ideals and actually got a bigger support than her husband, Perón." "I'm not offended by the fact that you compare her to me." "I haven't borrowed ideas." "I have always done what I thought what was right." "I confess to myself being a dictator." "My own personal dictator." "I'm a slave to my people, that's exactly what I am." "It was his imagination." "Look at him." "What we did today, we can do in any neighborhood." "In any street of Habana, we can do the same thing." "Walk by ourselves." "In every state there's a bureaucracy." "I don't like...." "We are talking about different things." "I don't give orders, I convince people." "I talk to much sometimes, but that's simply because I like convincing people." "I speak in a simple manor." "Almost like a conversation." "I have trouble sitting still." "The pope said recently that the theory of evolution is not reconsilable with the doctrine of creation." "The pope does not speak about hell he talks about the fear of god." "I don't believe in everything that man has created." "It depends." "If religion is used to create values or to comfort people then, that's not an opiate." "But if it's used to support bad things.." "...then it might be an opiate." "Religion comforts many people" "I feel very pleased with my life.." "...and the things I've accomplished." "It gives me pleasure when new ideas creates succesful solutions." "I'm constantly pleased with the revolutionary work." "I wouldn't consider to trade my life with someone else." "Yes, I think that the values that people have are important." "You should do something worthwile in life, no just by being a role model." "Yes, everything is based around giving our people possibillities to develop their full potentials" "Both in the field of health and education." "We try to cultivate certain values." "One of the most admirable things about Fidel is that he's a historic man, a role model who constantly refers to his own personal experiences." "But he doesn't live in the past." "He tells us what the future brings." "People will live forever." "We can live for 120 år." "Turtles can be 300 years old." "Could we modify the genes and live longer?" "It could be better." "Researchers should be working on that." "It could be the source of youth." "If a man could live for 500 years we would end up being bored." "So he doesn't want to live forever?" "No." "My mind has adjusted to the thought that I can't live forever" "There's a time limit." "A deadline." "Also to think?" "Viagra helps thinking?" "The doctors say that it helps with the blood circulation." "I could be a CIA agent." "Correct." "Headlines will be:" ""Oliver Stone travels to habana to give Viagra to Castro!"" "If they believe in America that you could kill the enemy with a heart attack." "You'll be decorated The decoration you didn't get in Vietnam." "That's the courage you need now to do what you do." "It all depends if it will be within 20 years within 10 years or 6 months." "Since I always has been in danger being killed in one of those attempts since the initial revolution, I've always thought: "Who could have the authority to continue the revolution" It's not going to be easy." "I have more confidence in the ideas and the political culture of our people than in the men themselves." "Who is he talking about?" "About me." "It has been a habit in my mind that I don't feel it's my right to talk about any public relation I had with a lady." "That's the first rule in my life." "[Celia Sanchez died in cancer 1980]" "1959:" "Fidel Castro stars in Edward R. Murrows "Person to Person"" "As a politician and a revolutionaire I refuse to mix family with politics." "The whole idea behind a "first lady" to me seems ridiculous." "As for my children, I haven't had much time for them." "If you're going to measure my parental quality judging by the time I spent" "Perhaps I haven't a very good father." "I haven't had much time." "But I'm fully sensitive to my children and their needs, and I'm very sorry I don't have more time to share with them." "When I'm with them, I try to make the most of that time." "That's a wrong question... ..since it's based on the assumption that we don't have an electorial system and that we don't have elections in Cuba." "Possibly, our elections can often be more democratic than in other countries." "I think you ought to study the Cuban election system and our methods." "All the citizens are participating in shape of delegates from all regions." "The parties don't choose their candidates, the people do." "The citizens chooses and nominates their choice of candidates." "You can't assume we don't have elections here in Cuba." "At the beginning of the revolution there was in our country a male-chauvinistic spirit... and prejudice against the gay community." "That is something that has faded away during the years" "Today people practically are not prejudice anymore." "It was hard because we lived in a chauvinistic society..." "The black population was the poorest." "They are the ones that benefited the most from the revolution." "Thanks to Fidel, "I now have what I deserve" as he said it." "It's all thanks to him." "Trust me." "The most revolutionary here are the blacks." "Yes, we have black political leaders, but we aren't pleased yet.." "We haven't reached the maximum possibillities for equality between races." "They have entered a phase where the cease-fire has been lifted and all the negotiations have been terminated." "It could lead to a very bloody war." "So he sees another Vietnam?" "I see a civil war coming." "I can't compare it to Vietnam because historic events never repeat themselves exactly the same way." "It's going to be a complicated war,because many different forces are involved." "[The South African apartheid regime] [supposedly had nuclear weapons]" "[When Nelson Mandela] [became president 1994 they were missing]" "No." "I know a little bit about that." "My deepest conviction is that he doesn't know where those nuclear weapons are." "I asked him about it." "What had happened with the nuclear weapons and what he had been told about the weapons." "He said he was told that they were destroyed dismantled." "That is a question many of us bare in mind." "It's impossible to establish a world order based on force." "The solution to the world's problems is not a military solution." "I hope the American people will play a defensive role when it comes to defending the idea of a better world with a more human system." "From a strategic point of view, I think he was correct." "But I never heard Che only referring to the United States." "USA is it's people." "To stop the corruption, and to put an end to the abuse and the opression." "That was what Che prioritized." "It was about the struggle against colonialism." "That's what Che meant." "If history is written like that" "I wouldn't believe in history again." "Here is a letter from our comrade Ernesto Guevara." ""Fidel"" "I feel that I have lived up to the duty that tied me to the Cuban revolution" "Now I leave you, the comrades and your people, which also is my people." "The truth is that he asked one thing when he joined us in Mexico:" "When the Cuban revolution had ended he wanted to continue the fight and he didn't want, for reasons of state that we should stop him" "He had his mind set up." "He wanted to continue fighting." "The Russians became critical." "That they used the capitalistic categories to build socialism." "Never." "It would have been like getting rid of my own brother, Raul." "I sent him to Africa and I will tell you why." "Che was very impatient, He wanted to go to South America." "I didn't think the situation was right at the time and our mission in Africa wasn't completed." "He was very anxious to fight." "Guerilla warriors have to be young." "Bolivia was cojoint effort." "I realized that it would take time." "When a guerilla war starts, when you initiate it the terrain and the people is unknown." "I wanted him to arrive safely." "But then there were different ideas about how things should be and the head of Bolivia's communist party got jealous of Che." "Therefor there were antagonism." ""Other countries compete for my modest contributions"" "I leave no possessions for my family, which I'm proud of." "I don't ask for anything, because I know they'll be taken care of by the state everything they need to make a living, and get a good education." "You always philosophize." "I wish we could observe life as two different parts." "The first part is a rehearsal and the other part is real life." "It has happened to you, me, to all everybody else." "It's enough being born once." "Of course, everybody make mistakes." "Life is a process where you learn values and ideas." "We are neither born with ideas, and not born with values." "We learn along the way." "We are taught along the way." "Or perhaps we learn from our own experiences." "If I was born again, I think I would be more or less the same person." "Under the same circumstances of course." "Our Nation" " Or Death We Shall Prevail" "Let's not fool ourselves in believing that the future will be easy." "Maybe it will be even harder." "I have to take him to the airport." "it's the only guarantee, let's go." "Don't waste any time, Oliver." "We don't have any flowers or presents, but we'll post you some." "Leave him, and we'll feed him." "Good, I can do voluntary work." "Ejder-Z"