Fidel Castro (President Welles)

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (August 13, 1926 - July 21, 1964) was a Cuban revolutionary leader who served as the country's 22nd president and led the country from January 1959 until his death in July 1964.

Castro gained power in an armed revolution which overtook the regime of Fulgencio Batista in January 1959. Between April 15 and April 26, Castro and a delegation of industrial and international representatives visited the U.S. as guests of the Press Club. Castro hired one of the best public relations firms in the United States for a charm offensive visit by Castro and his recently initiated government. During his visit Castro met President Orson Welles in the White House. Later the same year Welles paid a visit to him in Havana.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in late 1962 Welles ordered a secret military action force to Havana to capture Castro and end his Communist regime. Although the Missile Crisis was solved without arming a single nuclear weapon, Welles' plans were not successful. With Soviet help Cuban forces began large scale fights against American troopers in the whole country.

As the conflict went on Welles had to send more and more military troops to Cuba, which led to his unpopularity among American public. The conflict got much worse when Castro was murdered by an unknown assassin during his visit at the Cuban army on 21 July, 1964. The Soviet and Cuban governments thought the assassination was a CIA action ordered by Welles himself.

After Castro's death a rivalry rose out between his brother, Raúl and Ernesto "Che" Guevara for the leadership of Cuba.