Rafael Reyes Prieto (December 5, 1849 – February 18, 1921) was a Colombian explorer, merchant, lawyer, politician, diplomat, and military leader. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Columbian National Army and President of Columbia.
Rafael and his brothers formed a company called Hermanos Reyes exporting a South American plant called quina that is used to produce quinine. They explored the Amazon in search of the plant encouraging colonist towns. The company folded in the 1880’s after three of his bothers died.
Reyes joined the Columbian Army during the 1885 Columbian Civil War. He distinguished himself through valor and achieved the rank of General. He was assigned, during the middle of the Civil War, the task of repatriating Panama. He set out by sea, arrived in Panama and quickly established a new government.
Upon his return to Columbia he was promptly sent to Europe as a special envoy seeking loans and investment for the Columbian government. He was unsuccessful in this endeavor but was appointed Minister of Development. In 1890 he was elected to the Senate.
Reyes returned to military service during the Civil War of 1895. After he was appointed Government Minister. He then served as ambassador to France. In 1903 Panama succeeded from Columbia and Reyes was again called upon to reassert Columbian rule. When he arrived he found the US Navy guarding the new nation. He decided to try a diplomatic approach but discovered the US had signed the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama. This allowed for the construction of the Panama canal in exchange for US defense. He advocated to abandon Columbian interests in Panama.
In 1904 Reyes was elected President of Panama. He had been in France during the 1000 Day War of 1899. He moved to reconcile with the liberal party, allowing them some ministerial posts. An assassination attempt on he and his family was the result. He signed a peace agreement with Panama and the United States securing funds for the loss of Panama as a Columbian territory.
In 1909 to avoid another civil war he resigned his presidential post and spent the rest of his days in self exile.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2011.
Born in Birán, the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year’s imprisonment, Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group. Wikipedia
He only served a year after a failed coup, like other historical figures we know (see Case Study 41).
Batista had aligned himself with the United States, severing all ties to the Soviet Union. He was heavy handed in the face of bombings and assassinations by student revolutionary group MR-26-7. Castro returned to Cuba in 1956 with Che Guevara and 81 militants to join in guerilla warfare against the Batista regime.
As the Civil War raged on the US decided it could no longer support Batista and encouraged General Eulogio Cantillo to oust him. Cantillo met with Castro and agreed to a ceasefire, promising to try Batista as a war criminal. Batista was warned and fled the country. Castro was incensed and marched on Havana, settled into the Hilton and appointed a new government. He declared they were chosen by election but were all members of MR-26-7 which he had become leader of.
Castro then began nationalizing industry and plantations. As it became apparent he was a socialist his relationship with the US became tenuous. Artists and writers began returning to Cuba having fled the Batista regime. Castro banned a movie called PM (P.M affair) and began a campaign of censorship that would last through his rule. Castro conducted mass executions stating “revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction.”
Counting Victims of the Castro Regime: Nearly 11,000 to Date AEI.org
He aligned himself with the Soviet Union. This led to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Did you know; The Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1991 Wikipedia
Castro had a falling out with Che Guevara who became a supporter of Chinese Communism and rebuked the Soviet Union. Through the remaining years of his rule he involved himself in world politics initially as a Soviet proxy. He later developed his own style of rule. He resigned in 2006 and died in 2016.