16 Aug Op-Ed: Was Castro Always a Communist?
By,
Andrés Alburquerque, Senior Fellow, MSI²
The tragedy is not only that communism took root in Cuba, but that the so-called “imperialists” financed it.
In a nutshell, Fidel Castro was a man with a dark, manipulative personality and an insatiable thirst for power. He would pledge allegiance to any ideology that could extend his grip on authority—not out of conviction, but out of convenience.
Contrary to the sanitized narrative that portrays the more than fifty years of “free” Cuba as an obedient satellite of the United States, the island was, from the very start, a hotbed of venomous anti-Americanism disguised as “anti-imperialism.” This sentiment was nourished by the false belief that the U.S. Army had frustrated Cuba’s independence from Spain. In this light, Castro’s virulent hatred of America was not an accident—it was inevitable.
Many insist that one can be anti-American without being a communist. I contend this is a myth. In practice, anti-Americanism draws one—sooner or later—into the orbit of Fabian socialism and ultimately communism. Whatever ideological path Castro claimed to have taken, he was groomed, encouraged, and shielded from the earliest days of his political career by both official and clandestine members of the PSP (Partido Socialista Popular)—the Cuban Communist Party.
The PSP: Moscow’s Long Hand in Cuba
The PSP was not a ragtag band of dreamers; it was the Cuban arm of Soviet foreign policy long before Castro gained notoriety.
• 1930s – Soviet Entry: Founded in 1925 and quickly absorbed into Moscow’s Comintern, the PSP was run with strict Stalinist discipline by leaders like Blas Roca and Carlos Baliño, skillfully coached by a minute man from Poland named Fabio Grobart.
• Union Control: By 1935, PSP cadres had infiltrated Cuba’s labor unions, especially in sugar and dockworker sectors, using strikes as tools of Soviet strategy.
• Political Legitimacy: In 1940, the PSP gained legal status by joining Batista’s electoral coalition—ironically working with the man Castro would later overthrow.
• Wartime Alignment: After Germany invaded the USSR in 1941, PSP propaganda fell fully in line with Moscow’s wartime needs.
• Postwar Underground: From 1945 to 1952, the PSP went partially underground but retained control over unions, student groups, and media outlets.
• Approaching Castro: By 1956, PSP intelligence identified Castro as the most viable vehicle for establishing a Soviet-aligned state in Cuba. By 1958, they were fully backing him, preparing for a post-Batista transition.
Castro’s Communist Grooming Before 1959
Far from being a nationalist who “turned communist” under pressure, Castro’s ties to Marxist networks began in his youth:
• 1947 – Cayo Confites Affair: Joined an armed expedition against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, organized with Caribbean communist groups.
• 1948 – Bogotá Riots: Present during the Bogotazo uprising, associating with Colombian communists.
• 1949–1952 – Student Activism: Built ties with PSP operatives at the University of Havana, participating in anti-U.S. agitation aligned with communist rhetoric.
• 1953 – Moncada Attack: While not overtly Marxist in manifesto, the attack included PSP sympathizers and followed destabilization tactics.
• 1955 – PSP Alliance: Upon release from prison, forged stronger connections with leaders like Blas Roca and Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, securing funding and propaganda channels.
• 1956 – Mexican Exile: Trained alongside communists in Mexico, bringing Che Guevara—a committed Marxist—into his inner circle before returning to Cuba.
• 1958 – Coordinated Propaganda: PSP threw full support behind Castro’s guerrillas, aligning their press and networks with Soviet expectations.
The Myth of the “Cornered Nationalist”
The claim that Castro was merely a nationalist “pushed into communism” by greedy American corporations serves two purposes:
1. To deflect from the truth—that Castro’s revolution was the culmination of decades of Soviet preparation in Cuba.
2. To cultivate guilt among Western academics and policymakers, undermining America’s ability to confront communist expansion.
The refusal—even today—of many scholars to recognize the Cuban Revolution as a Soviet coup underscores how deeply Fabian tactics have infiltrated Western thought. The contamination persists: even now, the specter of electing a communist mayor in New York follows the same script that ushered Cuba into dictatorship—capitalism is selfish, must be dismantled, and replaced with a “better” system.
The Orwellian Irony
The tragedy is not only that communism took root in Cuba, but that the so-called “imperialists” financed it. Just as in Orwell’s Animal Farm, the capitalists handed their enemies the rope with which to hang them—and in Castro’s saga, the knot was tied long before 1959.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²).