Cuban Counterrevolutionaries and the Mafia: Instruments of War and Espionage
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Spanish
Minor
Organizational Communication
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Ben Post
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Immediately following the shift in power in Cuba that was brought about by the Cuban revolution, those in opposition of the new regime were eager to remove the new dictator, Fidel Castro, from power by whatever means necessary. These sectors that were in opposition of Castro primarily included external forces such as the United States government, however little attention is given to the internal forces such as the Cuban counterrevolutionary population and certain factions of the mafia that already had a well-established presence in the Cuban criminal underworld. While there has been much study dedicated to the multiple CIA assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, this study will relate the perspectives of the Cuban dissidents and the organized crime syndicates that were present in Cuba during Castro’s rule and analyze the effects that the change in power had on these two groups. Through these analysis, I found several relevant political and economical factors that could have contributed to a mutual interest in the fall of the new government, including economic reform that affected many Cuban land owning farmer population and the destruction of many mafia-owned casinos and hotels in Cuba. The study concludes that these changes provoked a feeling of rebellion in the Cuban counterrevolutionary population that led them to collaborate with the CIA and mafia leadership with the hopes of eliminating the socialist dictator that led the new government.
Spring Scholars Week 2019 Event
GLT/Modern Languages Senior Colloquium
Cuban Counterrevolutionaries and the Mafia: Instruments of War and Espionage
Immediately following the shift in power in Cuba that was brought about by the Cuban revolution, those in opposition of the new regime were eager to remove the new dictator, Fidel Castro, from power by whatever means necessary. These sectors that were in opposition of Castro primarily included external forces such as the United States government, however little attention is given to the internal forces such as the Cuban counterrevolutionary population and certain factions of the mafia that already had a well-established presence in the Cuban criminal underworld. While there has been much study dedicated to the multiple CIA assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, this study will relate the perspectives of the Cuban dissidents and the organized crime syndicates that were present in Cuba during Castro’s rule and analyze the effects that the change in power had on these two groups. Through these analysis, I found several relevant political and economical factors that could have contributed to a mutual interest in the fall of the new government, including economic reform that affected many Cuban land owning farmer population and the destruction of many mafia-owned casinos and hotels in Cuba. The study concludes that these changes provoked a feeling of rebellion in the Cuban counterrevolutionary population that led them to collaborate with the CIA and mafia leadership with the hopes of eliminating the socialist dictator that led the new government.