XXIII.K.6

Middle-class law student, Fidel Castro, leading opponent of Batista; on July 26, 1953, Castro led failed insurrection in eastern Cuba; many Cubans killed; Fidel and his brother Raúl arrested; upon their release, in 1955, go into exile in Mexico; meet Ernesto “Che” Guevara; organize revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement Castros, Guevara, and seventy-nine other revolutionaries sailed to Cuba from Mexico in 1956; many killed; three leaders and some revolutionaries survive; lived in the Sierra Maestra mountains and attracted more members; waged a guerilla battle against Batista’s forces; on January 1, 1959, the rebels entered Cuban capital, Havana