Castro's revolution: forty-five years ago, a young firebrand took control of Cuba. Relations with the U.S. have been troubled ever since.

• Author: Nagourney, Eric
• Position: Times Past - Fidel Castro - Biography

When the first truckloads of rebel troops rolled into Havana just two days into 1959, they were decorated with the black-and-red flag of the Cuban Revolution. After decades of political and social instability and seven years under the heavy-handed rule of General Fulgencio Batista, many Cubans greeted the rebels ecstatically. "Crowds overflowed into the streets to cheer the youthful, bearded warriors," wrote R. Hart Phillips in The New York Times. "There was sporadic fighting as the rebels sought vengeance on those who oppressed them."

One bearded "warrior" in particular was the star of the show: Fidel Castro, the 32 year-old lawyer turned revolutionary who led the insurgency. By day's end, he had named a new President, and a month later, he declared himself premier, solidifying a hold on power that has lasted 45 years.

OUSTING BATISTA

Castro had been unknown to the outside world until July 26, 1953, when he and several dozen other rebels attacked an army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Most of the rebels were killed and Castro was jailed.

The goal of Castro and his followers had been to oust Batista, who had himself overthrown the previous elected Cuban government hi a 1952 coup and rata a repressive and corrupt regime. Batista was backed by the U.S., which was concerned about American business interests, including extensive sugar plantations. Cuba was also a popular vacation spot for Americans.

After Castro's release from prison in 1955, he went to Mexico to organize his movement. There he was joined by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentina-born doctor who became one of Castro's most trusted lieutenants. In December 1956, Castro, Guevara, and 80 other rebels sailed back to Cuba and tried again to take over the government, with equally poor results. Most rebels were killed, but Castro, Guevara, and the other survivors retreated to the Sierra Maestra in eastern Cuba.

While Castro and his followers seemed to disappear, in fact they continued to build their movement from their mountain foothold. On Feb. 4, 1957, The Times ran the first of three exclusive stories: "Cuban Rebel Is Visited in Hideout," read the head line. "Castro Is Still Alive and Still Fighting in Mountains."

The reports were written by a foreign correspondent named Herbert L. Matthews, who had made his way to Castro by posing as an American sugar planter. By most accounts (including those critical of Matthews's reports as too sympathetic to Castro), the coverage was a shot of...