Coordinates	32.30°′″N72.34°′″N
country	Cuba
name	Revolutionary Armed Forces
native name	Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias
Founded	1960
armed forces text color
headquarters
commander-in-chief	Pres. Raúl Castro
minister	Corps Gen. Julio Casas Regueiro
minister title	Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces
commander
active	85,000 (2011 est.)
reserve
deployed
budget
percent gdp	3.8% (2006)
current form
disbanded
branches	ArmyAir and Air Defense ForceRevolutionary Navyparamilitary units
manpower age
available	Men (17-49): 3,134,622 Women (17-49): 3,022,063
fit	Men (17-49): 1,929,370 Women (17-49): 1,888,498
conscription	3 years active duty
domestic suppliers	20px Union of Military Industry
foreign suppliers
exports
imports
histories
ranks	}}

The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces consist of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia (Milicias de Tropas Territoriales - MTT), Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias - FAR), and Youth Labor Army (Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo - EJT).

The armed forces has long been the most powerful institution in Cuba and high-ranking generals are believed to play crucial roles in all conceivable succession scenarios. The military controls 60 percent of the economy through the management of hundreds of enterprises in key economic sectors. The military is also Raúl Castro's base. In numerous speeches, Raúl Castro has emphasized the military’s role as a people's partner.

Overview

From 1966 until the late 1980s, massive Soviet Government military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities up to number 1 in Latin America and project power abroad. The first Cuban military mission in Africa was established in Ghana in. Cuba's military forces appeared in Algeria, in 1963, when a distinctly military "medical brigade" came over from Havana to support a moribund regime. Since the 1960s, Cuba sent military forces to African and Arab countries; Syria in 1973, Ethiopia in 1978, the Cuban intervention in Angola from 1975–1989, and Nicaragua and El Salvador during the 1980s.

The Soviet Union gave both military and financial aid to the Cubans. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. In 1994, Cuba's armed forces were estimated to have 235,000 active duty personnel and now reduced to 80,000 as of.

In 1989, the government instituted a purge of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting Army Major General and Hero of The Republic of Cuba Arnaldo Ochoa, Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Patricio de la Guardia on charges of corruption and drug trafficking. This judgment is known in Cuba as "Causa 1" (Cause 1). Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed. Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized, the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General Raúl Castro (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior.

Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number 79,000 regular troops. The DIA reported in 1998 that the country's paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops, the Youth Labor Army, and the Naval Militia had suffered considerable morale and training degradation over the previous seven years but still retained the potential to "make an enemy invasion costly.". Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities.

The Cuban military has held high-level talk with the Pakistan military. The Pakistani military stressed to Cuba that it has strong defence infrastructure both in defence production and in shape of military academies to provide the necessary help and cooperation to turn the Cuban military into a modern and effective "blitzkrieg" military.

Army

In 1984, according to Jane's Military Review, there were three major geographical commands, Western, Central, and Eastern. There were a reported 130,000 all ranks, and each command was garrisoned by an Army comprising a single armoured division, a mechanised division, and a corps of three infantry divisions, though the Eastern Command had two corps totalling six divisions.

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment in the first half of 1998 said that the Army's armour and artillery units were at low readiness levels due to 'severely reduced' training, generally incapable of mounting effective operations above the battalion level, and that equipment was mostly in storage and unavailable at short notice. The same report said that Cuban special operations forces continue to train but on a smaller scale than beforehand, and that while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel were increasingly affecting operational capabilities, Cuba remained able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power.

Organisation in 1996

There are estimated to be 38,000 army personnel. As of 1996, according to Jane's Information Group, the army is organized into three Territorial Military Commands with three Armies, one army for each command.

Revolutionary Army Command:

Airborne brigade consisting of 2 battalions (at Havana and its immediate environs)

Artillery division (at Havana and its immediate environs)

SAM Brigade An anti-aircraft artillery regiment

Western Army (deployed in the capital and the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio)

1st Armored Training Division

70th Mechanised Division

78th Armored Division

2nd (Pinar del Rio) Army Corps:

24th Infantry Division

27th Infantry Division

28th Infantry Division

Central Army (Provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus)

81st Infantry Division

84th Infantry Division

86th Infantry Division

89th Infantry Division

12th Armored Regiment/1st Armored Division

242nd Infantry Regiment/24th Infantry Division

4th (Las Villas) Army Corps:

41st Infantry Division

43rd Infantry Division

48th Infantry Division

Eastern Army (Provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Granma, Holguin, Las Tunas, Camaguy and Ciego de Avila)

3rd Armored Division

6th Armored Division

9th Armored Division

31st Infantry Division

32nd Infantry Division

38th Infantry Division

84th Infantry Division

90th Infantry Division

95th Infantry Division

97th Infantry Division

Guantanamo Frontier Brigade

123rd Infantry Division/former 12th Infantry Division

281st Infantry Regiment/28th Infantry Division

6th (Holguin) Army Corps:

50th Mechanised Division

52nd Infantry Division

54th Infantry Division

56th Infantry Division

58th Infantry Division

6th (Camaguey) Army Corps:

60th Mechanised Division

63rd Infantry Division

65th Infantry Division

69th Infantry Division

Equipment

Infantry weapons AKM assault rifle AKS-74U assault rifle AMD-65 assault rifle Vz. 58 assault rifle Škorpion vz. 61 Submachine gun Cz 75 automatic pistol RPK light machine gun NSV heavy machine gun KPV heavy machine gun PKM machine gun SKS carbine Dragunov SVD sniper rifle VSS Vintorez sniper rifle RPG-7 rocket-propelled-grenade launcher SPG-9 Recoilless rifle Makarov PM semi-automatic pistol Stechkin APS automatic pistol PM-63 RAK sub-machine gun AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher

Light tanks PT-76 (60) Medium Tanks (300) Some were modernized with 122mm artillery pieces. T-34 (300)

Main battle tanks (1,550) T-54/55 (112) modernized active, others used as Self-Propelled Artillery with D-30 mounted ;1,000+ in storage) T-62 (320) T-62Ms active; T-72 (60) T-72M1/M2 (not to be confused with the soviet export versions.)

Reconnaissance armoured vehicles (100) BRDM-1 BRDM-2

Infantry fighting vehicles (400) BMP-1 - 400 BMD-1

Armoured personnel carriers (700) BTR-152 BTR-40 BTR-50 BTR-60 Various versions of this vehicle. Including one with a T-55 turret instead of the KPV.

Towed artillery (620) ZIS-3 D-30 M-46 M-30 M1938 122 mm

Self-propelled artillery (100) 2S1 Gvozdika 2S3 Akatsiya UNKNOWN NAME ( with a D-30 122mm) T-34/85 with a D-30 122mm mounted T-55 with M-46 130mm mounted

Multi rocket launchers (200) BM-14 BM-21 BM-21PD Locally built version of the BM-21 P-15 Termit

Mortars (2000) M-41/43 M-38/43

Anti-tank weapons AT-1 Snapper AT-3 Sagger mounted on the BTR-60s, , and some . 9K111 Fagot D-44 SU-100 T-12

Anti-aircraft guns (+1000) ZU-23 -400 ZPU-4 -200 ZSU-23-4 -36 ZSU-57-2 -25 S-60 -200 M-1939 -300

Ballistic missiles 9K52 Luna-M - 65 Hwasong-5 / 6 (330 – 550 km range) SAMs SA-6 Gainful-12 SA-7 Grail SA-8 Gecko - 16 SA-9 Gaskin - 60 SA-13 Gopher- 42 SA-14 Gremlin SA-16 Gimlet S-75 Dvina - 144. (Easy to find in Google Earth). S-125 Neva/Pechora - 60

Self-propelled SAM SA-2 - 25 (On T-55 chassis) S-125 Neva/Pechora (On T-55 chassis) Lots of this missiles were seen in the Cuban Military Parade of 2006.

Special Forces

Special Forces units include the Black Wasps of the army, and ''Desembarco de Granma'' a Special marine unit of the Navy. The Ministry of interior also has a special paramilitary unit.

Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR)

Unit name	Cuban Revolutionary Air Force
Dates	1960-present
Country
Branch	Air Force
Battle honours
Notable commanders
Identification symbol
Identification symbol label	Roundel
Identification symbol 2
Identification symbol 2 label	Former roundels
Identification symbol 3
Identification symbol 3 label	Fin flash
Aircraft attack	L-39, Mi-24
Aircraft fighter	MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29
Aircraft trainer	L-39
Aircraft transport	Mi-8, Mi-17, An-24 }}

The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (Spanish: ''Defensa Anti-Aérea Y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria'') commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba.

Former aircraft include: MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American P-51 Mustang, and the Hawker Sea Fury

In the 1980s, Cuba with the help of the Soviet Union was able to project power abroad, using its air force, especially in Africa. During that time Cuba sent jet fighters and transports to fight in countries such as Angola (against UNITA / South Africa) and Ethiopia (against Somalia)

In 1990, Cuba's Air Force was the best equipped in Latin America. In all, the modern Cuban Air Force imported approximately 230 fixed-wing aircraft. Although there is no exact figure available, Western analysts estimate that at least 130 (with only 25 operational) of these planes are still in service spread out among the thirteen military airbases on the island.

In 1998, according to the same DIA report mentioned above, the air force had 'fewer than 24 operational MIG fighters; pilot training barely adequate to maintain proficiency; a declining number of fighter sorties, surface to air missiles and air-defense artillery to respond to attacking air forces.

By 2007 the International Institute for Strategic Studies assessed the force as 8,000 strong with 41 combat capable aircraft and a further 188 stored. DAAFAR is known now to have integrated another Mig-29 and a few MiG-23 which makes it 57 combat aircraft in service which are listed as 6 MiG-29s, 40 MiG-23s, and 11 MiG-21s. There were also assessed to be 12 operational transport aircraft plus trainers which include 8 L-39C and helicopters which are mainly Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-17 and Mil Mi-24 Hind. Raul Castro has ordered in 2010 that all Mig-29 pilots had to have full training, they now have from 200–250 hours of flight annually together with real Dogfight training and exercises. Up to 20 Mig-23 pilots also have this kind of training but the other 16 Mig-23 pilots spend more time in Simulators than real flight. MiG-21 pilots have limited time in this exercises and spend more time in simulators and maintain their skills flying with the commercial brand of the air force Aerogaviota and Cubana de Aviacion. The only pilots who all maintain full training are the Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-24 Hind pilots.

A look at Google Earth 22*52'28.40" N 82*30'26.04" W at San Antonio de los Banos military air field, south west of Havana, will reveal what appear to be 8 MiG-21s, 19 MiG-23s, 2 MiG-29s and an Mi-8 left out to rust in the tropical sun. It looks like the jungle is overtaking some of these aircraft as well.

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Version ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Total Del'd ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Total Now |----- ! style="background: #aacccc;" colspan="6"|Combat Aircraft |----- |Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed || || fighter

---

trainer|| MiG-21MF

---

MiG-21UM || 60

---

10 || 7

---

5 |----- |Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger || || fighter

---

multirole fighter

---

trainer || MiG-23MF/MS

---

MiG-23ML

---

MiG-23UB || 21

---

21

---

5 || 19

---

21

---

2 |----- |Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum || || fighter

---

multirole fighter

---

trainer || MiG-29B

---

MiG-29UB || 14

---

2 || 5

---

1 |----- |Mil Mi-8 Hip || || transport/attack helicopter || Mi-8T

---

Mi-8TKV || 20

---

20 || 6

---

7 |----- |Mil Mi-17 Hip-H || ||transport/attack helicopter || Mi-17 || 16 || 8 |----- |Mil Mi-24 Hind || || attack || Mi-24D || 20 || 17 |----- |Antonov An-24 Coke || / || cargo || An-24 || 20 || 4 |----- |Antonov An-26 Curl|| || cargo || An-26 || 17 || 3 |----- |Yakovlev Yak-40 Codling || || VIP || Yak-40 || 8 || 3 |----- |Ilyushin Il-62|| || VIP || Il-62 || 1 || 1 |----- |Ilyushin Il-96 || || VIP || Il-96 || 3 || 3 |----- |Aero L-39 Albatros || || trainer/attack || L-39C || 30 || 8 |----- |Zlin Z-326 || || trainer || Z-326T || 60 || 20 |-----

Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR)

In 1998, according to a CIA report, the navy had no functioning submarines, around 12 surface vessels that were combat ready, a 'weak' anti-surface warfare capability, primarily SS-N-2 Styx SSM equipped fast attack boats, and an 'extremely weak' anti-submarine warfare capability.

By 2007 the Navy was assessed as being 3,000 strong (including up to 550+ Navy Infantry) by the IISS with six Osa-II and one Pauk-class fast attack craft.

Almost all of the ships of the Navy have been decommissioned and the three Koni class frigates were either expended as targets or sunk to build reefs. Cuba has constructed rolling platforms with Soviet P-15 Termit missile batteries taken from its warships and placed them near beaches where hostile amphibious assaults may occur. Most patrol boats are non-operational due to lack of fuel and spares.

The Navy also includes a small marine battalion called the ''Desembarco de Granma''. It once numbered 550 men though its present size is not known.

There are reports of new naval projects under the Raul Castro government, including the building of a class of 4 enlarged Sang-O submarines with the help of North Koreans, with reports that at least one unit having been built. There is also a single picture of a small black native submarine in Havana harbour, it is rumored to be called Delfin and to be armed with two torpedoes.

The Cuban Navy are also rebuilding one, maybe two large ex-Spanish fishing boats. One, the Rio Damuji n° 390, has been seen with guns and Stynx missiles on the deck. These vessels are larger than the Koni class, and it is rumored that they can be used in the amphibious role or as frigates.

Air and Naval Air Bases

List of active bases:

Cabañas (HQ Western Command) – San Julian Air Base (MUSJ)

* 23rd Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML)

* Primary Training (Antonov An-2)

* 1650 Combat Training (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM)

* Combat Training Squadron (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PFMA and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF)

* Rwy 01/19 2041 m (6695 ft)

* Rwy 08/26 2584 m (8479 ft)

Holguin (HQ Eastern Command) – Frank País Airport (MUHG)

* 1724 Interceptor Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN bomber)

* 3710 Interceptor Squadron and Training

* 34th Tactical Regiment

Havana – Playa Baracoa Airport (MUPB)

* 3405th Executive Squadron

* 3404 Transport Squadron

* 3688 Transport Regiment

Havana – José Martí Airport (MUHA)

* 25th Transport Regiment (Ilyushin Il-76 and Antonov An-32)

* Rwy 06/24, Size: 4001 m (13125 ft)

La Coloma Airport (MULM)

* 1660 Training Squadron (Aero L-39 AlbatrosC)

Inactive

Mariel – Mariel Airfield (MUML) – now container terminal

* former anti-submarine helicopter squadron (Ka-32 and Mil Mi-14PL)

Campo de Columbia – renamed Campo Libertad in 1961 (MULB)

* 26th Transport Regiment (Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-8)

* Training Squadron (Aero L-39 AlbatrosC and Z-326T)

* 6775 ft runway

Campo Teniente Brihuega

Playa Baracoa – Playa Baracoa Airfield (MUPB)

* 22nd Regiment

Nicaro – Nicaro Airport (MUNC)

* abandoned airfield (single 4314 ft runway)

Punta Movida

* Soviet built base

Cienfuegos – Cienfuegos Airport (Jaime González Air Station) (MUCF)

* single 2/20 runway (4954 ft)‎

* 15th Transport Regiment (Antonov An-2 and Antonov An-26)

* 16th Helicopter Regiment (Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-14, Mil Mi-17)

Güines

* 24 Tactical Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN)

Santiago de Cuba – Antonio Maceo Airport (MUCU)

* 35th Transport Regiment (Antonov An-2 and Antonov An-26)

* 36 Helicopter Regiment (Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-24)

* Rwy 09/27 4000 m (13123 ft)

* Rwy 18/36 1296 m (4252 ft)

San Antonio de los Baños – San Antonio de los Baños Airport (MUSA)

* 21st Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21B)

* 1724 Regiment

* 3 Runways

** Rwy 01/19 2400 m (7873 ft)

** Rwy 05/23 3596 m (11799 ft)

** Rwy 12/30 2482 m (8144 ft)

Santa Clara – Abel Santa María Airport (MUSC)

* 14th Tactical Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN) bomber

* Rwy 08/26 3017 m (9898 ft)

Santa Cruz

* 11 Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21B)

Sancti Spíritus – Sancti Spiritus Airport (MUSS)

* 12th Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF)

* Rwy 03/21 1801 m (5908 ft)

Camagüey – Ignacio Agramonte Airport (MUCM)

* 31st Regiment - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF fighters

* Rwy 07/25 3000 m (9842 ft)

Fleet

Future

1 to 4 improved Sang-O class, North Korean-Cuban submarine

1 to 6 Delfin class, Cuban submarine

Current

2 Rio Damuji class Frigates, 1 x 100mm gun, 2 Styx surface to surface missiles, 1 x 12.7mm machine gun, 2 x 25mm machine guns. 1 Pauk II Fast Patrol Craft, Coastal with 1 x 76 mm gun, 4 Anti-Submarine Torpedo Tube, 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher - 495 tons full load - commissioned 1990 6 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Osa II PFM missile boats; 13 Type II transferred 3 ex-Soviet Union (FSU) Sonya Mine Sweeper Coastal; 4 transferred 5 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Yevgenya Mine Sweeper Inshore; 11 transferred

1 Intelligence Collection Vessel

2 amphibious assault battalion

122 mm artillery

M-1931/3 artillery 130 mm: M-46 artillery 152 mm: M-1937 artillery 10 SSC-3 surface to surface missile systems, 12 more are movil (reported)

The border guards have: 2 Stenka patrol boats and 30/48 Zhuk patrol craft. Cuba makes Zhuk patrol crafts and some are seen with an SPG-9 mounted on front of the twin 30mm guns.

Historic

1 Soviet Foxtrot class submarine with 533 mm and 406 mm Torpedo Tube (non-operational); 3 transferred 2 Soviet Koni corvettes with 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher (non-operational); 3 transferred 4 Soviet Osa I/II missile boats with 4 SS-N-2 Styx Surface-to-Surface Missile+ 1 Soviet Pauk II Fast Patrol Craft, Coastal with 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher, 4 Anti-Submarine Torpedo Tube 1 Soviet Polnocny LSM (medium landing ship), capacity 180 tps, 6tk (non-operational)

See also

Cuban military ranks

References

Further reading

Piero Gleijeses: ''Kuba in Afrika 1975-1991''. In: Bernd Greiner /Christian Th. Müller / Dierk Walter (Hrsg.): ''Heiße Kriege im Kalten Krieg''. Hamburg, 2006, ISBN 3-936096-61-9, S. 469-510. (Review by H. Hoff, Review by I. Küpeli)

External links

Official site of the Revolutionary Armed Forces

Foro Militar General (Cuban military forum)

Cuban Air Force ''Secretos de Generales'' on Granma site

Cuban Armed Forces Review

Map showing AFBs in Cuba

* Cuba

bg:Въоръжени сили на Куба de:Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias es:Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cuba hu:Kuba hadereje ja:キューバの軍事 pl:Kubańskie Siły Powietrzne ru:Революционные вооружённые силы (Куба) tr:Küba Devrimci Silahlı Kuvvetleri

Coordinates	32.30°′″N72.34°′″N
name	Fulgencio Batista
office	President of Cuba
term start	October 10, 1940
term end	October 10, 1944
vicepresident	Gustavo Cuervo Rubio
predecessor	Federico Laredo Brú
successor	Ramón Grau
term start2	March 10, 1952
term end2	January 1, 1959
predecessor2	Carlos Prío
successor2	Anselmo Alliegro y Milá
birth date	January 16, 1901
birth place	Banes, Cuba
death date	August 06, 1973
death place	Guadalmina, Spain
nationality	Cuban
party	Democratic Socialist Coalition(1940 election)United Action Party (1948–1950s) Progressive Action Party (1950s)
spouse	1st Elisa Godinez Gomez de Batista 2nd Marta Fernandez Miranda de Batista
children	Mirta Caridad Batista GodinezElisa Aleida Batista GodinezFulgencio Rubén Batista GodinezJorge Batista FernándezRoberto Francisco Batista FernándezCarlos Batista Fernández /> Fulgencio José Batista Fernández
occupation	Military, Politician
footnotes	}}

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; 1901–1973) was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution.

Batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 "Revolt of the Sergeants" that overthrew the authoritarian rule of Gerardo Machado. Batista then appointed himself chief of the armed forces with the rank of colonel, and effectively controlled the five-member Presidency. He maintained this control through a string of puppet presidents until 1940, when he was himself elected President of Cuba on a populist platform, supported by a coalition including Cuban Communists, which had sided with Machado as well, and influental labor unions. He then instated the 1940 Constitution of Cuba, deemed highly progressive for its time, and served until 1944. After finishing his term he lived in the United States, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952. Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup that preempted the election.

Back in power, Batista now suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including the right to strike. He then went into league with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a stagnating economy which saw a widened gap between rich and poor Cubans. Batista's increasingly corrupt and repressive regime then began to systematically profit from the exploitation of Cuba's commercial interests, by negotiating lucrative relationships with the American mafia, who controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution rackets in Havana, and with large multinational American corporations that had invested considerable amounts of money into Cuba. To quell the growing discontent amongst the populace — which was subsequently displayed through frequent student riots and anti-Batista demonstrations — Batista established tighter censorship of the media, while also utilizing his anti-Communist secret police and U.S.-supplied weaponry to carry out wide-scale violence, torture and public executions; ultimately killing as many as 20,000 Cubans.

Catalyzing the resistance, Fidel Castro's July 26 Movement and other nationalist elements led an urban and rural-based guerrilla uprising against Batista's regime, which was further crippled by a U.S.-backed coup attempt by army chief of staff Ramón Barquín in 1956, followed by an economic embargo and arms embargo against the regime enacted by the US Congress in early 1958. The Cuban Revolution culminated in his eventual defeat by rebels under the command of Che Guevara at the Battle of Santa Clara on New Year's Day 1959. Batista immediately fled the island with his elected successor Andrés Rivero Agüero and an amassed personal fortune to the Dominican Republic, where strongman and previous military ally Rafael Trujillo held him in temporal custody. Batista eventually found political asylum in Portugal, where he lived until dying of a heart attack on August 6, 1973 near Marbella, Spain.

Early life

Batista was born in Banes, Cuba in 1901, to Belisario Batista Palermo and Carmela Zaldívar González, who had fought in the Cuban War of Independence. His mother named him Rubén and gave him her last name, Zaldívar. His father did not want to register him as a Batista. In the registration records of the Banes courthouse he was legally Rubén Zaldívar until 1939, when, as Fulgencio Batista, he became a presidential candidate and it was discovered that this name did not exist. It is alleged that a judge was bribed 15,000 Cuban pesos (about the same amount in U.S. dollars at the time) to fix the discrepancy.

Of mixed European, African, Chinese and Amerindian descent, Batista was considered a mulatto socially. He was educated in an American Quaker school. Coming from a humble background, he earned a living as a laborer in the cane fields, docks and railroads. He was a tailor, mechanic, charcoal vendor, fruit peddler, and an Army stenographer. In 1921, he traveled to Havana and joined the army. After promotion to Sergeant, he became the union leader of Cuba's soldiers.

The Coup of 1933

In 1933, Batista led an uprising known as the "Revolt of the Sergeants," as part of the coup that overthrew the government of Gerardo Machado. Machado was succeeded by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, who lacked a political coalition that could sustain him and was replaced a short time thereafter.

A short-lived five-member presidency, known as the Pentarchy of 1933, was established, including a representative from each anti-Machado faction; Batista was not a member but was in control of Cuba's armed forces. Within days the representative for the students and professors of the University of Havana, Ramón Grau San Martín, was made president and Batista became the Army Chief of Staff, with the rank of colonel, and effectively controlled the presidency. The majority of the commissioned officer corps were forcefully retired or, as some speculate, killed.

Grau himself remained president for just over 100 days before Batista, conspiring with the U.S. envoy Sumner Welles, forced him to resign in January 1934. Grau was replaced by Carlos Mendieta, and within five days the U.S. recognized Cuba's new government, which lasted eleven months. Batista then became the strongman behind a succession of "puppet presidents" until he was himself elected president in 1940. After Mendieta, succeeding governments were led by José Barnet (5 months) and Miguel Mariano Gómez (7 months) before Federico Laredo Brú ruled from December 1936 to October 1940.

First Presidency (1940–1944)

Batista, supported by the "Democratic Socialist" coalition which included Julio Antonio Mella's Communist Party, defeated Grau in the first presidential election under the new Cuban constitution in the 1940 election, and served a four year term as President of Cuba, the first non-white Cuban in that office. Although Batista was a capitalist and an admirer of the United States, he was endorsed by the old Communist Party of Cuba, which at the time had little significance and no chance of an electoral victory. This support was primarily due to Batista's labor laws and his support for labor unions, with which the communists had close ties. In fact, Communists attacked the anti-Batista opposition, saying Grau and others were "fascists" and "reactionaries" During this term in office, Batista carried out major social reforms and established numerous economic regulations and pro-union policies.

Cuba entered World War II on the side of the Allies on December 8, 1941, declaring war on Japan the day following the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 11, the Batista government declared war on Germany and Italy. In December 1942, after a friendly visit to Washington, Batista said Latin America would applaud a decision by the United Nations to go to war with Francisco Franco's Spain, labeling the regime as "fascist".

Post-Presidency

In 1944, Batista's handpicked candidate for his successor, Carlos Saladrigas Zayas, was defeated by Grau. In the final months of his presidency, Batista sought to handicap the incoming Grau administration. In a July 17, 1944, dispatch to the U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Ambassador Spruille Braden wrote: }}

Shortly after the inauguration of his successor Batista left Cuba for the United States. "I just felt safer there," he said. He divorced his wife, Elisa, and married Marta Fernández Batista in 1945; two of their four children were born in the United States.

For the next eight years Batista remained in the background, spending time between the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City and a home in Daytona Beach, Florida.

He continued to participate in Cuban politics and was elected to the Cuban Senate ''in absentia'' in 1948. Returning to Cuba, he decided to run for president and was given permission by President Grau, whereupon he formed the United Action Party. He later founded the Progressive Action Party, upon taking power, but never regained his former popular support, although the unions supported him until the end.

Military Coup and Second Presidency (1952–1959)

In 1952, Batista again ran for president. In a three-way race, Roberto Agramonte of the Ortodox Party led in all the polls, followed by Dr. Carlos Hevia of the Autentic Party, while Batista's United Action coalition was running a distant third.

On March 10, 1952, three months before the elections, Batista, with army backing, staged a coup and seized power. He ousted outgoing President Carlos Prío Socarrás, canceled the elections and assumed control of the government as "provisional president". Shortly after the coup, the United States government recognized his regime.

Upon his return to power, Batista did not continue the progressive social policies of his earlier term. He was consumed by a desire for recognition by the upper strata of Cuban society, which had never accepted him in their social circles and clubs. He also worked to increase his personal fortune.

Meanwhile, poverty on the island was growing. In 1953, the average Cuban family had an income of $6.00 a week, 15 to 20 percent of the labor force was chronically unemployed, and only a third of the homes had running water.

The Dallas industrialist Jack Crichton joined with several other oilmen to negotiate drilling rights in Cuba under the Batista administration. Standard Oil of Indiana signed an agreement with the Cuban-Venezuelan Oil Voting Trust Company, a unit originally established by William F. Buckley, Sr., for access to fifteen million acres. CVOVTC was during the middle 1950s one of the four or five most traded entities on the American Stock Exchange. (Batista's successor, Fidel Castro, reduced the size of claims for oil exploration to a maximum of twenty thousand acres and ended large-scale explorations by private companies.)

Relationship with organized crime

Batista established lasting relationships with organized crime, notably with American mobsters Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, and under his rule Havana became known as "the Latin Las Vegas." Batista and Lansky formed a friendship and business relationship that flourished for a decade. During a stay at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York in the late 1940s, it was mutually agreed that, in return for kickbacks, Batista would give Lansky and the Mafia control of Havana’s racetracks and casinos.

After World War II, American mobster Lucky Luciano was paroled from prison on the condition that he permanently return to Sicily. Luciano secretly moved to Cuba where he worked to resume control over American mafia operations. Luciano also ran a number of casinos in Cuba with the sanction of Batista, though the American government eventually succeeded in pressuring the Batista regime to deport Luciano.

Batista encouraged large-scale gambling in Havana, announcing in 1955 that Cuba would grant a gaming license to anyone who invested US$1 million in a hotel or $200,000 in a new nightclub – and that the government would provide matching public funds for construction, a 10-year exemption from taxes, and impose no duties on imports of equipment and furnishings for new hotels. From each casino the government was to receive $250,000 for the license and a percentage of the profits. The policy waived the background checks that were required for casino operations in the United States and opened the door for casino investors with illegally obtained sources of funding. Cuban contractors with the right connections made windfalls by importing, duty-free, more materials than were needed for new hotels and selling the surplus to others. It was rumored that besides the $250,000 to obtain a license an additional fee was sometimes required under the table.

Lansky became a prominent figure in Cuba's gambling operations, and exerted influence over Batista's casino policies. Lansky associate Chauncey Holt described Batista as "always in Lansky's pocket." Lansky also turned Cuba into an international drug trafficking port. The Mafia's Havana Conference was held on December 22, 1946 at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. This was the first full-scale meeting of American underworld leaders since the Chicago meeting in 1932.

Lansky set about cleaning up the games at the Montmartre Club, which soon became the place to be in Havana. He also wanted to open a casino in the Hotel Nacional, the most elegant hotel in Havana. Batista endorsed Lansky’s idea over the objections of American expatriates like Ernest Hemingway and the renovated casino wing opened for business in 1955 with a show by Eartha Kitt. The casino was an immediate success.

As the new hotels, nightclubs, and casinos opened Batista wasted no time collecting his share of the profits. Nightly, the "bagman" for his wife collected 10 percent of the profits at Trafficante's interests; the Sans Souci cabaret, and the casinos in the hotels Sevilla-Biltmore, Commodoro, Deauville, and Capri (partly owned by the actor George Raft). His take from the Lansky casinos – his prized Habana Riviera, the Hotel Nacional, the Montmartre Club, and others – was said to be 30 percent. Lansky was said to have personally contributed millions of dollars per year to Batista's Swiss bank accounts.

Support of U.S. business and government

In a manner that antagonized the Cuban people, the U.S. government used their influence to advance the interests of and increase the profits of the private American companies, which "dominated the island's economy." As a symbol of this relationship, ITT Corporation, an American-owned multinational telephone company, presented Batista with a gold-plated telephone, as an "expression of gratitude" for the "excessive telephone rate increase" that Batista had granted at the urging of the U.S. government.

Earl T. Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to Cuba, testified to the U.S. Senate in 1960 that "until Castro, the U.S. was so overwhelmingly influential in Cuba that the American ambassador was the second most important man, sometimes even more important than the Cuban president." In addition, nearly "all aid" from the U.S. to Batista's regime was in the "form of weapons assistance," which "merely strengthened the Batista dictatorship" and "completely failed to advance the economic welfare of the Cuban people." Such actions later "enabled Castro and the Communists to encourage the growing belief that America was indifferent to Cuban aspirations for a decent life."

According to historian and author James S. Olson, the U.S. government essentially became a "co-conspirator" in the arrangement because of Batista’s bitter anti-communism, which in the rhetoric of the Cold War, seemed to maintain business stability and a pro-US posture on the island. Thus, in the view of Olson, "the U.S. government had no difficulty in dealing with him, even if he was a hopeless despot."

Senator John F. Kennedy, in the midst of his campaign for the U.S. Presidency, described Batista's relationship with the U.S. government and criticized the Eisenhower Administration for supporting him, on October 6, 1960:

Batista, Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Revolution

Just over a year after Batista's second coup, a small group of revolutionaries attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago on July 26, 1953. The assault was easily defeated and its leaders jailed, while many fled the country. The primary leader of the attack, Fidel Castro, was a young attorney who had been running for parliament in the canceled 1952 elections. In the wake of the Moncada assault, Batista suspended constitutional guarantees and increasingly relied on police tactics in an attempt to "frighten the population through open displays of brutality."

Batista held an election in 1954, running as the candidate of a political coalition that included the Progressive Action Party, the Radical Union Party, and the Liberal Party. The opposition divided into abstentionists and electoralists. The abstentionists favored boycotting the elections regardless of the circumstances in which they were held, whereas the electoralists sought certain rights and guarantees to participate. The CIA had predicted that Batista would use any means necessary to ensure that he won the election. Batista lived up to their expectations, utilizing fraud and intimidation to secure his presidency. This led most of the other parties to boycott the elections. Former President Ramon Grau San Martin, leading the electoralist factions of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, participated through the political campaign but withdrew from the campaign days before election day, charging that his supporters had been terrorized. Thus, Batista was elected president with the support of 45.6% registered voters. Despite the boycott, Grau received the support of 6.8% of those who voted. The remaining voters abstained.

By late 1955, student riots and anti-Batista demonstrations had become frequent, and unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. These were dealt with through increasing repression. All youth were seen as suspected revolutionaries. Due to its continued opposition to Batista and the large amount of revolutionary activity taking place on its campus, the University of Havana was temporarily closed on November 30, 1956 (it did not reopen until 1959 under the first revolutionary government). On March 13, 1957, student leader Jose Antonio Echeverría was killed by police outside Radio Reloj in Havana after announcing that Batista had been killed in a student attack on the Presidential Palace; in reality, Batista survived, and the students of the FEU and DR who led the attack were killed in the response by the military and police. Ironically, Castro quickly condemned the attack, since the July 26 Movement had not participated in it.

In April 1956, Batista called popular military leader Col. Ramón Barquín back to Cuba from his post as military attaché to the United States. Believing Barquín would support his rule, Batista promoted him to General. However, Barquín's ''Conspiración de los Puros'' (Conspiracy of the Pure) was already underway and had already progressed too far. On April 6, 1956, Barquín led a coup by hundreds of career officers but was frustrated by Lieutenant Ríos Morejón, who betrayed the plan. Barquín was sentenced to solitary confinement for eight years on the Isle of Pines, while some officers were sentenced to death for treason. Many others were allowed to remain in the military without being reprimanded.

The purge of the officer corps contributed to the inability of the Cuban army to successfully combat Castro and his guerrillas. Batista's police responded to increasing popular unrest by torturing and killing young men in the cities; his army, however, was ineffective against the rebels based in the Sierra Maestra and Escambray mountains. Another possible explanation for the failure to crush the rebellion was offered by author Carlos Alberto Montaner: "Batista does not finish Fidel out of greed ... His is a government of thieves. To have this small guerrilla band in the mountains is to his advantage, so that he can order special defense expenditures that they can steal." Batista's rule became increasingly unpopular among the population, and the Soviet Union began to secretly support Castro. However, some of Batista's former generals have also criticized him in recent years, saying that Batista's excessive interference in his generals' military plans to defeat the rebels hampered Army morale and rendered all operations ineffective.

In an effort to gather information about Castro's army, people were pulled in by Batista's secret police for questioning. Many innocent people were tortured by Batista's police, while suspects, including youth, were publicly executed as a warning to others who were considering joining the insurgency. Additionally, "Hundreds of mangled bodies were left hanging from lamp posts or dumped in the streets in a grotesque variation of the Spanish colonial practice of public executions." The behavior of Batista's forces backfired and increased support for the guerrillas. In 1958, forty-five organizations signed an open letter supporting the July 26 Movement, among them national bodies representing lawyers, architects, dentists, accountants and social workers. Castro, who had originally relied on the support of the poor, was now gaining the backing of the influential middle classes.

The United States supplied Batista with planes, ships, tanks, and the latest technology, such as napalm, which were used in his battle against the insurgency. However, in March 1958, the U. S. announced it would stop selling arms to the Cuban government. Soon after, the U.S. imposed an arms embargo, further weakening the government's position, although land owners and others who benefited from the regime continued to support Batista.

Elections were scheduled for June 1958, as required by the Constitution, but were delayed until November 1958 when Castro and the revolutionaries called for a general strike and placed several bombs in civilian areas of the country. There were three main candidates in the elections, Carlos Marquez Sterling of the Party of the Free People, Former President Ramon Grau San Martin of the Cuban Revolutionary Party-Authentic, and Andres Rivero Aguero of the government coalition. All three of these candidates were threatened by Castro, and several assassination attempts were made on both Ramon Grau San Martin and Carlos Marquez Sterling. Castro threatened the candidates in the elections because if any of the non-government candidates won, they would have blocked the Revolution's triumph and his ascent to power, since it would have meant that the elections were free and fair. In the end, he did not have to worry about this. On Election Day, estimates on the turnout range from 30–50% in the areas where voting took place, which did not include parts of Las Villas and Oriente, which were controlled by Castro. The initial results showed a Marquez Sterling victory, but the military ordered the counting to stop as they changed the actual ballots for fraudulent ones, and Batista declared Rivero Aguero the winner. Once Castro came to power, he ordered all records from the elections destroyed, so that Carlos Marquez Sterling could not claim that he should rightfully have been President.

On December 11, 1958, U.S. Ambassador Earl Smith visited Batista at his hacienda, "Kuquine". There Smith informed him that the United States could no longer support his regime. Batista asked if he could go to his house in Daytona Beach. The ambassador denied his request and suggested instead that he seek asylum in Spain.

On December 31, 1958, at a New Year's Eve party, Batista informed his Cabinet and top officials of his government that he was leaving the country. After seven years, Batista knew his presidency was over and fled the island in the early morning hours. At three A.M. on January 1, 1959, Batista boarded a plane at Camp Columbia with one hundred and eighty of his supporters and flew to Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. With him went his personal fortune of more than $300 million amassed through graft and payoffs. Critics accused Batista and his supporters of taking as much as $700 million in fine art and cash with them as they fled into exile.

As news of the fall of Batista's government spread through Havana, ''The New York Times'' described the scene as one of jubilant crowds pouring into the streets and automobile horns honking. The black and red flag of the July 26 Movement waved on automobiles and buildings. The atmosphere was chaotic. On January 8, 1959, Castro and his army rolled victoriously into Havana.

Having already been denied entry to the United States, Batista sought asylum in Mexico, which also refused him entry. Portugal's dictator António Salazar allowed him to settle there on condition he completely remove himself from politics.

By the end of Batista's rule, described by U.S. President John F. Kennedy as "one of the most bloody and repressive dictatorships in the long history of Latin American repression", many claim that up to 20,000 Cubans had been killed.

Personal life and death

He was married to Elisa Godinez Gomez de Batista (1900–1993) on July 10, 1926, and they had three children: Mirta Caridad (April 1927–2010), Elisa Aleida (born 1933), and Fulgencio Rubén Batista Godinez (1933–2007). He later married Marta Fernandez Miranda de Batista (1920–2006), and they had five children: Jorge Luis (born 1942), Roberto Francisco (born 1947), Carlos Manuel (1950–1969), Fulgencio Jose (born 1953) and Marta Maria Batista Fernández. He also had a daughter, Fermina Lazara Batista Estevez, in 1935.

Batista later moved to Madeira, then Estoril, outside Lisbon, Portugal, where he lived and wrote books the rest of his life. He was also the Chairman of a Spanish life insurance company that invested in property and mortgages on the Spanish Riviera.

He died of a heart attack on August 6, 1973, at Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain, two days before a team of assassins from Castro's Cuba could carry out a plan to assassinate him.

Marta Fernandez Miranda de Batista, Batista's widow, died on October 2, 2006. Roberto Batista, her son, says that she died at her West Palm Beach home. She had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Batista was buried with her husband in San Isidro Cemetery in Madrid after a Mass in West Palm Beach.

Books written by Batista

''Estoy con el Pueblo'' (I am With the People), Havana, 1939

''Repuesta'', Manuel León Sánchez S.C.L., Mexico City, 1960

''Piedras y leyes'' (Stones and Laws), Mexico City, 1961

''Cuba Betrayed'', Vantage Press, New York, 1961

''To Rule is to Foresee'', 1962

''The Growth and Decline of the Cuban Republic'', Devin-Adair Company, New York, 1964

References

External links

Fulgencio Batista from ''The History of Cuba''

Fulgencio Batista from ''The Latin American Studies Organization''

What Castro Found by Ana Simo

January 1, 1959: "Cuban Dictator Batista Falls From Power" by ''The History Channel''

Fulgencio Batista Zaldívar Collection at the University of Miami Cuban Heritage Collection

Category:1901 births Category:1973 deaths Category:Cold War leaders Category:Cuban anti-communists Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Leaders who took power by coup Category:Presidents of Cuba Category:World War II political leaders Category:Cuban people of Spanish descent Category:Cuban people of Chinese descent Category:Cuban people of Black African descent Category:Government ministers of Cuba Category:Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

ar:فولغينسيو باتيستا ast:Fulgencio Batista bn:ফুলগেনসিও বাতিস্তা zh-min-nan:Fulgencio Batista be:Фульхенсіа Батыста be-x-old:Фульхэнсіё Батыста bg:Фулхенсио Батиста ca:Fulgencio Batista cs:Fulgencio Batista cy:Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar da:Fulgencio Batista de:Fulgencio Batista et:Fulgencio Batista el:Φουλχένσιο Μπατίστα es:Fulgencio Batista eo:Fulgencio Batista eu:Fulgencio Batista fa:فولخنثیو باتیستا ثالدیوار fr:Fulgencio Batista ga:Fulgencio Batista gl:Fulgencio Batista ko:풀헨시오 바티스타 hr:Fulgencio Batista io:Fulgencio Batista id:Fulgencio Batista it:Fulgencio Batista he:פולחנסיו בטיסטה lb:Fulgencio Batista lt:Fulgencio Batista hu:Fulgencio Batista nl:Fulgencio Batista ja:フルヘンシオ・バティスタ no:Fulgencio Batista nn:Fulgencio Batista oc:Fulgencio Batista pl:Fulgencio Batista pt:Fulgencio Batista ro:Fulgencio Batista ru:Батиста, Фульхенсио simple:Fulgencio Batista sk:Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar sr:Фулгенсио Батиста fi:Fulgencio Batista sv:Fulgencio Batista tg:Фулгенсио Батиста tr:Fulgencio Batista uk:Фульхенсіо Батиста vi:Fulgencio Batista yo:Fulgencio Batista zh:富尔亨西奥·巴蒂斯塔

Coordinates	32.30°′″N72.34°′″N
name	Tunnel War
writer	Ren XudongPan Yunshan
starring	Han GuodongLiu JiangLiu Xiujie
director	Ren Xudong
cinematography	Yang Guangyuan
released	1965
country
language	Mandarin
jianti	地道战
fanti	地道戰
pinyin	Dì dào zhàn }}

''Tunnel War'' (), also known as ''Tunnel Warfare'', is a 1965 Chinese film produced before the Cultural Revolution about a small town which defends itself from the Japanese by use of a network of tunnels during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film was directed by Ren Xudong and produced by the August First Film Studio.

It is considered to be one of the first movies to discuss the use of tunnels in war.

Reception and release

While the film was popular upon its release in 1965, its popularity would not peak until nearly a decade later, when it became of one of the "Three Old Fights" (), a collection of three war films from pre-1966 that nevertheless were given wide circulation during the Cultural Revolution—the other two films were ''Mine Warfare'' (1962) and ''Fighting North and South'' (1952).

In contrast, some 600 other films made between 1952 and 1966 were banned by the Communist authorities during the social upheaval of the 1970s.

Notes

Category:Second Sino-Japanese War films Category:1965 films Category:People's Republic of China Propaganda films Category:Maoist China Propaganda films

Coordinates	32.30°′″N72.34°′″N
Name	Cuban Link
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Felix Delgado
Alias	Cuban Links, Cuban Linx, Link
Born	December 14, 1974 Havana, Cuba
Origin	The Bronx, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, Reggaeton
Label	CLK Entertainment
Associated acts	Bang Bang Boogie, Big Pun, 50 Cent, Triple Seis, Remy Ma
Years active	1997–present
Website	}}

Felix Delgado (born December 14, 1974), better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.

Biography

Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City. When Delgado was growing up, hip hop music was rising in popularity in his neighborhood. Delgado took on stage name Cuban Link and associated with fellow rappers Big Pun and Triple Seis in a trio under names Caribbean Connection and Full-A-Clips.

Cuban Link and Big Pun both made guest performances on The Beatnuts' single "Off the Books" in 1997. They joined the local rap group Terror Squad, and Link performed on the track "Tell Me What You Want" from the group's self-titled debut album. Link previously did guest appearances on Squad members' solo albums: Big Pun's ''Capital Punishment'' and Fat Joe's ''Don Cartagena''. Cuban Link was signed to Atlantic Records and began recording his debut album ''24K''. Big Pun died on February 7, 2000, so Link wrote single "Flowers for the Dead" in Pun's honor. However, without Pun's mediation, contract disputes between Fat Joe and Cuban Link and leaks prevented the release of ''24K''.

In April 2001, during an album release party for Angie Martinez at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, Cuban Link got in an altercation and had his face slashed when he was trying to break up a fight between Fat Joe and rapper Sunkiss. By that time, Cuban Link left Terror Squad. He released a mixtape, ''Broken Chains'', in 2003 put together by DrenStarr & Roy P. Perez© . He joined independent label Men of Business in 2005 and released album ''Chain Reaction''. It included singles "Sugar Daddy" (featuring Mýa) and "Scandalous" (featuring Don Omar) and combined some reggaeton sound as well.

Discography

Albums

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Mixtapes

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Album/Mixtape Track Listing

Terror Squad: The Album (1999) #In for Life" ft. Big Pun, Triple Seis, Prospect, Cuban Link & Fat Joe #Pass the Glock ft. Big Pun, Fat Joe, Prospect, Triple Seis, Cuban Link & Armageddon #'99 Live ft. Prospect #What'cha Gon' Do? ft. Big Pun #Triple Threat ft. Big Pun, Armageddon & Cuban Link #War ft. Triple Seis #Bring It On ft. Fat Joe #As the World Turns ft. Cuban Link, Tony Sunshine, Triple Seis & Prospect #Gimme Dat ft. Armageddon #Feelin' This ft. Armageddon, Prospect & Big Pun #All Around the World ft. Cuban Link #Tell Me What U Want ft. Fat Joe, Armageddon, Cuban Link & Tony Sunshine #Rudeboy Salute ft. Fat Joe, Big Pun & Buju Banton #My Kinda Girls ft. Tony Sunshine & Cuban Link #Payin' Dues ft. Armageddon & Keith Nut #www.thatsmyshit.com ft. Fat Joe, Triple Seis & The Bleach Brothers

24K (2000) #The Arrival #90 Miles and Swimming #GQ's Skit #For My Real Ni**az #Project Party ft. Sunkiss #Freak Out ft. Angie Martinez #Still Tellin Lies ft. Tony Sunshine #Spik-N-Spanish Skit #Play How You Want ft. Pink #24K #Sing-Sing Skit #Toe To Toe ft. Big Pun #Men Of Business ft. Noreaga, Kool G. Rap, M.O.P. & Lord Tariq #Murda Murda ft. Ja Rule #Cuban Sandwich ft. Remy Ma & Lo-Key #Cheat On Her ft. Big Pun & Carl Thomas #Lil Link Skit #Hey Mama ft. Tony Sunshine #Dirty Old Men Skit #Taste Of Pastry ft. Prospect, Triple Seis, & Tony Sunshine #Cartel ft. Billy Klubs, Raze Korleone, Buck 50, Reif Hustle & Don Dinero #Why Me ft. Fat Joe #Dedication #Flowers for the Dead ft. D'Mingo (Bonus Track) #Skit #It's Ok ft. Figgarraw (Fat Joe & DJ Kay Slay Diss)

Cuban Link: Broken Chains (2002) #Intro #Scarface II #Toe 2 Toe #Welcome to CLK #Cuban Skit #Real Ni**az #Men of Buziness #Murda Murda #Glamour Life #Cuban Skit #Built Like That #Cuban Skit #90 Miles #Cuban Skit #Why Me #As Tha World Turns #Cuban Skit #Hidden Hand #Slam Pit #Triple Threat #Cuban Skit #All Around Tha World #Cuban Skit #Pimpen #Exclusive Interview #Triz #Tell Me Whut U Want #Tellin Lies #Sugar Daddy #Dirty Old Man Skit #Whut It Is #Someone To Hold #Hey Momma #Player (R.I.P.) #Its So hard (R.I.P. Pun) #100 (R.I.P. Pun) #How We Roll (R.I.P. Pun) #Flowers For the Dead

Broken Chains 2: Chainsaw Massacre (2004) #Bronx Tale Intro #Guess Who's Back #Cuban's Coming For You Skit #Hit 'Em Up #When The Shit Goes Down ft. Herinbone & Figgaraw #Sangre ft Don Chezina & TNT #Murderers ft L.G. #L.G. Freestyle #Toe To Toe Skit #Hotel #New York To California ft. Lucky #Save Me Some Skit #Nasty Girl #Holla Skit #Teach You How To Hump ft Figgaraw #I Wanna Know ft Figgaraw & Marvin #Chi Chi Skit #Monkey Dance ft. Monkey #Lock Down Skit #Run This City ft. Figgaraw #Destiny Skit #See What I See ft 2Pac #Don't Move Skit #Y'all Don't Want It ft Figgaraw #Shakedown ft. Swizz Beats # Phat Note Freestyle #Hold That ft G.S. #Freestyle - Verse #Outro/Letter To Pun

Chain Reaction (2005) #My Story (Intro) #Chain Reaction #No Mercy #Comin Home With Me ft. Avant #Riderz ft. Cap-1 #Scandalous ft. Don Omar #Sugar Daddy ft. Mya #Tonight's The Night #Private Party ft. Big Humma #Dirty Karaoke Skit #I Need To Know #No Falla ft. Zion #Shakedown ft. Swizz Beatz #Talk About It ft. Jadakiss #Life Goes On ft. Syleena Johnson #Prison Wisdom (Interlude) #Letter To Pun

Man On Fire Mixtape (2005) #Intro #Album Sampler #Clickity Clack #Everyone Knows What's Coming Skit #Man On Fire ft J. Benjamin #Bleed #Confessions Skit #Time #Chips Are Down #Informer Skit #Smell A Rat #Hot Wings Skit #Hoe Town ft Monkey & Casual #Whatta We Have Here ft Peedi Crack #Keep It In The Family ft Baby Pun #Living In The City ft Figgaraw & Triple Seis #Apple Is Rotten ft. Fed Note #Heaven Or Hell Skit #The World (Scarface) #From MIA To NY ft D-Cell #Where's My Money Skit #Go Hoin' For Me #New York #Swimmin' With Sharks ft Rell #Let Me Love You Remix ft Mario #Final Words Outro

Bang Bang Boogie: The Machine Vol. 1 (2007)

#Intro #Bang Bang Boogie Anthem #Rollin, Rydin #Murdergram #Drop Skit1 #Ghost Town #Drop Skit2 #Your Not Hood - Suicide #50 Cent Co-Sign #Ya Over #Dick Rydas #Death Poetry #Limelight #Makin Moves #Reservoir Dogs #On The Block #Money Music #Nuthin On Me #Keep It On The Low #Attempt Murder #Bang Out #Bronx Quran #Outro

Bang Bang Boogie: The X-Files "No Mercy For The Weak" (2008)

#Scarface Intro #Money #Philly 2 Ny #Base's Loaded #Got Ya Back #X-Files #Skit #Are You My Lady #All Mighty Dollar #Exclusive Freestyle #We Got The Brown #Want My Spot Back #Poppin In The Hood #Where U At? #My Lil Nigga #Cubans money #Ride That 5 #We Some Riders #Outro

Singles

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Guest appearances

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Unreleased Tracks (Alphabetical Order)

Ain't No Sunshine ft. Tony Sunshine

All I Need ft. Rican

Asi Yo Soy ft. Zaturno

Big Shots ft. One Solo & Figgaraw

Block Start ft. Delio & Misterio

BMF Remix ft. Pablo Escobar & Armaredda

Brothers ft. Nino Bless, Krutch, & Big Lou

BX (Remix) ft. Darq

Chips Are Down

Cock Back & Let Em Spray ft. Rob Lebron

Dance

Dancin & Groovin

DJ Camilo freestyle ft. Triple Seis

Down With You

Excuse Me Father ft. One Solo

Flashlight (Look Around) ft. Illfamed

Freestyle Over Snoop Beat

Freestyle Over Xzibit's "Speed Of Light" ft. Big Pun & Armageddon

Go On ft. Squabble

Hijo De La Calle ft. Chikitin

Heavy Chains ft. Zay & Nat Turner

Hennessey ft. Jammer & Monkey

He's Snitchin ft. Jay Benjamins

Hit Em Up II

I Miss You

Im Still Here ft. Zay

Im That Gangsta ft. One Solo

Ima Start A Riot ft. Hard Hitta

In Thugs We Trust ft. K-Rouger & Layzie Bone

It's Not A Game ft. Calico

Lace Up ft. Figgaraw

Let It Go ft. Jay Benjamins & Gennessee

Let The Dollars Circulate ft. Poe Rilla

Lets Make Love ft. Deep Side

Libertad ft. Mely Mel & Poe Rilla

Long Way To Go ft. Mass Hurrikanes

Moment Of Truth ft. Remy Ma & Triple Seis

My Lady ft. James Ramsey

Nadie Como Yo ft. Arianna Puello

No Hay ft. Algenis & Nengo Flow

No Mercy ft. Game

No Respect ft. MC Ceja

No Te Culpare ft. Richie Rivera

Nos Tienen Miedo ft. Kastro, Temperamento, Noztra, Reychesta Secret Weapon, Aro Sanchez, Eddy Ness, Luciano, Poe Rilla, & Nox

Nos Tienen Miedo II ft. Por Rilla, Mely Mel, El Pope, Zaturno, Reychesta, Pato Pooh, K. Sikario, & Temperamento

Orgullo Latino ft. Hustla

Quiet Storm

Pimpen Ain't Easy ft. Willie Stubz

Scarface II

Shawty What Your Name Is ft. Trey Songz

Somos Calle ft. Leroy

Somos Latinos ft. Nubia

Ready To roll ft. Phame aka Latin Stax

Real Recognize Real

Shake Dat Thang ft. D.C.

Take A Look At Me Now

Take It In Blood ft. Zay

Thank You Mi Amor ft. Crystal Sierra

The Block Is Hot ft. Poe Rilla, S1, Zay, & Mysonne

The Bronx Is Back ft. Remy Ma, Mysonne, Lord Tariq, Superb, Craze-A 730, Night, MV, & Big Will

This Is How We Roll ft. O-Mega

U Know Ima Ryda ft. D-Cell

Up In Smoke ft. Triple Seis

Up In The Club ft. Elan Luz Rivera

Walking In The Rain ft. J-Loc

We Out To Get Paid ft. Bimbo

Welcome To CLK

What You Gonna Do ft. Don Omar & Nengo Flow

Where You At ft. Don Dinero

Y'all Don't Want It ft. Figgaraw

You Ain't No Gangsta ft. Big Lou

You Know Whats Up (Remix) ft. Donnell Jones, Xzibit, Pharaoh Monch, 50 Cent, & Fat Joe

You're Not Hood (DJ Khalid & Rick Ross Diss) ft. Big Will

You've Been Robbed (Fat Joe Diss)

References

External links

Cuban Link official Hi5

Cuban Link interview with pictures

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainers of Cuban descent Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States Category:Cuban rappers Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:People from Havana Category:People from the Bronx Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Reggaeton musicians Category:Terror Squad members

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