Something tells me the despot dictator's number of attempts is highly exaggerated to paint himself as unassailable. The reality is he probably survived less than 5. But that doesn't have the same ring as "638".

@@konradwroblewski2115 CASTRO himself said, "only GOD knows how many times the CIA/USA/Mafia/Exiles have tried to assassinate him." Now let's see, the MAFIA/Cosa Nostra tried working with the CIA to kill Castro and so did the "Gusano" Cuban Exiles who were trained by the CIA to assassinate Castro. Then there is just the CIA with their own attempts. So from 1960 or '62 to about 2000, that's sure A LOT of attempts possibly WAAAAAYYYYY more than just 5. AND that is just the USA, who knows how many times other US Allies may have tried. Either way it cannot be denied that they TRIED countless times, but TRYING isn't DOING. So too bad, he remained defiant and like it or not, a hero to many in the oppressed nations of the world who suffered US or European Imperialism.

@@BXGUY73 Who cares? The most important thing about a leader is what he did for his people. Castro snuffed out dissent with an iron fist, and ruined his country to do it. It's unsurprising that in a country like the United States, where personal liberty actually means something, one can find more angles from which to attack their leaders. People who see incompetent tyrannical monsters like Castro as heroes have been misled.

@@konradwroblewski2115 he wanted to just end his assassination attempts soo people cant think of an amazing idea of posioning his milk and making him over dose on drugs and become an alcoholic and then the revelution will revelute him

@@BXGUY73 Wouldn’t call him a hero

Yeah I was there I was going to talk to Mr Kennedy then he shot me saying I was zombie when I wasnt but there were zombies so I understand

Your teacher is correct. In fact, the sanctions were only lifted very recently

The U.S. did after he started stealing private property owned by U.S. companies and citizens.

@@David-li4uw The private property was owned by the fucking mafia lmao

@@David-li4uw A nation can own property in another nation now? interesting

@@ammarally3055 yep. Incidentally, that's what lead to the creation of Las Vegas

He fled from Cuba to Cuba?

@@joecurran2811 He fled from Cuba to New York.

Thanks for that info

Anti: Right. Dorticós, "cabeza de bote" or "espumadera." He didn't do anything. He didn't cut, didn't stir, didn't stick into anything. Worthless.

@@carlosramos5256 Its a British Imperialist propaganda video.

@Dark Phantom it is a LGBT community

Vinit Gaikwad ok. Castro hated gays and put thousands in prison with life sentences or had them executed. The joke is that the Castro district in San Francisco is the gay district.

It that a Simpsons reference or Robot Chicken reference? I think it's the Simpsons... i think I remember laughing. I don't think I got the joke as a kid. Simpsons, it's a Simpsons reference...

@@tiffa808 Mr. Burns: "Well start our own country. Look, that big island has freedom written all over it!" Smithers: "That's Cuba sir."

@@tiffa808 it's from the Simpsons

I was laughing it up so much at that part that I had to pause the video and just try to think about that. Like, "wait, what? He shot himself in the stomach because..... why?" I mean I get that it was to send a message but what kind of message does shooting oneself in the stomach send to others? Certainly not a beneficial one; it sounds like he's got a few screws loose. "The time to act is now!" *shoots self* I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time believing anyone would so easily support a guy or his political affiliation when he's so willing to cause himself physical harm...

Facts, thank you

it's funny how everyone wants the US to do police work yet no one comes to the aid of black in america....

@@GHustle4 have you not seen the GLOBAL George Floyd protest?I think that's why you're here

It doesnt justify being a commie.

They supported the apartheid

They also fought off a party of FASCIST/terrorist to gain LIBERTY...🙏🇺🇲🙌✊🏻✊🏽✊

boomer*

BABA BROWN! The liberty to die from malnutrition without any actual freedom to think, vote or own a business.

@@SKa-tt9nm that's exactly why they kicked amerikkka TF out,sent the descendants of COLONIZERS on a boat back to the U.S....like Haiti

BABA BROWN! Someone’s kind of an idiot, yeah? Must be tough.

You would know commie

@@kkloikok yeah i know because that's my steam profile pic :)

@@kkloikok So being educated = Being a commie You're setting a bad standard there buddy

@@kkloikok North Korea = Best Korea

@@kimilsung2608 in soviet russia. History learn YOU.

It's not a very long video lol, there's massive books written on this stuff. They're just touching on some key topics.

Yeah...every episode they do should be a 12 hour long dissertation.

Regardless of what is left out, there are millions of Cubans and Cuban exiles who would testify to the evil of the Castro regime.

@@clarkgrizwald8619 Yep. I asked someone else to please explain that if things were left out (in other words: Castro is a fine, upstanding human being) then how exactly did the Mariel Boat Lift come to be? I never got an answer.

Yep

Sean Culligan Under Spain but it was not a Cuban economy

Cuba was one of the richest lands on earth, Cuba had even more money than Spain itself

Just another Bird Umm history

@@carlitoxjojojo89 it also had severe socioeconomic inequality and a huge poverty problem

Charliex Cuba has extremely low literacy rates as well before Castro

EXACTLY, same Ernesto D. you explained my own view of this channel perfectly. It's mostly their explanations of serial killers that I find to be the most accurate but their videos about leaders of different countries seem so extremely biased it's hard not to notice even when you agree with the video for the most part...

@@SpcGiraffe that’s literally all this channel is very little of it is actual objective facts and this is something that Simon has been criticized endlessly for

@@Saber23 I guess it's kinda interesting when it's just reminding you of what you already know but then it leaves us with this bad taste in our uh brains.. about Simon? Is it? I honestly didn't even know his name.

@@SpcGiraffe wow you must really be new here yeah the guys name is Simon and while his biography videos are often entertaining they’re sometimes extremely biased and more often then not misinformed and misleading

@@Saber23 Well I watch all sorts of videos but I got interested in his cause of his Serial Killer videos lol. I'm not a monster tho I swear >.>

ZuluComander maybe he confused it with the romanian communist revolution

Probably got it mixed up with the fall of the Eastern bloc in 1989.

ZuluComander the Soviet soldiers left the ex-soviet countries by 91-92

Berlin wall fell in November 1989

89 was technically the beginning of the end for the soviet union.

That's so cool. Imagine even meeting someone who knew someone like Castro, let alone knowing and being friends with them.

@@tomharding127 Cuba is about the size of Taiwan, so it's not hard for everyone to meet each other.

Julian: That is what I have heard as well. Not weird. Astute.

@@tomharding127 I suppose you would say the same about those that knew Hitler, like Himmler, Goering, Hess, Hoess, Kaltenbrunner, und so weiter.

@@jakel8627 Hey, Joke. We are NOT that small.

poop emoji 💩

Isnt castro ancestor were slave owner?

🤣🤣🤣

Love*

Castro was the left and che Guevara was on the right

Come on lady, I don’t love and respect what you do like trolling videos looking for little errors to correct. Nope you’re wrong.

I’m sure they knew that but Che was as big a part of the Cuban Revolution as Castro was

@@LorFire Fidel Castro and Che are two scoundrels who spoke VERY beautiful words and phrases for the people; BUT... Both said one thing and did another; because communism is NOT viable for the people. With their laws they abused, stole, raped, handcuffed the Cuban people; while they, EVERYONE lived in luxury, ate what they forbade the people to eat and had what they so prohibited. If you are from the left and you have been inspired by those scoundrels, you should know that you are defending the WORST system that exists for the people; NOT like that, for those who hold communist power.

This guy is biased

Mark Jarrett I agree, but your stance on Fidel somewhat and definatley on Guvara is too harsh

I suppose it was to keep the focus on Castro rather than delve into the history of Cuba itself. Yes of course the Batista regime was corrupt and had links to the mafia but that is simply not the subject we're discussing. You could do a whole documentary series of the history of each country in the world...

I understand where you are coming from. However an event/person rising to power or why any situation, or event occurs does not occur in isolation. If it is portrayed as so you risk going down a slippery slope towards generalisations, stereotypes and in outlandish situations towards reinforcing prejudice and persecution.

Mark Jarrett a video of about 20 mins is going to have to make a few generalisations and lack a bit detail. Unfortunately the longer the video the less views it will get. I think Castro and Guevara were initially principled and idealistic men. Once they arrived in a position of power to attack those who had wronged or oppressed them their message got lost. Guevara especially presided over many well documented show trials and executions. However Cuba was never going to be allowed to succeed by the United States, in who's sphere of influence Cuba was most certainly before the revolution. An example was made of Cuba to keep the rest of Latin America in line.

Agree 100%. Philosophically I believe that filmmakers like yourself have a lot of power and a responsibility as you can inform as well as influence peoples beliefs (which I think you take very seriously) in a positive or negative light. You or one of the team acknowledges this in many vlogs. Here is to freedom of thought and expression and keeping it civil. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Look forward to many more episodes.

I just watched Cuba Libre on Netflix and am wondering if Fidel Castro achieved the things he initially staged a revolution for? It seems wether you are a communist or a capitalist no one is immune to greed and power! I feel if you want eternal power always be giving to the people!

@@goransvraka3171 it's a history as old as time unfortunately

@@alex0424619 It's lies being told that rivals those told by Adolf Hitler. Starting with the charge of being a Dictator who ruled with an iron fist. 499. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom)1 Washington, April 6, 1960. SUBJECT The Decline and Fall of Castro Salient considerations respecting the life of the present Government of Cuba are: 1. The majority of Cubans support Castro (the lowest estimate I have seen is 50 percent). 2. There is no effective political opposition. 3. Fidel Castro and other members of the Cuban Government espouse or condone communist influence. 4. Communist influence is pervading the Government and the body politic at an amazingly fast rate. 5. Militant opposition to Castro from without Cuba would only serve his and the communist cause. 6. The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship. If the above are accepted or cannot be successfully countered, it follows that every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba. If such a policy is adopted, it should be the result of a positive decision which would call forth a line of action which, while as adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government. The principal item in our economic quiver would be flexible authority in the sugar legislation. This needs to be sought urgently. All other avenues should likewise be explored. But first, a decision is [Page 886]necessary as to the line of our conduct

@@alex0424619 But, because of Fidel Castro, who is in history, the people of Cuba have been abused, robbed, raped, handcuffed and repressed for 63 years. For Cubans, wherever Fidel is mentioned, it is essential to shout what a liar and abuser he was.

because he is lying? yes

It’s biased

Thats why november 25th is my favorite day in november

Good timing, the bugger had a black heart.

And on Pinochet's birthday to add to the irony.

So did Jesus die on a Friday as a criminal. Rest in eternal peace Fidel Castro

Couldn't be more accurate

@diza k so true man

Dude, the difference between those two is that Castro wanted to use those missiles as soon as possible, making even the soviets worried.

@@RyoKasai25 Castro wanted to use them if a us invasion would happen

@@bighead8417 yeah he was willing to have his whole country and people obliterate, if he ran the risk of losing it. He was an evil piece of garbage

No blyat

Do Slobodan Milosevic

GULAG FOR YOU

haven't you watched the video?

But get his fucking name straight...Simon should research a little the pronunciation of a name before making a video...almost every video that is not about someone from an English speaking country has at least a person's name horribly mispronounced (and it's most annoying when it's really simple names of well known people or places)

Way more like Justin Trudeau, especially the thumb nail

I thought Kit Harrington.

I think he looks an awful lot like Marlon Brando.

Omg I've been saying this for years

Well till 1991 after the fall of the ussr the economy fell castro did nothing to get other trade partherns and could have been allies with china.

mannikin: What good did KASTRO do to Cuba, besides DYING ?

manikin: What do you think you know about Cuba ?

You should look up the definition of Dictator.

Mannikiini52, You do not know what you say!!! Fidel Castro YES! He was a dictator. And from 1959 itself, he began to take over Cuba, to take EVERYTHING from EVERYONE. Fidel, together with Che, worked in the first two years of the damned Revolution on laws on land, money, banks, factories and industries. Later, Fidel filled the people with unjust and absurd laws to completely handcuff them. He imposed ruthless repercussions against anyone who dared to express a contrary opinion. Laws that have made the people have NO freedoms, progress, or their own decision...it is a slave people, trampled, abused and raped by the communist government. Many times, in his long speeches (from 4 to 6 hours) he said things, which later came out drafted as laws. Fidel sowed hunger (bread, milk, eggs, meat, vegetables, beans, salt, rice, etc, etc. It created needs (drugs, water, current, sheets, clothes, shoes, dishes, soaps, transportation, roofs, floors, cement, etc, etc, etc). It created general misery (doctors, gardeners, architects, engineers, taxi drivers, teachers, cooks...etc, etc). He sowed fierce hatred against: the United States, the Batista government and against anyone who did not love him; He called them worms, lumpens, bandits. When in reality he was the bandit and criminal, thief, slaver, manipulator, ambitious and liar.

Your teacher was a liar

My dad was in the cuban army.

@@gubadagoober how was life under Castro?

@@randomk7198 mediocre

@@gubadagoober I always thought it was a hellhole?

You Muppet ☺

He was evil

stfu

Buddy I'm from Florida. When that bastard died every Cuban across the state was through the roof. I mean they were in the streets in Little Havana in Miami for days. My friends and I were seriously debating if we should drive 6 1/2 hours to go party with them.

So?

@Kuddlesworth NA Castro had monster/deplorable qualities but I agree this should have been mentioned. He shut down schools for 13 months to increase the literacy rate because during Batista's reign only the rich could read and write and the rich were like 10 percent of the country. By the time the 13 months was over, everyone could read.

He also helped and funded the African National Congress party, fought the boers during the Border wars. There a Castro statues all through South Africa.

He just did 1 have you seen it???

This video starts with lies told by some British Imperialist whitewashing Washington role in the missile crisis. The Democratic Imperialist Kennedy was the one threatening Nuclear war. Cuba has never possessed nuclear weapons or had them on their territory unlike the UK, Canada and The US. .

my grandparents grew up under him and he was evil, he drove my grandad to becoming a revolutionary and he ended up meeting castro and guevarra because of it lol

@@conceitedfication That comment was 4 years ago idiot

US creates his own Frakenstines! Same as Russia and all the other Stone head CONGS!

Meme Lives Matter well if a US president dies north korea and iran would party too.

Harbinger But there are no Americans in North Korea, Miami was filled with Cubans

Gary Sturmabteilung Or maybe piss off the USSR? You know those guys with all those nukes who Cuba was allied with? Ahhh yeah ...... you forgot about those dudes eh mate. You did mention the iron curtain so they must have been inside that head of your at some point.

If it wasn't 'public and transparent' than chances are you wouldn't know if it was tried. Perhaps they did do the things you mentioned but nobody knows? You are just another 'person' that looks back on something that happened a long time ago, see's the results, and then complains about how things were done. It's easy to complain about methodology when the results are present.

One more thing there slick ... Perhaps the way the Mujahideen was supported by the US was in some way shaped by the failures with Cuba? Ya know that whole cause-effect thing.

*jon snow

Sohrab Nizoumi, In the case of Cuba, the United States has NOTHING to do with the destruction of the country, nor with the suffering of the people.

@@musicaquecalma4134lol the cia was all up in Latin america especially in the 60s 😂😂

@@dowhatiwantc7637Yes, obviously, those were years when Cuban imperialism was in its ferment. The decades of the 60s and 70s marked the peaks of interference by Fidel Castro in Latin America and Africa.

Seriously?

@@tctarheelfarmin358 yeah seriously

And your comment is rated A for asinine.

While what you say has some validity to it. Keep in mind that there are millions of Cubans and Cuban exiles alike that will testify to the evil of the Castro regime. Maybe you should post a video about Churchill. I'd like to see it.

@@clarkgrizwald8619 Go ask the people of Bengal on how it felt to be starved to death by Churchill. Go ask the thousands of Australians and New Zealanders what came of their sons at the Gallipoli Campaigns under Churchill. Go ask the Africans who lived in camps so filthy and grim that it inspired Hitler and their opinion on Churchill.

Franco was a fascist dictator like Mussolini and Hitler.

luis Font,I summarize the acts and effects of Che on Cuba: El Che, a man who helped Fidel Castro assassinate hundreds of Cubans without ANY judicial process. They were young people, women, old people, blacks and even children (several of them were not yet 16 years old), also soldiers from the previous army, peasants, etc. He did that from 1957 until the first two years of the Revolution, when he was the commander in charge of LA Cabaña and Supreme Judge of the Revolutionary Courts. In addition, it is very important to say that, while Che was Minister of Industries, President of the National Bank and Director of the Institute of Agrarian Reform, and along with Fidel Castro, incidentally, neither of them were either agronomists or economists, neither industrial engineers nor sociologists! Nor did they allow those who were, to advise them. What did they do? They filled the people with absurd and unjust laws! They literally ruined the town on those branches! They took the people to almost extreme poverty in no time at all and took away all kinds of freedoms in those sectors! Add that, it was Che who "invented" the most unfair...working for them (the government) for free, the so-called "voluntary jobs"; that as a volunteer they had NOTHING. That was used by Fidel Castro ALL his life against the people, and oh! of those who did NOT go to a "volunteer job" (to cut, clean weeds with machetes or plant cane; to pick citrus fruits, to paint buildings, to clean weeds from the roads... in short, a long etc. What else did those two scoundrels do to the Cuban people? They devised concentration camps for homosexuals, religious and people who refused to support them. In these places they were called UMAP; they were centers for hard work in agriculture, WITHOUT any salary payment. What else? oh! They both brazen and abusive, "invented" the so-called supply book, which is nothing more than a RATIONING card; in which, the state SELLS a single amount of food to the population "at market price". Everything about Che, Fidel and his Revolution; the supposed "achievements in health and education" and the "paradise in which Cubans live"... EVERYTHING is stories, legends and myths created from and by the government!!!!!, Everything is a lie! !!!!

How so? WE like critical feedback, but can yo provide more than just "a total hack job."?

“Hack job” was maybe too strong a word. Let’s just say your treatment of Castro was not consistent with minimum journalistic standards. It was extremely one-sided, left out some significant facts, omitted the political and geopolitical milieu within which Castro was operating, and went to extremes to paint Castro in the worst possible light ever. (Is this the definition of “hack job”? Quite possibly, Yes.) For starters, the tenor to your presentation can be summarized with its beginning words, that Castro was “the personification of the evil dictator” who “brought the world to the nuclear brink.” Let’s examine these two statements of fact. “The personification of the evil dictator.” No, he was not an evil dictator. A dictator, yes, but “evil”? I think not. Idi Amin was “evil;” Saddam Housein was “evil;” Castro was not. He almost single-handedly transformed a backward country which had for decades been the center of American Mafia-controlled casinos and hotels, and which American politicians went to whore around in the brothels in Havana - yes, JFK was one of them, but more about him later - and which had been ruled by American puppet dictators such as Bautista - Simon, HE was an “evil” dictator - he transformed that country into one which has the highest literacy rate in North or South America. Yes, the literacy rate in Cuba is higher than the United States. It has free public elementary and higher education, free health care, a BETTER health system than the US - all from an “evil dictator” with the active and covert opposition of the most powerful country in the world. Did Castro “bring the world to the nuclear brink”? Again, the historical record does not support this statement. You have even said in your presentation that the Soviet Union shipped the nuclear warheads to Cuba. Castro didn’t, the Soviets did. If anything, Castro was a chip in a dangerous poker game between Soviet Russia and the US. You correctly state that the crisis escalated when JFK - not Castro, not the Soviets, obviously - imposed a blockade to Cuba. The US Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Curtis LeMay, wanted to “bomb Cuba to the Stone Age.” Kennedy had a harder time dealing with LeMay than with Khrushchev. Kennedy, the Soviets, LeMay - THEY brought the world to the brink. I fail to see, as you so correctly point out in your presentation, how Castro was a factor in the crisis. And even if he had, one can hardly blame him. The United States had already been actively trying to assassinate him, with some of the most ridiculous methods. Eight Presidents later, Castro died of old age. Kennedy tried but died himself trying. (This is another story) Castro was a complicated man and his is a complicated history. Your presentation had the nuance and depth of a Wikipedia article written by a FOX news operative.

I've been to Cuba. A quote I heard from a worker was: "Raul pretends to pay us, so we pretend to work" Simon did a good job on this. If it really was a hackjob as you say, he would have stretched the evil parts of his presidency, such as the show trials headed by Che.

Right in the beginning: "the personification of the evil dictator". Probably not going to watch the rest.

Its difficult to summarize the life of Fidel Castro in 20 minutes so overall good job Simon. I will remind viewers that Cuban exiles and their descendants living in the United States, a sizable percentage of the island's pre-1959 population, despise Fidel Castro. Anyone with Cuban American friends will know this. This may have influenced Simon's description of Castro as an "evil dictator." The Castro regime took everything from the Cuban exiles while killing and imprisoning thousands of dissidents within the island. However, Castro also modernized Cuba, the way Stalin modernized the Soviet Union, improving literacy, education and health care. Fidel appealed to people frustrated with the corruption of the Batista regime and the semi-colonization of Cuba by the United States. My question after watching this video is did the United States suspect that Castro would declare himself a Marxist-Leninist and reorient Cuba towards the Soviet Union before he actually did so in December 1960? Seems like Eisenhower should have seen that one coming.

I was just thinking this

Omg yes I saw an uncanny resemblance there !