After Fidel: The Inside Story of Castro's 40 Year Regime and Cuba's Next Leader
This is a compelling behind-the-scenes account of the extraordinary Castro brothers and the impending dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother Raul. Brian Latell, the CIA analyst who has followed Castro since the sixties, gives an unprecedented view into Fidel and Raul's remarkable relationship, revealing how they have collaborated in policy making, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than forty years—a challenge to the notion that Fidel always acts alone....
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A chief U.S. intelligence officer tells the inside story of Fidel Castro's 40-year rule and the man who will in all probability succeed him—his brother Raul Library Journal Cuba watchers, pay attention! Castro and Cuba specialist Latell (senior associate, Ctr. for Strategic and International Studies), a former national intelligence officer for Latin America, relates much of the inner workings and secrets of Castro's rise to power, his 40-plus-year rule, and life after Fidel. The author's book is as much a biography of Fidel Castro as it is a study of the relationship between Fidel and his younger brother Raul and of Cuba's place on the international stage. Since existing biographical information on Raul Castro is sparse and scattered, the book takes on added value in bringing such material together. Latell dispels many of the fallacies, myths, and legends about Fidel and demonstrates how he uses the United States every time an internal problem arises in Cuba. Speculation that Raul will succeed Fidel is not new, but Latell's prognostications about Cuba under Raul and about normalization of relations with the United States are. Latell uses interviews with present and former members of Cuba's leadership and his own extensive knowledge, developed over 45 years in the intelligence community, to create a readable narrative and an excellent addition to the growing literature on Cuba. Highly recommended.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Alabama Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
AcknowledgmentsxiPrologue1Introduction: More Radical Than Me5Chapter 1A Peasant from Biran23Chapter 2The Victim of Exploitation41Chapter 3We Will All Be Heroes61Chapter 4My True Destiny79Chapter 5So We Can Seize Power101Chapter 6He Is Our Father121Chapter 7My Job Is To Talk143Chapter 8I Detest Solitude161Chapter 9The Moral and Political Duty181Chapter 10The Corpse of Imperialism193Chapter 11My Brother Twice Over207Chapter 12More Than Enough Cannons231Notes251Index267
\ From the Publisher"In After Fidel, Brian Lattel combines more than thirty years of CIA expertise with academic rigor and lively prose. The combination is particularly suited for analyzing the CIA's nemesis for now nearly half a century and for making sense of what the future will bring to Cuba: a country whose importance to the United States and Latin America one should never underestimate."—Jorge Castaneda, Former Foreign Secretary, Mexico "Brian Latell is one of America’s foremost Cuba analysts. He has produced a fascinating psychological profile of Fidel Castro and the man who, after forty-plus years in the shadows, may soon succeed him—his brother Raul."—George J. Tenet, Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency\ "Few Americans understand Cuba—past, present, and future—better than Brian Latell. He has combined an old CIA hand's knowledge and insights with a clear, readable writer's touch to bring both Castros—Fidel and his enigmatic brother Raul—to life."—Evan Thomas, Newsweek Magazine, New York Times bestselling author of Robert Kennedy: His Life"After Fidel is the first complete and detailed analysis available on the impenetrable world of the leaders of Cuba. Latell succeeds in putting together the puzzle that 10 American administrations have been trying to decipher. This is invaluable work for those trying to understand Cuba and it’s future—the result of Brian Latell’s decades of dedication, discipline and sacrifice."—FAR Brigadier General Rafael del Pino, Highest Ranking Defector of the Cuban military "Latell dispels many of the fallacies, myths, and legends about Fidel and demonstrates how he uses the United States every time an internal problem arises in Cuba. . . Latell uses interviews with present and former members of Cuba's leadership and his own extensive knowledge, developed over 45 years in the intelligence community, to create a readable narrative and an excellent addition to the growing literature on Cuba. Highly recommended"—Library Journal\ \ \ \ \ \ Library JournalCuba watchers, pay attention! Castro and Cuba specialist Latell (senior associate, Ctr. for Strategic and International Studies), a former national intelligence officer for Latin America, relates much of the inner workings and secrets of Castro's rise to power, his 40-plus-year rule, and life after Fidel. The author's book is as much a biography of Fidel Castro as it is a study of the relationship between Fidel and his younger brother Raul and of Cuba's place on the international stage. Since existing biographical information on Raul Castro is sparse and scattered, the book takes on added value in bringing such material together. Latell dispels many of the fallacies, myths, and legends about Fidel and demonstrates how he uses the United States every time an internal problem arises in Cuba. Speculation that Raul will succeed Fidel is not new, but Latell's prognostications about Cuba under Raul and about normalization of relations with the United States are. Latell uses interviews with present and former members of Cuba's leadership and his own extensive knowledge, developed over 45 years in the intelligence community, to create a readable narrative and an excellent addition to the growing literature on Cuba. Highly recommended.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Alabama Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsBreaking news from the intelligence community: When the Cuban president leaves the planet, things will change-or they won't. Latell has been a CIA Castro-watcher for as long as Castro has been in power, and he has a wry knowingness about the dangers of dogma and certitude. Though he notes that the most loyal audiences for Castro's interminable speeches have been "us, the anonymous American intelligence analysts working in distant cubicles, parsing his every word," he allows that there's much guesswork involved in trying to figure out what makes the bearded one tick. One issue: When did Castro become a communist? Some have ascribed the hard-left turn to bad dealings with the militantly anticommunist Richard Nixon; others say that Castro was born red. Latell adds nuance to the argument by noting that Castro was inclined to the left as early as 1948, but despised the Cuban Communist Party's cautious leadership; the marriage was one of convenience, at least at first. Another issue: Who will succeed Castro? Latell bets on Raul Castro, the brother with whom Fidel has had an uneasy relationship from their earliest years. Latell hazards that Fidel could not have held power for so long without the backing of Raul, the head of Cuba's military and a man apparently unafraid of executing his opponents without asking questions. Yet, he adds, Raul Castro shows certain liberal signs that hint that he may emerge in a post-Fidel scenario as someone the West can do business with-if, that is, Raul Castro even wants to be anything more than a transitional boss. Whatever the case, after Fidel's demise, writes Latell, Raul "will finally be able to express himself without fear that he will disappoint Fidel." Inother words, we'll have to wait and see. Thin on revelations.\ \
