The Cuba Libre Story

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  1. Breaking Chains

  52m

  After four centuries of Spanish colonial rule, Cubans win their independence, but U.S. intervention at the eleventh hour comes with a price.

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  2. War and Sugar

  53m

  Cuba flourishes thanks to sugar production, but relations with the U.S. deteriorate, leading to the rise of military strongman Fulgencio Batista.

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  3. Ganster's Paradise

  52m

  A source of illegal rum during Prohibition, Cuba becomes a haven for the Mafia, which seizes control of the country's popular gambling industry.

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  4. A Ragtag Revolution

  54m

  On New Year's Day 1959, rebel guerillas led by the Castro brothers and Che Guevara succeed in toppling the corrupt, dictatorial rule of Batista.

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  5. Making Heroes

  54m

  Heroes of the revolution include the Castros, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, but Fidel Castro's brutality and radical leftist reforms divide them.

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  6. Of Soviets and Saviors

  53m

  When Fidel Castro expropriates U.S. businesses and pursues support from the Soviet Union, the CIA sends assassins, saboteurs and invaders to Cuba.

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  7. Secrets and Sacrifices

  52m

  Challenges mount in the '80s as Cubans desert their restrictive homeland, cocaine infiltrates the government, and European socialism collapses.

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  8. Moments of Transition

  52m

  In the post-Soviet world, the Castros find mutual support in Venezuela, but the Cold War's conclusion brings the country's isolationism to an end.

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