Newsletter

 

October 23, 1962
This is excellent! The waiting is over. The Russian cat has leaped out of its Cuban bag. Not only Kennedy, but the whole world, knows about the Soviet missiles here on our island. I need to speak to our people tonight, on radio and TV. I need to call them to arms, to buoy up their spirits, and make sure they understand their mission. The gringos have invaded our island, in one-way or another, a half dozen times since our revolution in 1895. They even claim the right to invade us, under the pretext of establishing “democracy” in Cuba. What a joke.
October 18, 1962
Kennedy knows about the missiles. He has to know. I’ve told the Russians here on the island that Kennedy knows. If the exile worms know, then Kennedy knows. If the U.S. press knows—and they do, it is obvious—then Kennedy knows. When I say this to the Russians, they shrug their shoulders and say, hey, what can we do? We are just following our orders.
October 16, 1962
I wish the cloud-cover hadn’t lifted. Now the U-2s will have a field day taking their pictures of the Soviet missile sites. Who knows? Maybe the gringos really don’t know. The U-2s are flown by the CIA and, after all, look at what the CIA accomplished at the Bay of Pigs: the CIA invaded Cuba, got their butts kicked in less than 72 hours, humiliated Kennedy, and allowed us to—well, let’s put it this way—to consolidate our Revolution. Some people say we went too far in arresting 100,000 people when only about 1200 invaded the island.
October 13, 1962
We had a Cuban missile crisis this morning. The Soviets were transporting one of their big missiles from a bunker to a concrete launching pad they had just finished. A truck was pulling a huge trailer, with the missile lying on it like a gigantic shiny white log. But they came to a corner they couldn’t get around because of a row of mailboxes out by the road. The Soviets said they had to uproot all the mailboxes in order to make it around the corner. But the Cubans in the neighborhood couldn’t understand what they were saying.
October 10, 1962
I am very impressed with how hard and fast our Soviet comrades are working. If the cloud cover hangs in, and we get a storm or two, the high-flying U-2s won’t be able to photograph the missile sites. It is quite amazing, really: these blond, blue-eyed, thick-necked guys are really putting out. We Cubans can learn from these guys.
September 17, 1962
This is unbelievable: yesterday, the first big nuclear missiles arrived on the island. I saw them. Everybody near Mariel, the port where they arrived, saw them. I assume the gringos saw them. They must have seen them. How could they not see them? So why is Kennedy playing this cat and mouse game, now that the big ones are here. Does he not know? I keep telling the Russians: you should break the news to Kennedy right away. That way, you control the terms of the confrontation. You just say: “here they are, gringos.
September 14, 1962
Ha ha ha! I just saw a headline in the Miami Herald this morning indicating that the gringos have begun to sign up the Miami worms for military service. They say they want some Spanish –speaking units. Now, I wonder what the hell they think they are going to do with Spanish-speaking soldiers. Obviously, they will be used to attack us, to invade our island, to act as interpreters.
September 11, 1962
This is fantastic news, unexpected news: Khrushchev has said publicly exactly what needed to be said: if the U.S. attacks and invades Cuba, he will order his nuclear forces to pummel the United States, to destroy the gringo nation and gringo empire once and for all. Frankly, I didn’t think Comrade Nikita had it in him. Yes, he has gone out on a limb to deliver the weapons to our island, and we appreciate it. That is a real and meaningful commitment. But against the gringos, you must be willing to use them, and to say you will use them, in the face of enemy aggression.
September 10, 1962
The invasion is imminent. I can feel it. Every day, the American hotheads berate Kennedy for not attacking us. Every day, more Soviet weapons arrive and are made ready for the attack. Every day, our people increase in their awareness of the unique historical mission given our country—to provide the spark that leads to the victory of the socialist, peace-loving countries over the country that is run by the warmongers in the Pentagon.
September 9, 1962
I have just been out driving around the Soviet deployment to the west of Havana, over by Mariel. It’s getting absolutely surreal. There are hundreds of trucks and tanks and cement mixers and thousands of very, very white, thick-necked men in striped sport shirts. Well, it is difficult to describe what is going on. It’s as if Cuba is a big anthill crawling with giant blond, blue-eyed ants, carrying everything here and there and going about their business. And to think: it is all for the defense of Cuba from attacks by Uncle Sam.