experience abroad. tens of thousands fought in angola, the congo, ethiopia and mozambique supporting leftist movements and regimes. what distinguishes cuba s military is its role in the economy. this is the face of the military today just as much as troops in tanks. the army directly controls many tourist hotels like this one and they have a hand in everything from mining to telecommunications. though the economic role started well beforehand, it expanded after the fall of the berlin wall and the collapse of soviet subsidies. their tradition of hierarchy and discipline were asked to take over in the sense of posting officers in and militarizing the industry. by militarizing that meant military discipline could be applied to the workers there. most importantly, the military is the backbone of the country
only runs the military but the army and i have known cubans who said they were not communists that they believed in fatal castro. while they didn t agree with everything he did he ery respected and revered the man. some will say now what we stayed true to fidel castro his ideal of a revolution that led the island to where it is now, the economic problems, of course under economic sanctions, severe economic sanctions and i think people will expect with this momentous occasion that perhaps raul castro will address them and perhaps a different future. having lived here for now five years, i was here during the fidel castro era. i saw fidel castro during one of his speeches quite up close. i think people who expect something different to happen,
is one of those moments that you remember. a history to himself. whatever you think of the man he represents a half century if not more of history. it s cuba and the u.s., the rest of the world. influence over latin american leaders. we will break down this here on cnn. we will look at his influence and legacy. patrick has been talking about that a lot. patrick, you are standing by and will be with us for the foreseeable hours. for now look at the role of the army. it has had a big role since he came in to power. here s the package that patrick put together. reporter: from the moment they rolled in to havana that new year s day 1959, ragged, bearded and unwashed they were bent on a radical break from the past. today more than 50 years later, cuba s armed forces remain the
college trying to figure out life. he was in 1959, when and he entered havana triumphantly with his army he was not yet 33 years old. the baf of pigs invasion, the cuban missile crisis, all of that happened before he turned 30 years old. and if you read the story of how he made it all the way from veracruz, mexico on the boat called the grandma across the mediterranean i m sorry the caribbean. and got into cuba. they capsized. and out of an army of more than 100, it was only a few dozen that they had left. and most of them were killed. and he was trying to hide in a corn field. and according to his own words, he was on his back for three days trying to take cover from the battista army. so it s just an incredible story
most powerful institution, key to cuba s feature. military leaders in latin america came and went but raul castro was cuba s minister of defense and now he s president. while regional militaries earned a reputation knocking down governments as they saw fit, cuba s military always stood by fidel castro and the communest party. it was left to the interior ministry to enforce communist role. it s worth stressing the unity of the people, the army and the party said raul castro in a parade marking the an vcrry of the armed forces. this unity is our main strategic weapon which has allowed this little island to resist defeat so many aggressive acts of the imperialists. while others focused on internal security, cuban soldiers earned