The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt that led to the overthrow of the U.S.-backed authoritarian Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.

The revolution was led by Fidel Castro and his 26th of July Movement.

Castro's forces waged a guerrilla war against Batista's army from bases in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

Key figures in the revolution alongside Castro included his brother Raúl Castro and the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara.

The Batista regime collapsed, and Castro's forces triumphantly entered Havana on January 1, 1959.

Once in power, Castro established a communist state, the first in the Western Hemisphere.

His government implemented radical policies, including land reform and the nationalization of American-owned businesses.

These policies led to a sharp deterioration in relations with the United States and a long-standing economic embargo.

Cuba became a close ally of the Soviet Union, a relationship that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for nearly 50 years, becoming one of the most prominent and controversial figures of the Cold War.