For David Ariosto, the island of Cuba is an intriguing new world, unmoored from the one he left behind. From neighboring military coups, suspected honey traps, salty spooks, and desperate migrants to dissidents, doctors, and Havana’s empty … Read the article
Unbeknownst to most people even now, the election of 1968 placed the patron saint of the Mafia in the White House. In other words, Richard Nixon would go on to not only lead a criminal presidency; he … Read the article
To free himself from all control, Fidel had long ago created, in the 1960s, the notorious reserva del Comandante, a private account made up of special funds siphoned off from national economic activity. Designed for the … Read the article
Gregorio Fuentes, the model for Hemingway’s humble Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, survived until 104 and still never read a word of the thin, 127-page novel that brought his friend a Pulitzer and … Read the article
THE CASTRO DYNASTY
There is nothing ordinary about Fidel Castro. He is unique, special, and different. One thing in particular, among all the others, marks him out from all his compatriots: he cannot dance the … Read the article
One of my goals in writing The Politics of Deception: JFK’S Secret Decisions on Vietnam, Cuba and Civil Rights, is to rehabilitate Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev. History recalls Khrushchev as a dangerous buffoon who underestimated President John … Read the article