The long night of dark intent: a half century of Cuban communism

Abstract

The Cuban Revolution did not start with the entrance of guerrillas into Havana on January 1, 1959. As Castro himself made clear, that event culminated several years of armed insurrection against the Batista regime. It was both a triumph and a harbinger of tragedy to come. Rather than herald a new Cuba joining the world's democracies, January 1, 1959 marked a new stage in authoritarian rule in the Americas. This amalgam of military charisma as a consequence of guerrilla insurgency, and iron-fisted party rule evolving from a near anarchic movement of politics, defined Castro's Cuba from the outset and has continued to do so for a half century. This selection of essays, articles, and speeches by Horowitz is cumulatively a statement of the collective national disaster suffered by Cubans for the past half century. The volume aims to explain the theory and practice of the regime, the absence of internal opposition, and the persistence of external support for Castro. Even with the collapse of Soviet communism, the ideology that underwrites Communist regimes remains the defining characteristics of Castro's Cuba. The Long Night of Dark Intent is chronological in order, indicating major points in each of the five decades covered. The volume addresses five centers of analysis: economics, politics, society, military, and ideology. This is a unique, unflinching account with a strong emphasis on U.S. policy decisions.