[9][10] In the revolution's aftermath, Castro's government initiated a program of nationalization, centralized the press, and consolidated political power, which transformed Cuba’s economy and civil society, alienating both segments of the Cuban population and the United States.

[16] The Republic of Cuba at the turn of the 20th century was largely characterized by a deeply ingrained tradition of corruption where political participation resulted in opportunities for elites to engage in wealth accumulation.

[18][page needed] Gómez's successor, Mario García Menocal, wanted to put an end to the corruption scandals and claimed to be committed to administrative integrity as he ran on a slogan of "honesty, peace and work".

[18][page needed] Both petty and grand corruption spread to nearly all aspects of public life and the Cuban administration became largely characterized by nepotism as Zayas relied on friends and relatives to illegally gain greater access to wealth.

[26] Through the development of real estate infrastructures and the growth of Cuba's tourism industry, Machado's administration was able to use insider information to profit from private sector business deals.

The junta of officers led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista and students proclaimed that it had taken power in order to fulfill the aims of the revolution; it briefly described a program which included economic restructuring, punishment of wrongdoers, recognition of public debts, creation of courts, political reorganization, and any other actions necessary to construct a new Cuba based on justice and democracy.

[30][page needed] Mauricio Augusto Font and Alfonso Quiroz, authors of The Cuban Republic and José Martí, say that corruption "pervaded in political life" under the administrations of Presidents Ramón Grau and Carlos Prío Socarrás.

[30][page needed] In 1942, the British Foreign Office reported that the U.S. State Department was "very worried" about corruption under President Fulgencio Batista, describing the problem as "endemic" and exceeding "anything which had gone on previously".

British diplomats believed that corruption was rooted within Cuba's most powerful institutions, with the highest individuals in government and military being heavily involved in gambling and the drug trade.

[36] Prío was assisted by Chief of the Armed Forces General Genobebo Pérez Dámera and Colonel José Luis Chinea Cardenas, who had previously been in charge of the Province of Santa Clara.

[41][42] While Cuba remained plagued by high unemployment and limited water infrastructure,[43] Batista antagonized the population by forming lucrative links to organized crime[44][45] and allowing American companies to dominate the Cuban economy, especially sugar-cane plantations and other local resources.

[citation needed] Rafael García Bárcena, a professor of philosophy, founded the National Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacional Revolucionario – MNR), consisting largely of middle-class members.

[62] Soon, the Castro brothers joined with other exiles in Mexico to prepare for the overthrow of Batista, receiving training from Alberto Bayo, a leader of Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.

[66] While the Castro brothers and the other 26 July Movement guerrillas were training in Mexico and preparing for their amphibious deployment to Cuba, another revolutionary group followed the example of the Moncada Barracks assault.

On 29 April 1956, an Auténtico guerrilla group comprising upwards of thirty rebels,[i] brought together by Reynold García, attacked the Domingo Goicuría Barracks in the Matanzas province.

The yacht landed in Playa Las Coloradas on 2 December, in the southern municipality of Niquero,[71] arriving two days later than planned because the boat was heavily loaded, unlike during the practice sailing runs.

[75][76] On 17 January 1957, the 26th of July Movement engaged in armed combat with Cuba's small army garrison stationed in barracks in La Plata, a village in the Sierra Maestra mountain.

[78] At approximately 3:21 pm[80] on 13 March 1957 the student opposition group Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo stormed the Presidential Palace in Havana, attempting to assassinate Batista and overthrow the government.

The Second National Front was led by former Revolutionary Directorate member Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo and the "Comandante Yanqui" William Alexander Morgan, who was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army after going AWOL.

[106] Gutiérrez Menoyo formed and headed the guerrilla band after news had broken out about Castro's landing in the Sierra Maestra, and José Antonio Echeverría had stormed the Havana Radio station.

However, in the Sierra Maestra mountains, Castro, aided by Frank País, Ramos Latour, Huber Matos, and many others, staged successful attacks on small garrisons of Batista's troops.

Initially numbering just 60 men out of Castro's hardened core of 230, Cienfuegos's group had gained many recruits as it crossed the countryside towards Santa Clara, eventually reaching an estimated strength of 450 to 500 fighters.

The city of Santa Clara fell to the combined forces of Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Revolutionary Directorate (RD) rebels led by Comandantes Rolando Cubela, Juan "El Mejicano" Abrahantes Fernández, and William Alexander Morgan.

[137] Cuban General Eulogio Cantillo entered Havana's Presidential Palace, proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra as the new president, and began appointing new members to Batista's old government.

[166] The Soviets' attitude of optimism changed to one of concern for the safety of Cuba after it was excluded from the inter-American system at the conference held at Punta del Este in January 1962 by the Organization of American States.

[167] All of these events led to the two countries quickly developing close military and intelligence ties, which culminated in the stationing of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba in 1962, an act which triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

Khrushchev underlined the importance of guaranteeing against an American attack on Cuba and urged Havana to focus on economic, cultural, and technological development to become a shining beacon of socialism in Latin America.

[182] At the time of the revolution the 26th of July Movement involved people of various political persuasions, but most were in agreement and desired the reinstatement of the 1940 Constitution of Cuba and supported the ideals of Jose Marti.

[185] Cuban sociologist Carlos Moore claims that during the revolution it was common to hear jokes ridiculing Batista's Spanish proficiency, and table manners, because he was considered a black idiot.

[189][page needed]Before the Mariana Grajales Platoon was established, the revolutionary women of the Sierra Maestra were not organized for combat and primarily helped with cooking, mending clothes, and tending to the sick, frequently acting as couriers, as well as teaching guerrillas to read and write.