[2] Through the encouragement of his father, Meneses studied law at the University of Salamanca in an attempt to pursue a diplomatic career but ended up dropping out to found his first press agency.

[6] After declining journalism scholarship at Stanford University in 1951, opting instead to accept a position with Reader's Digest Meneses traveled around Europe reporting and learning different languages.

[2] While covering the fighting two of his colleagues Magnum's David Semour and Paris Match's Jean Roy were killed in close proximity to Meneses by Egyptian gunfire.

[7] During this period Meneses established himself as a photographer with little interest in creating images with a stylistic or aesthetic tone opting instead for a more robust voiceless photojournalistic style.

Spanish photographer and photo editor Chema Conesa describes his work as if his camera were as rudimentary as a pencil with its only ability to focus the gaze on a fact or event.

For travel arrangements Meneses flew into Rancho Boyeros in Havana and took public buses to reach mountains unlike his colleagues who were stopped flying into the closer Antonio Maceo Airport.

[10] On arrival Che Guevara hung a sign reading "Intern ational Press Club" on the door of Meneses bohío where he would live for the next ten months.

To avoid detection from the Batista government he had his negatives sewn inside of a petticoat belonging to the youngest daughter of Colonel Ferrer who was able to deliver them undetected.

[8] When the Batista police caught wind of this they detained and interrogated Meneses until Spanish ambassador, Juan Pablo de Lojendio e Irure, intervened to have him expelled from Cuba.

[12] Meneses also received criticism from multiple scholarly journals in relation to his reporting in his retrospective book Fidel Castro: Siete Años de Poder.