
Beneath the allure of Havana, corruption and oppression gripped Cuba. Dictator Fulgencio Batista secretly partnered with the mafia to build a “Las Vegas” in the Caribbean, fuelling unrest as the Cuban people suffered. This tension paved the way for Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries, who, on January 8, 1959, triumphantly entered Havana and ended U.S. dominance on the island.