The Cuban Revolution, the birth of the guerrilla myth in Latin America and the counterinsurgent reactions

Abstract

On January 1st, 1959, at dawn, General Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic and the triumphant guerrillas entered Havana. It was the birth of the guerrilla myth in Latin America. In the following years, guerrilla movements emerged in all the countries of the region (with the sole exception of Costa Rica), arousing enormous fear, both in Washington and in all Latin American governments. This article analyzes, first, the impact that the Cuban Revolution produced and the erroneous responses that occurred in Washington as well as within the Organization of American States, and which only served to radicalize Cuban leaders. Secondly, it reviews the two counterinsurgency models that were implemented in the region—those founded in the English School and inspired by the idea of “winning the hearts and minds” of the population, and those of the French School and the Doctrine of National Security, inspired by the idea of the internal enemy.