Description:

Fidel Castro ALS, 60+ Words, PSA Graded NM 7, Discussing 1966 Hurricane Inez Cleanup

A 1p autograph letter in Spanish signed and inscribed by Fidel Castro (1926-2016), then Prime Minister of Cuba, as "Fidel Castro" at the lower right. PSA graded NM 7 and encapsulated. Written at La Maya, Cuba [the Songo-La Maya municipality in southeastern Cuba, about 25 km northeast of Santiago de Cuba] on October 1, 1966, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Inez's first Cuban landfall. Inscribed with over 60 words in red pen in Castro's hand. Minor edge loss affecting the date at upper right, expected paper folds, isolated edge soiling, and minor tape residue verso. Else boldly signed and near fine. The actual size of the letter is 4.125" x 5.375" while the slab measures 6.625" x 10.25."

On October 1, 1966, Castro was anxiously tracking Hurricane Inez as it sheared across Cuba. The storm had started off as a tropical depression near the Atlantic coast of Africa in late September, and had strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane as it neared Hispaniola. Hurricane Inez struck Guantanamo, Cuba on September 30th with winds recorded at 138 mph, and was slashing its way across central and northwestern Cuba as Castro wrote this letter. Hurricane Inez's course of destruction eventually included Guadeloupe, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and Mexico before petering out on October 11th.

Castro wrote this directive to one "Duyoz," almost certainly an agricultural engineer based in Havana, Cuba named Oscar Duyoz. The Cuban economy had been one of Castro's top priorities since taking power in 1959. Some of his earliest policy changes included capping land holdings; confiscating land from foreign nationals; and redistributing land holdings to peasants. In 1965, Castro had launched an ambitious agricultural and economic infrastructure work-study program known as the Equipos Técnicos de la Agricultura [Agricultural Technical Equipment.] Castro's initiative created multiple task forces of college-educated scientists, engineers, and other professionals who made recommendations about the Cuban economy. Oscar Duyoz managed the Economic Research Team, which focused on maximizing the output of Cuba's many crops: coffee, cocoa, banana, sugar cane, citrus, pineapple, and rice. Duyoz's team researched how they could improve crop yields and crop resilience. They calculated how to introduce asparagus, strawberries, and grapes to Cuba, how to promote rabbit farming, and how to capitalize on Cuba's ice cream cottage industry!

In the wake of Hurricane Inez, then, Castro turned to Duyoz to oversee emergency efforts centered around one of Cuba's staple crops: coffee. Castro had personally ordered the evacuation of thousands of civilians in advance of Hurricane Inez; now, he was directing 20,000 army personnel to rush to the ripening coffee fields to salvage anything of the remaining crop, using ammonium nitrate, a common agricultural fertilizer. Castro himself was heading for the Cauto River region near the rugged Oriente Mountains favored for coffee growing.

Translated in full as:

"La Maya, Oct. 1, 66

Duyoz:

I am going to the Cauto area. As a task for you and the group that came, I would like you to help Saiz for a few days, in order to organize a plan to use twelve thousand tons of ammonium nitrate on the coffee plants with 20,000 men of the army. Meet with him immediately and start to work.

Cheers

Fidel Castro."

Hurricane Inez caused $20 million of damage to Cuban infrastructure alone. Electricity was disrupted, houses were destroyed, and crops were heavily damaged by the 12" of extra rainfall and by its 10 feet higher-than-normal tides. Frank Eidge of the Coshocton, Ohio "Tribune" reported on October 1, 1966: "Hurricane Inez, rebounding from a devastating swat at the coffee fields of Cuba, poised for a possible one-two punch at the island today and sent tourists fleeing from the Bahamas…" The Wilmington, North Carolina "Morning Star" reported Castro as saying on a radio broadcast that "the people will work to make sure that [the crops are] not lost."

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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