ABSTRACT
For more than 30 years Castro depended on the Soviet Bloc for economic and military assistance and support in the international arena. But then, surely to his amazement and dismay the Bloc began to fall apart and the Eastern European satellite nations broke away from the USSR and cast off communism in favor of democracy and free enterprise. And the day came when the mighty Soviet Union itself began to disintegrate, and then was no more, replaced by independent republics. The blows against Castro were harsh. There were little or no replacement parts for weapons and military equipment. There was not enough fuel for aircraft and vehicles, military or civilian. The country’s economy deteriorated to near-desparation levels. Fidel Castro faced one of his worst crises. It might well be his last.
