Despite their small numbers the rebels were able to keep Cuba in a state of constant turmoil. This was because Batista's army was poorly equipped, trained, and led, and had little desire to fight for the dictator. Castro's rebels won several impressive victories over Batista's army, and they gradually took control of Oriente Province. Meanwhile, other rebel groups, such as the March 13th Revolutionary Directorate, began guerrilla operations in other parts of the island. Batista's inability to quash the revolt cost him the support of the Cuban elite, and on January 1, 1959, he relinquished his office and fled to the Dominican Republic.

As Jaime Suchlicki has noted, "Castro's charisma and his revolutionary prestige made him, in the eyes of the Cuban people, the logical occupant of Batista's chair; he was the man of the hour, the new messiah." Castro formed the various rebel...