Castro, in his own words

Some of Fidel Castro’s memorable quotes:

"Condemn me. It is of no importance. History will absolve me." 

— Castro in 1953, when the young lawyer was defending himself at trial for his near-suicidal assault on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba

"I began the revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action." 

— Castro in 1959

"I'm not thinking of cutting my beard, because I'm accustomed to my beard and my beard means many things to my country. When we fulfill our promise of good government I will cut my beard." 

— Castro in a 1959 interview with CBS's Edward Murrow, 30 days after the revolution

"A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past." 

— Castro in 1959

"I reached the conclusion long ago that the one last sacrifice I must make for (Cuban) public health is to stop smoking. I haven't really missed it that much." 

— Castro in December 1985 upon announcing he had stopped smoking cigars

"I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure (Jesus Christ)." 

— Castro in 1985

"Just imagine what would happen in the world if the socialist community were to disappear ... if this were possible and I don't believe it is possible." 

— Castro in 1989

"We have to stick to the facts and, simply put, the socialist camp has collapsed." 

— Castro in 1991

"There's nothing strange about it. I wish I had as many opportunities to welcome personalities as important as this one." 

— Castro in 1994, explaining the reception, usually reserved for heads of state, given to Hugo Chavez upon his arrival in Havana after he was released from prison for leading a failed 1992 coup. Five years later, Chavez was elected president of Venezuela and became Castro's closest ally

"I realised that my true destiny would be the war that I was going to have with the United States." 

— Castro's opening quote in Looking for Fidel, director Oliver  Stone's second documentary on the Cuban leader from 2004

"The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore." 

— Castro in a 2010 interview with US journalist Jeffrey Goldberg. Castro later said his comment was taken out of context