US Diplomacy and the Downfall of a Cuban Dictator: Machado in 1933
Author(s)
Dur, Philip; Gilcrease, Christopher
Abstract
In 1933, the US ambassador to Cuba, Sumner Welles, helped overthrow President Gerardo Machado, Cuba’s first dictator, with the threat, but not the use, of US military force. This diplomatic achievement was unprecedented in Cuban history. Under cover of mediation Welles had encouraged disaffection among politicians and army officers. Machado then succumbed to a popular uprising brought on by a decade of depression and oppression. The insubordination of the Cuban officers, however, soon led to a mutiny of the soldiers, whose leader, Fulgencio Batista, eventually seized the presidency and was recognized by the United States.
