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nx-^uoan rcvc Castro's autl By Mark Platte Qamccock Staff Writer During the Cuban revolution of 1958, many revolutionary groups joined forces in the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista, the president of Cuba. A member of one of those groups was Nestor Moreno, currently a USC professor of foreign language and literature. "BEFORE the revolution, I was simply a member of a group trying to participate in aiding all revolutionary groups in the field, and I was participating in the organization of professional groups," Moreno explained. "After the revolution, I was appointed by the head of the army, Camilo Cienfuegos, as an adviser. Cienfuegos was the head of the rebel army, which was a combination of forces that overthrew Batista." As adviser, Moreno's main interest was to re establish the democratic system as soon as possible. When Cienfuegos died in a plane crash that many consider an assassination, Moreno lost his job as adviser and lived under the regime of Fidel Castro, present president of Cuba. "Fidel Castro was emphasizing the necessity of an authoritarian government as opposed to a democratic system," Moreno said. "After that, things began moving toward a socialist society throughout 1960 and 1961. I resigned from all the positions 1 had in the government in June 1960 and Kqoi/>q lltr ni if nf fKn rnloftAvicKm fKn f tiioo Kninrf uuoivtxiij wui i/A uiv iv^iauviitsiiip uiai vtod ia;iii5 established with the Soviet Union in addition to the formal recognition and acceptance of the Communist party in Cuba." In 1961 Moreno was sentenced to death because of his strong feelings against the government but he took asylum in the Venezuelan Embassy. Under international law, Moreno coma not oe narmea on tne embassy grounds. "We then were given safe conduct six months afterward, and under the protection of the Venezuelan flag we went to the airport and boarded a plane to the United States and Venezuela," Moreno said. "I got nff flia nlana in Miomi onrl T urno nKln fa 1 ii?a in fK/\ VIA MAW piUIIV AIA ITAAOAAAA) OAAVI JL TV CAO OUIU WJ 1IYC 1AI U1U United States because I had my American visa." MORENO LIVED in Miami from 1961 to 1964. Afterwards, he came to USC and began teaching, but he still remembers his experiences in Cuba. "If you, for any reason, participated against the government either in stating your opinion very loudly or participating in meetings of any kind, you would be the object of repression by the government," Moreno j^aea?MMTfiraw?www^T?nririiriiiiiiiMMBiiii i, T~7^ /f?: SENIORS-I JUNIORS . jORDERYOUR 1 IQP PI A CO D I. Have it shipped to yot Only $10 Deposit ? weeks | FOR ORDERING!N ! JOSTEIM'S S P.O. Box 14 I Salisbury, N Rina Disnlav,I I use CAMPU! )lutionary raps loritian ways ? A A. JL -* > ? ? - mi iwo or inree o ciock in the morning, you would be taken out of your house and be put into the Cuban jails. There you could be m m a 9tf _ rorwrea or Kinea.' said. "At two or three o'clock in the morning, you 1J 1 1-1 A - * ? ... wuuiu ue taxen oui 01 your nouse ana De pui into tne Cuban jail. There you could be tortured or killed." "The continuation of those things is the one thing that made me realize it was not possible to stay neutral; something had to be done," Moreno added. Moreno, who had been teaching at the University of Villanova in Cuba during the revolution's inception, said the revolution started with the students and since he felt close to the students, he also rebelled. GROUPS WERE formed called "clandestine" groups which meant that each member of the organization had a job to do and did not know any information about the jobs of the others in that group. "The information of a clandestine group was limited to prevent detection from the outside," Moreno said. "The reason for this was that if a member of the group was captured and tortured, he would only tell what he knew, which wouldn't reveal all of the group's plans." Mn mna oot/f Ka OAttf 1 * m t n/kft/\n in r> Hiwt vnv oatu nv aan a 11111lvu aviiun ill |}UCI Ilia warfare but worked in the city aiding the army with weapons, food and medical supplies. "I met Fidel Castro long before the revolution," Moreno said. "He has a tremendous ability to manipulate people and he uses this to the utmost." 'The continuation of those things is the one thing that made me realize it was not possible to stay neutral; something had to be done.' 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