The call to the 15th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), which was to be held at the headquarters of that organization in New York in mid-September 1960, reached the office of the then Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government, Fidel Castro Ruz, at a very tense time in relations between Cuba and the United States Government.
The powerful neighbor "looked askance" at the young Cuban authorities' intense work on the Moncada Program, implementing laws that benefit the people throughout the country.
Barely 20 months had passed since the triumph of the Revolution, and the people could already appreciate the reversal taking place throughout the island in addressing the main problems that had plagued its inhabitants for many years and that, now, with the work of all Cubans, and under the sure direction of their supreme leader, were being resolved.
As soon as the US learned that Fidel would be attending the UN—which they could not prevent—they decided to create a climate of insecurity before the Cuban delegation departed, and of isolation as soon as it set foot on US soil.
Unusual measures, bearing the stamp of the CIA, sought to force Fidel to cancel the trip and exert pressure to destabilize him on northern soil.
On September 2, a few days before the Commander in Chief departed for New York, a crowd of more than a million Cubans—in Civic Plaza (now José Martí Revolution Square)—acclaimed the historic Declaration of Havana. There, in front of that sea of people, Fidel displayed and tore to pieces the text of the Military Agreement of Mutual Assistance, signed between the Batista regime and the Yankee government.
On September 9, the Miami-based Diario de las Américas reported: "If Russia establishes a base in Cuba, we will request drastic action from the OAS," declared Assistant Secretary of State Francis Wilcox. "If Fidel comes, he will be confined to Manhattan for security reasons."
Pressure against the young leader's visit to New York began to openly mount. On the 14th, the same newspaper reported on the unloading of Russian weapons in Havana: "Possibly tanks, heavy artillery, and ammunition," it said.
CONFINED TO MANHATTAN ISLAND
On the 13th, Secretary of State Christian Herter said he had notified the Cuban Embassy that, for "security reasons," Fidel could not leave Manhattan Island.
The note, although it expressed the US government's "concern" for the Prime Minister's safety, was taken by the Cuban government for what it really was: an attempt at intimidation and a preamble to what could happen next.
As Fidel remained firm in his sovereign decision to attend the UN meeting, the threats grew in number. On the 17th, the Diario de las Américas published:
"Fidel Castro's companions will be searched upon arrival in New York."
"The U.S. ambassador notified the Cuban government of the prohibition on carrying weapons. Their weapons will be taken away if they carry them."
"The Cuban delegation is trying to rent an apartment near the UN, but is unsuccessful."
"They'll process Fidel's documents on the plane."
"Possible seizure of the plane carrying Prime Minister Fidel Castro to the United States."
The Cuban government's response was swift: it restricted Ambassador Phillip Bonsal's travel in Havana to Vedado exclusively, authorizing him to use various means of transport to travel from his residence in the Siboney neighborhood (formerly the Country Club) to the Embassy while the UN General Assembly was in session.
Meanwhile, in New York, police officers raided and looted the offices of Cubana de Aviación. They violently broke in and destroyed part of the premises and the safe deposit boxes; they removed documents and stole a large sum of dollars in cash. In addition, a Cubana Britannia aircraft had been detained and impounded at Idlewild Airport since Thursday the 15th.
Even so, on Sunday, September 18, around 11 a.m., Fidel left for New York.
THE DELEGATION ARRIVES IN NEW YORK
At 4:34 p.m. (local time), the Cubana plane landed at Idlewild International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport). While the plane was still gliding down the main runway, the pilots were notified by the control tower that they could not approach the arrival area and that they should take a taxiway—where they remained for more than 20 minutes—to hangar 17, about three kilometers from the Passenger Terminal.
Manuel Bisbé, head of the Cuban Mission; the UN Chief of Protocol; and Immigration personnel came to greet them. A few minutes later, Fidel emerged. A crowd gathered about a hundred meters from the hangar to welcome him.
Although the police did not allow journalists to approach, an estimated 1,000 photographers and cameramen were waiting to cover the Cuban leader's arrival.
DISRESPECTFUL PROVOCATION
As the motorcade carrying the delegation moved toward Manhattan, hundreds of Cubans gathered along various sections of the route cheered and applauded Fidel. The Commander in Chief waved to them, but a police officer—who was supposed to protect him—tried to disrespectfully stop him. Fidel rebuked him, and his companions protested: the provocations against the Cuban delegation were beginning to escalate.
Upon arriving at the Shelburne Hotel, where they were staying, located on Lexington Avenue and 47th Street in Manhattan, the building was practically taken over by police, FBI civilians, and snipers were stationed on the roof.
All pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the building was closed. However, that didn't stop hundreds of Cubans and Latin Americans near the hotel from cheering Fidel and Cuba.
By mid-morning the following day, the hotel manager announced that he was canceling the reservation and they had to leave the property. He refused to return the $5,000 cash deposited as a guarantee. Faced with this unacceptable behavior, and the Cuban delegation being denied accommodations at other hotels in the city, Fidel decided to go to UN headquarters and discuss the matter directly with the then Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld.
THE HOTEL THERESA, IN HARLEM
The Secretary General had his offices on the 38th floor of the iconic Crystal Palace, and there, for almost an hour and a half, he received the Cuban delegation. After informing him of the treatment he had received upon arriving in the city, Fidel told him that if he couldn't find accommodation, he was willing to camp in the gardens of the iconic building.
While there, the Commander-in-Chief receives a phone call. He listens, turns to the Secretary General, and says, "We've already got a place to stay, the Hotel Theresa in Harlem." Roa Kourí, Malcolm X, and Bob Taber were behind this arrangement.
Minutes later, as if by magic, other hotels appeared that could offer accommodation to the Cubans. One of them, the Commodore, located three blocks from the UN, was free of charge.
The Cuban delegation departed for the Black neighborhood of Harlem. Around 11:30 p.m., under a cold drizzle, hundreds of protesters, mostly Black, awaited them and gave them a warm welcome in front of the Hotel Theresa. "Cuba yes, Yankees no!" and "We want Castro!" were the chants.
HIGH DIGNITARIES VISITED FIDEL IN HARLEM
For several days, the humble Hotel Theresa was on the headlines of major newspapers around the world, and became almost an extension of the UN due to the personalities who visited it, including Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev; activist Malcolm X; poets Langston Hughes and Allen Ginsberg; presidents of Egypt, Ghana, and Guinea, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah, and Ahmed Sékou Touré, respectively; Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru; and radical sociologist Charles Wright Mills.
THE HISTORIC SPEECH AT THE UN
On September 26, 1960, at 2:57 p.m., the 34-year-old and supreme leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, began his improvised and historic speech –18 stenographers would record his words–, before the plenary session of the 15th UN General Assembly, made up of heads of government from 15 nations, hundreds of diplomats, officials from 96 countries and hundreds of journalists and cameramen from around the world.
During his speech, he criticized the use of war to monopolize underdeveloped countries and attacked U.S. policy toward Cuba and other nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. He supported the Disarmament Plan presented by Russia and proclaimed the right of the People's Republic of China to a seat in the UN.
The speech lasted four hours and 29 minutes, making it the longest in UN history since 1945.
His words, from 65 years ago, could well be heard today on that same platform, when the world continues to fight the same demons.
