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Fidel Castro at a glance

The Associated Press

Born: 1926, in Biran, near Mayari, Cuba.

Birth name: Fidel Castro Ruz Schooling: Graduated from University of Havana in 1950 with a law degree.

Early politics: In 1952, ran for election to Cuban House of Representatives, but troops led by military dictator Fulgencio Batista halted election.

Revolution: Castro's forces attacked army barracks in city of Santiago de Cuba; Castro captured and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but he was released in 1955; goes into exile.

Overthrow: Castro and his supporters staged another rebellion; Batista fled Cuba on Jan. 1, 1959; Castro took control of government.

Victory speech: A pair of white doves swirled around the revolutionary hero just as he finished his victory speech; crowd gasped and cheered, accepting this as divine acceptance of the guerrilla leader.

Intolerance: In 1961, Castro's regime herded a bishop and 130 clergymen onto a boat and sent them out of Cuba; Vatican ex-communicated him.

His reign: "He's allowed a little more freedom in the last couple of of years, maybe with the pragmatic goal of relieving the pressures of an economic crisis. He can't open up space in the political arena, so he is giving some space in the religious area," said Jaime Suchlicki, a Cuban exile and historian at the University of Miami.