Most likely, those luxury cars have ended up converted into junk, as almost everything that fell into the hands of Fidel Castro, including Cuba.
Havana, Cuba. – Now that on the occasion of August 13, the 99 years of the birth of Fidel Castro, the official media overflowed with the facts of the life of the “Commander in Chief”, is a good time to also point out other aspects not so commented on his personality, such as his capitalist veleities, for example, his mania by the luxury Olds.
Indeed, upon his arrival in power in 1959, Fidel Castro chose the OldsMobiles of the 60s for his official displacements (the models of the year were sold with the name of the following), whose manufacturer was General Motors.
Of these vehicles, a lot of 60 arrived in Cuba in the first months of 1959. They had been acquired by the Amado Barletta representative, but were confiscated by the revolutionary regime to put them at the service of Fidel Castro (the confiscation was the usual form of the commander to obtain the things he wanted).
The characteristics of these cars probably influenced the election. They were spacious, very comfortable and had great stability. They had eight -cylinder V engines, known in mechanical slang as V8, which allowed them to reach high speed. In addition, they had automatic gearbox.
The chosen model was designed for wealthy people, but not conceived for the type of functions they had in Cuba.
Due to their size, they consumed a lot of fuel, so the expenses caused by these vehicles to the country were surely large.
The cars were of various colors. Every day Fidel Castro set up in a different one to spend as unnoticed as possible during his routes. His distrust was such that even his personal escort knew his destiny until he rode and said where he wanted to go.
I lived at that time on 11th Street No. 1058, between 12 and 14, one block from the residence in El Vedado de Celia Sánchezwhere Fidel Castro used to spend the night. From the balcony of my building I frequently saw the entrance and exit of the cars, which always circulated in groups of three, without respecting the transit rules. Fidel Castro had the habit of going in the center of the center, but they moved in Zig-Zag and they were ahead of each other to mislead and that the dictator was not knew in.
On Infanta Street, between Santo Tomás and Clavel, there was a special workshop for the maintenance and repair of “Fidel’s cars.” The staff working there was the greatest reliability. Even so, after a mechanic made an arrangement, another checked the work done.
The cars had phones, a great technical advance at that time. A confidence driver whose name was José Luis, already deceased, a member of the rebel army and combatant of the Sierra Maestra, who was a friend of my family and visited my house, sometimes communicated with us through the phone of the Fidel car.
The only person in Cuba who had an Oldsmobile of 60 was Celia Sánchez. José Luis told that she seemed like a light violet and Fidel color gave it to please.
I cannot specify when it was that Fidel Castro stopped using his Oldsmobiles fleet of 60. Today there is no trace of them. Most likely, those luxury cars, designed for rich, have ended up converted into scrap, like almost everything that fell into the hands of Fidel Castro, including Cuba.
