A study in how Castro gained and held power for over 50 years. Completely revised and updated to take into account events of recent years Looks at the renewed crackdown on dissidents in Cuba from the mid-1990s onwards Examines the major geopolitical reconfiguration of Latin America in the late 1990s, and the new Cuban-Venezuelan relationship under Hugo Chavez Takes into account the effects of the Helms Burton Act and the continuing US embargo Succinctly analysisesthe Cuban economy in the first decade of the new millennium