On this day, 10 March 1952, Fulgencio Batista led a coup in Cuba and appointed himself President. Backed by the US, business and the wealthy elite, his government killed thousands in anti-communist purges. He was eventually overthrown by the revolution in 1959.
Pictured: a Batista execution squad https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1370700389781774/?type=3