Reparticion entre Gangsters

Meyer Lansky in Cuba

General Fulgencio Batista

Batista was the de facto military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940 and the de jure President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 after having won an election. After staging a successful coup in 1952, Batista ran unopposed in an election in 1954, and ruled the nation until handing over power on the last day of 1958. The reason given for that event being the political unrest caused mostly by a multi-faction, mainly-student, opposition insurgency. Fidel Castro's guerrilla movement was one of the groups involved in this Cuban Revolution. It is estimated that over 20,000 people were murdered by the Batista regime in acts of political repression, most of whom were tortured.

The gambling sector

Batista opened the way for large-scale gambling in Havana. He announced that his government would match, dollar for dollar, any hotel investment over $1 million, which would include a casino license. Havana became the "Latin Las Vegas," a playground of choice for many gamblers. All opposition was swiftly and violently crushed, and many began to fear the new government. In 1956, in midst of the revolutionary upheaval, the 21-story, 383-room Hotel Riviera was built in Havana at a cost of $14 million. It was known as mobster Meyer Lansky's dream and crowning achievement. The hotel opened on December 10, with a floor show headlined by Ginger Rogers. Lansky's official title was "kitchen director," but he controlled every aspect of the hotel. After World War II, Lansky associate Lucky Luciano was paroled from prison on the condition that he permanently return to Sicily. However, Luciano secretly moved to Cuba, where he worked to resume control over American mafia operations. Luciano also ran a number of casinos in Cuba with the sanction of Cuban president General Fulgencio Batista. As Luciano's Cuban revenues grew and the tourism and gambling business blossomed, Lansky himself started investing heavily in a Cuban hotel project. However, the 1959 Cuban revolution and the rise of Fidel Castro changed the climate for mob investment in Cuba. The new Cuban president, Manuel Urrutia Lleó closed the casinos and nationalized all the casino and hotel properties. This action essentially wiped out Lansky's asset base and revenue streams. Lansky left Cuba for the Bahamas and other Caribbean destinations. With the additional crackdown on casinos in Miami, Lansky was forced to depend on his Las Vegas revenues.