Striking connections between Fidel Castro's cigars and attempts on his life

 
Fidel Castro's anti-assassination cigar box drew thousands of visitors in May 2022. Several items from among the long-time Cuban leader's personal effects went under the hammer, alongside others that belonged to fellow revolutionary Che Guevara.

A number of cigar-related items, including a case with space for secret messages, are expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds. Guevara's personal water bottle dating to the 1953-59 Cuban Revolution is worth an estimated £10,000.  Castro's cigars were closely guarded for good reason, according to Independent.  The revolutionary leader was famous for having escaped hundreds of attempts to kill him during his 39-year rule. In 1975 it was even revealed to a US senate committee that the CIA had once planned to lace his cigars with botulinum toxin to kill him.

A signed Cuban revolutionary flag and 130 original print photos of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Raul Castro - who ruled Cuba until 2018 - was also sold on the auction.

Other items on the list included Fidel Castro's ashtrays, fishing rods and Che Guevara's flag from the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
Paul Fraser, founder of Bristol-based auctioneers Paul Fraser Collectibles, said: "The word to sum up this auction is 'personal'.

"These aren't just pieces Castro and Guevara briefly touched or signed. These items were their personal property, used by these extraordinary figures of 20th-century history on a daily basis.

That makes this auction unique.

"I'm expecting huge interest. Because after this auction, there is nothing else of this magnitude set to emerge ever again."
The collection is currently owned by a British businessman who knew the Castro family and their associates for more than 22 years.

Gary Shannon helped provide technology and communications infrastructure to Cuba. He acquired his collection at the estate sale of Castro's mistress, Natty Revuelta Clews, between December 2015 and July 2016.

>.Agency