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Castro enters Law school at the University of Havana and became quickly involved with politics
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Castro joined the Caribbean Legion, a group of political exiles from Caribbean countries who planned to rid the Caribbean of dictator-led governments.
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Castro traveled to Bototá, Colombia with plans to disrupt the Pan-American Union Conference, when country-wide riots broke out in response to the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitán
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After returning to Cuba, Castro married co-student Mirta Diaz-Balart. Castro and Mirta had one child together.
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Castro graduated from law school and began practicing law
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Retaining a strong interest in politics, Castro became a candidate for a seat in Cuba's House of Representatives during the election.
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After delivering a speech at his trial which ended with, "Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me," Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released two years later
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In the morning of July 26, 1953, Castro, his brother Raúl, and a group of about 160 armed men attacked the second-largest military base in Cuba - the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.
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Upon his release, Castro went to Mexico where he spent the next year organizing the "26th of July Movement" (based on the date of the failed Moncada Barracks attack).
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In January, Manuel Urrutia was selected as president of the new government and Castro was placed in charge of the military. Castro had effectively taken over as leader of Cuba, which he remained for the next four decades.
