Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.

Juan Reynaldo Sánchez, Castro's former bodyguard, detailed much of his personal and private life in his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro. He described Castro as "Nothing ordinary about him at all, he is unique, special, and different." He profiled him as an egocentric who loved being the center of attention and, with his almost electric charisma, grabbed the attention of the people around him. He was also highly manipulative; with his formidable intelligence, he could easily manipulate a person or group of people. In addition, he was repetitive and obsessive. In discussions with his colleagues or foreigners, he would repeat the same things repeatedly until they were convinced he was right. It was impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever. Anyone who attempted to convince him that he was wrong or even made a suggestion that it could be improved slightly was making a "fatal error." Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an "idiot" and wait for the right time to retaliate against them. Nobody, not even Raúl was exempt from this; despite being the minister of the armed forces, he would bring seemingly minor military decisions to Castro for his final approval to avoid inadvertently contradicting him. Sánchez believed that General Arnaldo Ochoa's downfall was significantly related to his willingness to contradict Fidel's orders in Angola.