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Fidel Castro exhales cigar smoke during a March 1985 interview at his presidential palace in Havana. Castro, a Havana attorney who fought for the poor, overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista's government on Jan. 1, 1959. He defeated a U.S. attempt, known as The Bay of Pigs invasion, to overthrow his revolutionary regime on April 19, 1961. Afterwards, Cuba armed itself with Soviet nuclear missiles aimed at the United States which almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster. Castro's communist regime still exists in Cuba, 90 miles from the U.S., at the close of the 20th century. Castro, who has survived assassination attempts that included a poisoned cigar, threats of torture and stormy seas, is like a cat with nine lives. Yet as the world waits for more details on his current health, many question how long his charmed existence will continue. The Cuban leader who ceded power temporarily Monday, July 31, 2006 to his younger brother Raul Castro has had a remarkable number of near-death experiences. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)