Castro was aided and abetted in gaining power by the NYT
They ran a series painting him as modern day Robin Hood
It had a tremendous effect on how he was viewed early on and greatly influenced foreign policy toward him
It was Herbert Mathews of the NYT who was the main reason Castro had support here in the USA early on
He painted him as some kind of Robin Hood
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/world/americas/CASTRO_ARCHIVE.html
Figures it goes hand in hand with the NYT being duped by Stalin and their writer winning a Pulitzer in the late 30s