The Search for Fidel Castro’s Love Child
The story of Marita Lorenz and her purported child with Fidel (and her subsequent assassination attempt) has captivated writers and directors. Now her American son wants the truth.
On the evening of Feb. 27, 1959, less than eight weeks after Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista was forced from power, the German passenger liner MS Berlin docked in Havana Harbor. Marita Lorenz, the 19-year-old daughter of the ship’s captain, was aboard, having joined her father on the cruise.
The next day, while many of the passengers were sightseeing on shore, two launches filled with armed, bearded men in military uniform pulled alongside the Berlin. Marita was instantly drawn to the tallest member of the group, who wore what Marita described as a “wicked and seductive smile.” It was Fidel Castro.
Marita gave a tour of the ship to Castro, who had been sworn in as Cuba’s new leader 11 days earlier. She took him to the boiler room first, then the kitchen, then up through steerage to her stateroom in first class. Castro pushed Marita inside and gave Marita her first “real” kiss.