Angela Peña, an investigative reporter that writes for Hoy newspaper, continued publishing information that confirms that Fidel Castro used the DR as training ground to prepare the guerrilla troops that would help him gain power in Cuba. Retired military interviewed, that preferred to remain anonymous in order to preserve the "mystique of the corps", say that Dictator Trujillo allowed Fidel Castro to train troops here between 1956 and 1959. Once he reached power, Castro became a strong opponent to Trujillo, who at the end backed Cuban Dictator Batista against Castro. Training took place at the Itabo, Haina, the Centro de los Héroes and military infantry center that was located where today the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña university stands. Among the instructors participating in the training were today General Enrique Pérez y Pérez and César Augusto Cocco Recio. The military even explained that after reaching power in 1959, Castro came on board a ship to Montecristi, on the northwestern coast, to sign a non-aggression pact with Trujillo.
