In 1972, on New Year's Day, bombings rattle Havana.

Batista flees Havana by Eric LippsTo the disgust of U.S. occupation commander Gen. William Westmoreland, a shaken President Fulgencio Batista flees the city. U.S. troops are dispatched to "escort" the Cuban president back to the capital, where he receives a dressing-down from Gen. Westmoreland concerning his "cowardice".
The American commander is unhappy with Batista for another, more fundamental reason as well: his inability to put an end to the Castro insurgency despite the massive U.S. military and intelligence support he has received since his restoration to power.

Unwittingly anticipating a line later used in America, Westmoreland warns Batista that the seemingly unending rebellion is "a cancer growing on your presidency".