He even visited the Lincoln Memorial when he was here in DC..........................

Premiership

Main article: Premiership of Fidel Castro

§Consolidating leadership: 1959–60

Castro in Washington, D.C., arriving at the MATS Terminal (left) and visiting the Lincoln Memorial (right).

On February 16, 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.^[126] In April he visited the U.S. on a charm offensive where he met Vice PresidentRichard Nixon, whom he instantly disliked.^[127] Proceeding to Canada, Trinidad, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires, unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded "Marshall Plan" for Latin America.^[128] Appointing himself President of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, in May 1959 Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform, limiting landholdings to 993 acres (402 ha) per owner and forbidding further foreign land ownership. Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up; popular among the working class, it alienated many middle class supporters.^[129] Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry, introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit, advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination.^[130] Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised,^[131] and in March 1959, Castro ordered rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved.^[132]