David Hume Kennerly was on assignment for TIME in December 1979 when the magazine’s editor, Henry Grunwald, got a sit-down with Castro. A first interview occurred in Castro’s office in Havana.

You are getting a preview of a TIME Magazine article from our archive ... The only man who could have silenced the firing squads was Fidel Castro Ruz, the 32-year-old lawyer, fighter and visionary ...