following the bay of pigs invasion in april 1961, cuba appealed to the soviet union for military assistance. in exchange for aid, the psp was merged with the 26 july movement and the revolutionary directorate of 13 march into the integrated revolutionary organizations (ori), predecessor to the communist party of cuba, and escalante, who enjoyed support from moscow, elevated to its secretary. according to juanita castro, some referred to this period as the "anibalato". juanita castro noted that, during this period, "his picture ran in the papers more frequently than fidel's and more escalante people were finding their way into positions of power."