At the age of 90.
A massive figure in world affairs for 50 odd years.
He deposed a corrupt dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in a revolution in collaboration with Che Guevara.
There were stories that originally Fidel was not particularly pro-Communist until he met with President Eisenhower who gave him such a hard time, and pushed him into the arms of the Soviets.
He led a fairly brutal government in the early days. Allegedly Che was the one who wanted scads of opponents executed.
2016 claims another one. Why? Why? Why?
#PutOutYourCigars #laters
Was in Cuba two years ago and they still clearly loved Che but, honestly, most of them were hanging out for Fidel to die, which he has threatened to do for decades. FWIW the locals I talked were well and truly over him and weren’t real keen on his brother either. And they didn’t mind telling a foreigner either. I suspect any tears falling on the streets of Havana will be of the crocodile variety.
Was in Cuba two years ago and they still clearly loved Che but, honestly, most of them were hanging out for Fidel to die, which he has threatened to do for decades. FWIW the locals I talked were well and truly over him and weren't real keen on his brother either. And they didn't mind telling a foreigner either. I suspect any tears falling on the streets of Havana will be of the crocodile variety.
There’ll be some aged Cubanos in Little Havana in Miami cheering, and dreaming of going back to claim the property they fled nearly 60 years ago.
There will be genuine and sincere grief in Cuba and many other parts of the World for Castro. Especially in Africa, where Cubans troops helped end apartheid and Cubans doctors and nurses saved many lives.
I first visited Cuba in 1982 and many times since on business. I always found it a progressive socialist Nation and if read the history, much better off than if the corrupt Baptiste regime supported the the US Government and the Mafia had continued.
Castro built schools, hospitals and universities, eliminated illiteracy, built house and improved the life of all Cubans. No doubt he harshly treated any opposition, but in the context of the hundreds of assassination attempts on his life, Bay of Pigs etc, it was understandable.
Given the US embargo and the fall of the Soviet support, Cubas economy has suffered but it is a vibrant happy place and great to do business with, and a top holiday spot.
There will be genuine and sincere grief in Cuba and many other parts of the World for Castro. Especially in Africa, where Cubans troops helped end apartheid and Cubans doctors and nurses saved many lives.I first visited Cuba in 1982 and many times since on business. I always found it a progressive socialist Nation and if read the history, much better off than if the corrupt Baptiste regime supported the the US Government and the Mafia had continued.
Castro built schools, hospitals and universities, eliminated illiteracy, built house and improved the life of all Cubans. No doubt he harshly treated any opposition, but in the context of the hundreds of assassination attempts on his life, Bay of Pigs etc, it was understandable.
Given the US embargo and the fall of the Soviet support, Cubas economy has suffered but it is a vibrant happy place and great to do business with, and a top holiday spot.
Hi Fidel hi
Not sure why but I can’t help but respect a bloke who outlasted/outlived 9 or 10 US Presidents, survived multiple attempts on his life from at home and outside, outsmarted extremely harsh and debilitating trade and humanitarian sanctions for 60 odd years and managed to recalibrate the economy after the collapse of Cuba’s main benefactor in the Soviet Union in 1991. Having said that none of my family disappeared or was imprisoned by his regime and I haven’t had to live under his dictatorship so it’s easy for me to say.
Better and worse than is being reported.
The U.S. reaction to a tiny island’s defiance for decades is much more instructive.
“On December 18, 1956, Fidel and I were in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra, in a place called Cinco Palmas. After our first hug his first question was: ‘How many rifles do you have?’ I answered five. And he said, 'I have two. That makes seven. Now we can win the war.”
“It didn’t take much to prompt me to join any revolution against a tyrant, but Fidel struck me as an extraordinary man … He had exceptional faith that once we left for Cuba (from Mexico) we would arrive. That once we arrived we would fight. And once we fought we would win. I shared his optimism. I had to, to fight, to achieve. Stop crying and fight.”
“At a time when almost the entire communist world marches towards democracy, Fidel Castro has gone against public opinion and refuses to accept any kind of change or anything that suggests perestroika or democracy … A profound philosopher, he has made it clear that material things are transient, to such a degree that there are virtually no material things in Cuba.”
“Castro is not just another Latin American dictator, a petty tyrant bent merely on personal power and gain. His ambitions extend far beyond his own shores.” - US president John F Kennedy, 1962.
“Fidel, for me, is a grand master. A wise man should never die; a man like Fidel will never die because he will always be part of the people.”
“Whatever we may think of him, he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally. He seems to be sincere. He is either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline — my guess is the former, and as I have already implied his ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any figure I have met in 50 countries.”
“Fidel Castro had Americans murdered illegally, and that was wrong, too. And I’m proud that we have a blockade against people who kill innocent Americans.” - US president Bill Clinton in 1996, after Cuba killed four US citizens when it shot down two civilian planes belonging to a Cuban-American group that had agitated against the Castro government and had repeatedly flown into Cuban air space.
"From its earliest days, the Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration for all those who value freedom. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist and orchestrated campaign to destroy the awesome force of the Cuban revolution. Long live the Cuban Revolution! Long live comrade Fidel Castro! - Nelson Mandela in a July 1991 speech. Mandela served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
“A man of great charisma. He’s brave, Fidel Castro. A politician with an iron fist. He stays strong. He put his close friend in front of the firing squad. I would have given him a life sentence or expelled him from the country, but he had him shot.”
“The best thing that Fidel Castro left us is the lesson that we don’t want any more Fidel Castros in Cuba. The lesson is that a man like that ends up absorbing the whole nation, ends up seeing himself as the embodiment of the homeland, and ends up simply taking away our nationality. The lesson of Fidel Castro is no more Fidel Castros. Some people admire him, but they admire him for what they think he was, not for who he really was. Staying in power that long is no merit.”
I recommend having a look at the #TrudeauEuologies trend on Twitter.
Screw Twitter. Who cares what random p*ssants think?
A real charmer was Fidel Castro.
"On May 27, [1966,] 166 Cubans – civilians and members of the military – were executed and submitted to medical procedures of blood extraction of an average of seven pints per person. This blood is sold to Communist Vietnam at a rate of $50 per pint with the dual purpose of obtaining hard currency and contributing to the Vietcong Communist aggression.
“A pint of blood is equivalent to half a liter. Extracting this amount of blood from a person sentenced to death produces cerebral anemia and a state of unconsciousness and paralysis. Once the blood is extracted, the person is taken by two militiamen on a stretcher to the location where the execution takes place.”
– InterAmerican Human Rights Commission, April 7, 1967
And more here.
http://www.cubaarchive.org/files/Blood_Extraction.pdf
This does not help Perth glory one bit
A real charmer was Fidel Castro. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113590852154334404"On May 27, [1966,] 166 Cubans – civilians and members of the military – were executed and submitted to medical procedures of blood extraction of an average of seven pints per person. This blood is sold to Communist Vietnam at a rate of $50 per pint with the dual purpose of obtaining hard currency and contributing to the Vietcong Communist aggression.
“A pint of blood is equivalent to half a liter. Extracting this amount of blood from a person sentenced to death produces cerebral anemia and a state of unconsciousness and paralysis. Once the blood is extracted, the person is taken by two militiamen on a stretcher to the location where the execution takes place.”
– InterAmerican Human Rights Commission, April 7, 1967
And more here.
http://www.cubaarchive.org/files/Blood_Extraction.pdf
Good socialist doctrine; waste nothing !!
Paternity test required.
That certainly raises the eyebrows.
I’d be asking Gil Grissom to check the DNA there.
Nah, I reckon Faul McCartney is the father.
