Fidel didn't defy the USA, he defied morality and individual rights of Cubans. The USA just failed to stop him.
8
In a recent interview President-elect Donald J. Trump referred to this
newspaper as a "treasure." The choice of Anthony DePalma to write
Castro's obituary, rather than any one of several gifted & experienced 'in house' obituarists makes the point. Although DePalma retired ftom the NYT in 2008, after 22 years, brought rich historical & insitutional memory to the task. In 2006, he published, "THE MAN WHO INVENTED FIDEL: Castro Cuba & Herbert L. Matthews of the New York Times." Those of us old enough to have read Matthews' dispatches from the mountains of Eastern Cuba in 1957 may also recall tales of the author's friendship with Hemingway. and Martha Gelhorn's speculation that the NYT reporter was the model for
Robert Jordan in, "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Here are two observations to
'salpicar' the sweeping & excellent retrospective that DePalma has offered. After the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis was resolved by negotiations between Washington & Moscow, some resented the terms of the deal. A chant to express disfavor was composed: "Nikita, mariquita, lo que se da, no se quita." in 1985, a Bronx detective observed that the Mariel boatlift individuals who engaged in crime were using high caliber weapons. The reason casualties were low. he added, was because they weren't very good shots. Finally, the bench strength of the NYT is vouchsafed by former collaborators like DePalma, who bring myriad talents to the table. Kudos are in order!
newspaper as a "treasure." The choice of Anthony DePalma to write
Castro's obituary, rather than any one of several gifted & experienced 'in house' obituarists makes the point. Although DePalma retired ftom the NYT in 2008, after 22 years, brought rich historical & insitutional memory to the task. In 2006, he published, "THE MAN WHO INVENTED FIDEL: Castro Cuba & Herbert L. Matthews of the New York Times." Those of us old enough to have read Matthews' dispatches from the mountains of Eastern Cuba in 1957 may also recall tales of the author's friendship with Hemingway. and Martha Gelhorn's speculation that the NYT reporter was the model for
Robert Jordan in, "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Here are two observations to
'salpicar' the sweeping & excellent retrospective that DePalma has offered. After the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis was resolved by negotiations between Washington & Moscow, some resented the terms of the deal. A chant to express disfavor was composed: "Nikita, mariquita, lo que se da, no se quita." in 1985, a Bronx detective observed that the Mariel boatlift individuals who engaged in crime were using high caliber weapons. The reason casualties were low. he added, was because they weren't very good shots. Finally, the bench strength of the NYT is vouchsafed by former collaborators like DePalma, who bring myriad talents to the table. Kudos are in order!
2
Oi! Is the fact that he defied the United States really the most important thing to say about him in the headline?!
3
"Despite having a law degree, Mr. Castro had no real experience in economics or government."
Law school is not supposed to provide experience, real or otherwise, in economics or government. That Americans think lawyers can do anything is part of their problem.
Law school is not supposed to provide experience, real or otherwise, in economics or government. That Americans think lawyers can do anything is part of their problem.
4
The memories of this family and the memories I have of my own and the memories of so many families are so disparate that if the newspaper would truly be interested in finding the truth they would dig deeper. But it seems NYT is not truly invested on this. Too bad. Thank God history is not written by newspapers. It is written by historians that dig and explore. Too bad you chose to write a so called story that's so superficial it does not even resemble the truth.
4
To look at Fidel Castro in isolation from the rest of Latin American leadership is to fundamentally misunderstand the situation.
Fidel Castro was an autocrat. But so were the most of leaders of Latin American countries we supported from Guatemala to Argentina. In many such places opposition leadership were not simply jailed or forced (or allowed) to leave. They and their families were often brutally murdered. Whole villages were sometimes razed, their people murdered, for support (or suspected support) for opposition groups. On top of that, these autocratic regimes rarely provided education, health care, or promoted the interests of those ethnic groups that had historically been oppressed in their countries. In Cuba, there was universal health care, universal education, an effort to lift up Afro-Cubans, and the idea that even if life was hard all shared in the sacrifice and benefits. Compare Cuba of the 1960's-1980's to Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua (before the Sandinista), Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil and etc. You'll find the same disregard for individual rights, but no emphasis on the rights of the people as a whole. The US supported these repressive regimes and sometimes even helped install them. Fidel was no saint. But he did improve the lives of the poor in Cuba. And Castro was much less harsh to his political enemies that comparable regimes elsewhere in Latin America. Nowhere is it written that he ordered genocide.
Fidel Castro was an autocrat. But so were the most of leaders of Latin American countries we supported from Guatemala to Argentina. In many such places opposition leadership were not simply jailed or forced (or allowed) to leave. They and their families were often brutally murdered. Whole villages were sometimes razed, their people murdered, for support (or suspected support) for opposition groups. On top of that, these autocratic regimes rarely provided education, health care, or promoted the interests of those ethnic groups that had historically been oppressed in their countries. In Cuba, there was universal health care, universal education, an effort to lift up Afro-Cubans, and the idea that even if life was hard all shared in the sacrifice and benefits. Compare Cuba of the 1960's-1980's to Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua (before the Sandinista), Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil and etc. You'll find the same disregard for individual rights, but no emphasis on the rights of the people as a whole. The US supported these repressive regimes and sometimes even helped install them. Fidel was no saint. But he did improve the lives of the poor in Cuba. And Castro was much less harsh to his political enemies that comparable regimes elsewhere in Latin America. Nowhere is it written that he ordered genocide.
9
I was an engineer with EBASCO Services a subsidiary of Electric Bond & Share Company, which owned the utilities in Cuba. I worked with many fine Cuban engineers who escaped from their beloved Cuba, never to touch the soil of their birth again. Cuba is a great 20th Century tragedy. And the Castros and nothing more than thugs with guns who enrich themselves on the backs, at first of the rich, and then everyone else.
6
I would love it if the New York Times would send reporters across the Hudson River to Union City, West New York, Elizabeth, and other places where Cuban immigrants (yes, immigrants before the Revolution) and refugees arrived and some still live. If our NY-based news outlets won't cover the local Cuban American response who will?
9
So that's how you define murderous tyrants that destroy a nation and kill their opponents? A "Revolutionary?"Par for the course NYT.
10
Quoting from this article about the New York Times...
'The three articles, which began in The Times on Sunday, Feb. 24, 1957, presented a Castro that Americans could root for. “The personality of the man is overpowering,” Mr. Matthews wrote. “Here was an educated, dedicated fanatic, a man of ideals, of courage and of remarkable qualities of leadership.”
The articles repeated Mr. Castro’s assertions that Cuba’s future was anything but a Communist state. “He has strong ideas of liberty, democracy, social justice, the need to restore the Constitution, to hold elections,” Mr. Matthews wrote. When asked about the United States, Mr. Castro replied, “You can be sure we have no animosity toward the United States and the American people.”
The Cuban government denounced Mr. Matthews and called the articles fabrications. '
I guess it isn't surprising that The New York Times is still getting it wrong.
'The three articles, which began in The Times on Sunday, Feb. 24, 1957, presented a Castro that Americans could root for. “The personality of the man is overpowering,” Mr. Matthews wrote. “Here was an educated, dedicated fanatic, a man of ideals, of courage and of remarkable qualities of leadership.”
The articles repeated Mr. Castro’s assertions that Cuba’s future was anything but a Communist state. “He has strong ideas of liberty, democracy, social justice, the need to restore the Constitution, to hold elections,” Mr. Matthews wrote. When asked about the United States, Mr. Castro replied, “You can be sure we have no animosity toward the United States and the American people.”
The Cuban government denounced Mr. Matthews and called the articles fabrications. '
I guess it isn't surprising that The New York Times is still getting it wrong.
5
Interesting to me is that Castro insisted that Cuba had no need of the US or anything from the US, but people blame the US embargo on Cuba for somehow repressing Cuba. I think there is a disconnect here.
4
Anyone who idolizes a thug like Castro and then accuses Trump for having similar tendencies (without the firing squads, torture of thousands or threatening the US with nuclear holocaust) is an utter hypocrite and unworthy of the title of "reporter." Does the hypocrisy of it not smack you in the face?
8
Hi Anthony
I just listened to Michel Onfray, the esteemed French philospher, speak about the passing of Fidel Castro on his webtv site.
He says that Castro did not pass away on Nov 25, but sometime before that date. Nov 25 was chosen to promote Castro's mythology - he started the soi-disant revolution on Nov 25.
Best
I just listened to Michel Onfray, the esteemed French philospher, speak about the passing of Fidel Castro on his webtv site.
He says that Castro did not pass away on Nov 25, but sometime before that date. Nov 25 was chosen to promote Castro's mythology - he started the soi-disant revolution on Nov 25.
Best
1
Great cigars.
1
We are lead to believe by the press and many other praisers, that Free Health, Free Education, and Free Athletics for all is somehow the Ultimate of human needs. (Though it is not argued, that in Cuba, that little can be done with that education or athletic prowess, and Health wise - you get a free check-up and very basic services (well the 1% do get the best), but heaven forbid if you need a Transplant or Cancer treatment or any of a 1000 very serious medical needs you are out of luck). So this all beats, Democracy, Freedom of speech, Freedom of Travel, the ability to buy AC, or have internet access to the world, or a car to enjoy the wonders of the island, or fancy clothes, or heck even a french cheese, german car, russian vodka. No, I guess it is better to sweat it out, go to a censured internet cafe and download at 512kb, wear worn clothes, eat rice (again) cuban rum (again), and take 10 hour bus ride visit family. Why the praise? If so great, why, why, why out of 180 countries, this is the only one that has such a great system? Oh, it is ALL because of the big bad USA.
7
To the extent that Obama found a tutor in matching his political philosophies to those of Castro, democrats need look no further to understand why Donald Trump is our new president.
2
What lesson have we learned?
If you want to live too 90+, smoke 15 Primo cuban cigars a day.
If you want to live too 90+, smoke 15 Primo cuban cigars a day.
2
Everybody loves Castro,... just ask him and he would have told you. Maybe the fact that you could disappear if you didn't love him had something to do with it. No wonder he is a hero to all the liberals, he wrote the book on silencing dissent.
6
Anyone who believes that their way of thinking is always right and just and anyone else's thinking (if not like theirs is wrong) is not human nor do they believe in humanity. This seems to be the category that he fits in to. They only understand powerlessness when they die because it is the only thing that wins over them. He is now commiserating with all the other evil leaders who still think that their way is the right way. I hope for peace and light and liberty for the Cuban people.
4
Castro,... the quote revolutionary, according to he NYT. Why would the NYT offer up this biased romantic portrait of a murderous dictator? Why would the Rolling Stone do the same thing with the Boston Bomber? Is it because they defied the US, whom the left fashionable despises? Suspiciously absent from this story is reality. You know, the fact that Castro and his pal Che Guevara were well known for silencing all opposition with cold blooded murder. My wifes grandparents were prominent doctors there when Castro started seizing assets and exterminating dissenters. Before he died, he constantly commented on how Obamas speeches reminded him of Castro.
6
Who doesn't have an opinion on Castro? Let's begin with the fact that revolutions are messy things. They usually start for good reasons (I am excluding coups d'état and the like) and by people with high ideals and go through stages that pass through chaos and violence before settling down. In the process, many people are displaced, killed, imprisoned. It is well to remember that in the American revolution around 60,000 people exiled themselves to Canada and some 200,000 slaves tried to take advantage of the British offer of freedom, with some of them eventually going to British colonies and even London. The other thing to consider is that in any and all political situations, there are winners and losers and when a revolution occurs those who were the winners become the losers. These are the people who under the previous regime enjoyed wealth and privileges. Indeed, the first Cuban exiles were of the middle and upper classes and, significantly, were in the great majority white. All exiles feel that they have unfairly lost position and country and we can't expect them to have a positive view of Castro.
5
Seeing how left-wing people cherish their extremists and unabashedly confess their emotional attachment to them, while minimizing or romanticizing their crimes, makes me very relieved that Trump has won. Left-wing people hate the United States and wish to see them destroyed. We really dodged a bullet there (but for how long?).
6
The headline of this article:
"Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90"
Let me fix that for you...
"Fidel Castro, Communist Dictator Who Killed Thousands, Oppressed Millions, Destroyed Families, Ruined the Lives of Millions More, and Brought the World to the Brink of Nuclear Armageddon, Dies WAY Too Late"
Too many words? Then how about just:
"Fidel Castro, Communist Dictator, Finally Dead. Thank God."
See, editors? That's how you eulogize a murderous tyrant.
"Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90"
Let me fix that for you...
"Fidel Castro, Communist Dictator Who Killed Thousands, Oppressed Millions, Destroyed Families, Ruined the Lives of Millions More, and Brought the World to the Brink of Nuclear Armageddon, Dies WAY Too Late"
Too many words? Then how about just:
"Fidel Castro, Communist Dictator, Finally Dead. Thank God."
See, editors? That's how you eulogize a murderous tyrant.
16
I've been twice to Cuba, and I have very high regard for the Cuban revolution. I enjoy many aspects of the culture there and all that the island has achieved, even in the face of the U. S. embargo, but am saddened by the struggle still being waged there. Our embargo against the island has been the longest embargo ever imposed on another state; for some years now no other country but Israel has joined us in voting in the U. N. to continue our sanctions. The NYT has played its usual part in condemning a state not to its political liking. Free education all the way through graduate school, no one homeless or without medical care -- perhaps we should all be "communists."
6
All Communist countries are failures, Embargo or not. That's why their entire system collapsed under its own dead weight, worldwide. An exception North Korea, with 2 million dead from famine. A showcase.
Castro used the Embargo to mask his crimes, his wacky economic policies, and his junkie-like dependence on his Soviet puppet masters, who were die-hard racists, amusingly. What did Fidel's boyfriend Che Guevara fomenting revolution in Bolivia and elsewhere have to do with an "Embargo"? Nada. It was just more Colonization, by Communists. A fitting end for Che.
Castro used the Embargo to mask his crimes, his wacky economic policies, and his junkie-like dependence on his Soviet puppet masters, who were die-hard racists, amusingly. What did Fidel's boyfriend Che Guevara fomenting revolution in Bolivia and elsewhere have to do with an "Embargo"? Nada. It was just more Colonization, by Communists. A fitting end for Che.
5
Jet Blue now flies daily to the island. Cuba would love to have its first non-criminal immigrant. Put your body where your beliefs are, and report back if you can.
3
Indeed, non-criminal immigrants made Australia a smashing success, as native son Robert Hughes showed in "The Fatal Shore." No longer does one need a Felony to settle in Oz.
2
Not one word about the Castro's mass murder of thousands of Cubans. Disgraceful.
11
Yeah well you also conveniently forget the genocide of the Native Indians, two centuries of slavery, segregation, the close to 1.5 million Vietnamese civilians killed, Irak and the 150 000 civilians killed... Oh sorry that wasn t that was US... Pitiful.
4
Exactly what does that have to do with an article regarding the death of a murderous dictator?
1
this is sad because this is a good country
A very nice editorial touch, comparing
England, with a parliamentary democracy to Cuba under Trade & Mark!!
England, with a parliamentary democracy to Cuba under Trade & Mark!!
2
Fidel Castro was a Dictator.
He was obsessed with Power.
He helped Cuba and he harmed Cuba.
He had people killed whom he could have expelled from Cuba.
Had he the power to, he would have launched nuclear missiles at America.
[Much to McNamara's surprise as he learned in an conversation with
Castro decades after the Cuban Missile Crisis. ]
58 years after the Cuban Revolution - Cuba is still not a Democracy.
Yet, the Pro Castro Apologists will be out in force this weekend.
He was obsessed with Power.
He helped Cuba and he harmed Cuba.
He had people killed whom he could have expelled from Cuba.
Had he the power to, he would have launched nuclear missiles at America.
[Much to McNamara's surprise as he learned in an conversation with
Castro decades after the Cuban Missile Crisis. ]
58 years after the Cuban Revolution - Cuba is still not a Democracy.
Yet, the Pro Castro Apologists will be out in force this weekend.
9
John Brown: After over 200 years,The USA is still not a democracy.
3
I had some contact with Cubans as part of a religious exchange program during the early 1990's, when things got seriously bad due to the Soviet collapse. What was very noticeable was that even in a time of serious crisis, nobody was starving, nobody was homeless, everybody was basically healthy, and everybody was literate.
That has always been the promise of socialism and the Cuban Revolution, and by and large it has succeeded. I'm not sure if the cost was worth it (political repression, assassinations, etc), but there's a reason many Cubans supported Castro right up until the end of his life.
That has always been the promise of socialism and the Cuban Revolution, and by and large it has succeeded. I'm not sure if the cost was worth it (political repression, assassinations, etc), but there's a reason many Cubans supported Castro right up until the end of his life.
3
Some Cubans, not happy with what was happening on their country, took a boat from Mexico and decided to make some changes. Other Cubans went to Miami and opened a sandwich shop.
Long live Fidel
Long live Fidel
4
It's so easy for Americans and Cuban Americans alike to condemn Castro categorically, while looking the other way when it comes to the moral failings of their own chosen leaders and self-professed ideologies. It's also easy to dismiss the real accomplishments Castro and the Cuban the people made for themselves, and there are many including education, health care, and biotech, not to mention music, cigars, and rum. Cuba is an important leader of Latin America because Castro recognized that U.S. hegemony in the Western Hemisphere was exploitative and poisonous, and he held his ground against its short-sighted and inconsistent imperialist agenda over the years. I have traveled to Cuba many times over the last decade, and I once saw Castro surrounded by ordinary folks and well-wishers taking pictures as he left a meeting at the Hotel Nacional in Havana. What struck me was how much he was adored by ordinary people for having given them something they did not have under Batiste and American-backed right-wing military dictatorships: recognition and dignity. Say what you want about the man, the myth, the dictator, whatever. Anyone who condemns Castro on these pages, but voted for Trump is not only a fool and a hypocrite, but a dangerous reminder to the rest of us that a real education is essential for human emancipation. Venceremos!
4
My wife and I just returned from Cuba a week ago. We visited the island as part of an educational trip. We met with artists, musicians, chefs, politicians, doctors, teachers, as well as the many Cuban citizens eager to engage the 'Americans'. I can vouch for the statements made here by JLS. The people of Cuba generally love their Fidel Castro and they continue to hold tightly to "all the the things that the revolution brought to them" and they do not want to give them up. The USA would be well served to look carefully at the social structures that the revolution has established, namely, free education through college, free health care, home ownership (yes, that's right, homelessness in Cuba is illegal, everyone has a place to call home.). The NYTimes should do some real investigative report and go to Cuba to report what the Cuban people are really all about. They are generally a very happy people, well cared for, safe from crime and drugs (guns are illegal there) and very highly educated, all, of which we do not have in the USA. I encourage all Americans to visit Cuba so they can see for themselves what is possible in a society before they denigrate a people and country they know nothing about. Knowing now what the Cuban people have now makes me more hopeful for my own country here in the USA.
4
Some of those Caribbean island have been played by American imperialist ( i e Haiti !) wished they had leader like Castro . Successfully kept Americans at bay .... defied 11 yup 11 US presidents ! It's a fact . RIP mr Castro !
3
For three days we have seen nothing but front page headlines about Fidel, the Communist ruler of Cuba who kept his people in universal poverty for five decades, exported his mercenary soldiers throughout the world and may have been actively involved in the drug cartels movements of their material.
His tiny nation almost brought nuclear war to the USA, revoulutions throughout South America and the NY Times runs pictures of Fidel playing baseball, the PM of Canada sings his praises.
Am I missing something ?
4
The Times is the newspaper of record,but instead of reporting 'Castro,Longtime Dictaor of Cuba dead-an essential fact, they reported the 'puff' description of Castro as long time 'leader' of Cuba. A bloody dictator responsible for many thousands of deaths over a 90 year period, reported as a respected. 'leader' of his people
5
Fidel's only "merit" (and I use the word cautiously) came in resisting US hegemony - but he could've done it without the suffering and oppression of people. He failed the test that Abraham Lincoln alluded to in his famous quote: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. "
From budding revolutionary, concerned with overthrowing a corrupt dictator, he because what he himself despised. This is the lesson to us all.
Fidel saw through the motives behind the Cold War and played along the game to get what he needed to stay in power and to stick it to "The Man", aka USA.
From budding revolutionary, concerned with overthrowing a corrupt dictator, he because what he himself despised. This is the lesson to us all.
Fidel saw through the motives behind the Cold War and played along the game to get what he needed to stay in power and to stick it to "The Man", aka USA.
5
The US's over-the-top competitive, mean-spirited culture of capitalist greed and financial- and political-power grabs are worrisome. Is it any wonder that the our incarceration rates, suicide rates, and drug addiction rates lead the industrialized world.
Contrast this with Cuba.
Cubans need not worry about income, education, unemployment, housing, food, clothing, and medical care because they collectively and modestly meet those needs through communist government programs. Yes, it is a poor country with shortages from time to time because of the US embargo, but the people seem happy; sports and the arts – dance, painting, sculpture, music, writing – flourish; communities engage in activities and communication, and crime is not much of an issue.
The people the I have in Cuba are amazing and they like and welcome Americans – the exceptions being our embargo enthusiastic politicians and Cuban-Americans in Miami.
Had the embargo been lifted years ago, Cuba would be a financially sound place today. Instead, the US treats Cuba differently than we treat any other Communist nation.
Currently, the Cuban embargo is enforced mainly through six statutes: Some as recent as the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms–Burton Act 1996, and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
Castro did an amazing job despite the crippling, and uniformly criticized-by-nations across the world, U.S. embargo and the collapse of its staunchest sponsor and ally, the Soviet Union.
Contrast this with Cuba.
Cubans need not worry about income, education, unemployment, housing, food, clothing, and medical care because they collectively and modestly meet those needs through communist government programs. Yes, it is a poor country with shortages from time to time because of the US embargo, but the people seem happy; sports and the arts – dance, painting, sculpture, music, writing – flourish; communities engage in activities and communication, and crime is not much of an issue.
The people the I have in Cuba are amazing and they like and welcome Americans – the exceptions being our embargo enthusiastic politicians and Cuban-Americans in Miami.
Had the embargo been lifted years ago, Cuba would be a financially sound place today. Instead, the US treats Cuba differently than we treat any other Communist nation.
Currently, the Cuban embargo is enforced mainly through six statutes: Some as recent as the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms–Burton Act 1996, and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
Castro did an amazing job despite the crippling, and uniformly criticized-by-nations across the world, U.S. embargo and the collapse of its staunchest sponsor and ally, the Soviet Union.
5
Difference between Cuba's two oppressive dictators:
(1) Fulgencio Batista: Compliant. He allowed Cuba to be a pseudo- American colony and 'playground' for elitists, wealthy and criminals...little if anything done for the common and poorer population
(2) Fidel Castro: Defiant. Castro ‘stood his ground’ refused submission to any ‘America’s colonial type ‘ rule or interference. Castro catered to the "lessers" elevated the literacy rate now 99.7% (second best in the world) better health care, infant and mortality rate than America.
(1) Fulgencio Batista: Compliant. He allowed Cuba to be a pseudo- American colony and 'playground' for elitists, wealthy and criminals...little if anything done for the common and poorer population
(2) Fidel Castro: Defiant. Castro ‘stood his ground’ refused submission to any ‘America’s colonial type ‘ rule or interference. Castro catered to the "lessers" elevated the literacy rate now 99.7% (second best in the world) better health care, infant and mortality rate than America.
7
I remember Fidel Castro's ticker tape parade in NYC. Many years later, I worked for a small corporation which which was owned by a man married to A Cuban refugee. She had not been poor. Like many other Cuban refugees from Fidel's Cuba, her family had always kept their money in U.S. banks and when they fled Cuba in the early days, they flew in a Pan Am plane with diamonds and rubies sewn into the seams of their clothes. Fidel's home had been a playground for the rich and often shady folks from New York and Florida, the native people subjected to poverty and near-slave status. I cannot speak for what happened over the following years, but at the time of the Revolution, he was mostly a good guy.
2
That's a funny headline. If the then (or ever) paranoid US had left the Cuban Revolution alone, the Cold War wouldn't have come anywhere near the West, the 11 Presidents would have been ignored and there wouldn't have been any brink of nuclear war. So why does it say Fidel was responsible for all that?
3
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
Marine Corps General Smedley Butler 1935
Marine Corps General Smedley Butler 1935
12
I hope Cuba implements vigorous determined efforts at participatory democracy right way, before the country drifts toward another over-controlling leader.
A vigorous democracy would give Cuba the wherewithal to prosper and diversify. It's future should be bright, but will only mediocre if Cubans remain oppressed.
A vigorous democracy would give Cuba the wherewithal to prosper and diversify. It's future should be bright, but will only mediocre if Cubans remain oppressed.
1
I can only hope that with the passing of Fidel Castro that the President Elect will allow us to enjoy the hospitality of the Cuban people. Maybe his daughter will brand a hotel in Havana that is if the recounts don't nullify his election first.
6
His own people dispised him, I suppose killing 3,000,000 of his own had something to do with it. Yet some make him out to be a hero. Then why would you risk sharks through 60 miles of terror riding on 6 Pepsi cans to get away?
16
That's not correct and it's important to be accurate. The history is complicated. The evidence shows that many people loved and still love Castro. You only need to read the interviews with Cubans mourning his death. Let's not forget that Castro's violence was in response to Batitsta's violence who led 2 prior revolutions against democratically elected governments in Cuba. http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm
It's sad that violence begets violence and ordinary people suffer.
It's sad that violence begets violence and ordinary people suffer.
10
3.000.000 sound a bit like a Trumpism
10
He freed Cuba from some puppet American racketeer "godfather" leaders. His revolution failed, but on his death, dignity tells me to support Prime Minister Trudeau's seeing the best. His legacy there for me is embedded in the lyrics to Guantanamera, America's legacy there for me in Guantanamo.
9
I'm struck by how "even-handed" the press is when a US-allied horrible dictator dies ("he may have made some mistakes, but ..."), but how much our own government's propaganda is simply repeated when a dictator who opposed them passes on. People may recall, or have heard if they're younger, than Castro did not overthrow a tropical democracy with plenty for all and replace it with a terrible dictatorship that did absolutely nothing right for its people, making them poorer, less literate, sicker and more likely to starve than previously. There's no particular reason why a regime our government dislikes can't have pluses and minuses - from the standpoint of its own citizens - at the very same time. But you'd never know that from the U.S. media.
11
Most so-called Revolutions in the 20th and 21st century are in reality a fake name given to a"Regime-change" and a" coup'd'etat" concocted by a superpower and their conspirators.
2
All of you who rant about Cubans chance for freedom now that Fidel has passed away.....petition Congress to lift the failed and cruel embargo.
Leave the Cuban people to decide their own fate. Stop with the 'democracy building".
Cuba is an independent nation....not a colony of the US. If Castro did nothing else right....he got that one right.
Leave the Cuban people to decide their own fate. Stop with the 'democracy building".
Cuba is an independent nation....not a colony of the US. If Castro did nothing else right....he got that one right.
13
I suspect that the judgement of history will be that Castro purged Cuba of any vestiges of Spanish and American colonialism. Whatever our relations are going forward, Cuba and the US will treat each other as sovereign equals.
7
How can any human being defend Castro? The man was a brutal dictator. He enriched himself and impoverished his whole country. He was a violent thug. He confiscated property and imprisoned thousands with no due process! Oh, he also murdered his political opponents!
If healthcare was so good in Cuba, why did he go overseas to have himself treated when he was sick?
The Left's love affair with despicable people and thugs knows no bounds! Uncle Joe Stalin to Castro and everyone in between!
Gotta also love people who call Trump names but love Castro!!
If healthcare was so good in Cuba, why did he go overseas to have himself treated when he was sick?
The Left's love affair with despicable people and thugs knows no bounds! Uncle Joe Stalin to Castro and everyone in between!
Gotta also love people who call Trump names but love Castro!!
16
To Matt: Oh, if you only knew the truth.
3
I note the article refers to Herbert Matthews ("The Man Who Invented Castro" in passing but neglects to follow up with the fact that, once the Revolution was secured, Castro dumped Matthews and mocked him as one of those "useful idiots" whom he duped into believing his fantasy. Thanks, NYT, for helping to create and prop up this despicable dictator who ruled his island nation of good, intelligent, hardworking souls with an iron fist for more than 40 years. Long may he rot.
13
Castro didn't defy the United States; he used the manufactured enmity to stay in power.
If he had played fair with his people and his neighbor to the North, he would have served as much time as Dictator of Cuba as Batista did, maybe eight years.
A brutal ego maniac.
If he had played fair with his people and his neighbor to the North, he would have served as much time as Dictator of Cuba as Batista did, maybe eight years.
A brutal ego maniac.
11
What I remember most of this time most is not Castro, but the way history unfolds. The then-new post-revolution leaders attempted to establish trade---especially in military equipment--relations with Great Britain. Short-sighted, rabid anti-Communists in Washington scuttled the emerging deal. Castro realigned his quest, approaching the Soviets...the rest of history unfolds itself.
6
While Floridian-Cubans cheer, worldwide Castro is remembered and revered as a great the hero and revolutionary.
People seems to forget that Batista was an oppressive dictator who did little if anything for the ‘lessers’ while the island rich elitists prospered.
Under America’s puppet dictator Batista, Cuba was a ‘playground” for the wealthy and gangsters where vices such as gambling, prostitution and etc. flourished. The gambling hotels enriched dictator Batista with 30% cash and his wife 10% cash from the intakes.
Remember at first, America supported Castro revolutionary victory but soured when Castro ‘stood his ground’ refused submission to any ‘America’s colonial type ‘ rule or interference.
The privileged wealthy elitists fled to Fl Thus followed by sanctions/embargo….. also the riddance of gambling, drugs and other vices. Thus enters Russia and…..
Meanwhile under Castro, Cuba’s literacy rate now 99.7% (second best in the world) better health care, infant and mortality rate than America.
Yes, it’s a “poor” country but prides itself on it’s independence rather than an America’s ‘puppet country. ‘
People seems to forget that Batista was an oppressive dictator who did little if anything for the ‘lessers’ while the island rich elitists prospered.
Under America’s puppet dictator Batista, Cuba was a ‘playground” for the wealthy and gangsters where vices such as gambling, prostitution and etc. flourished. The gambling hotels enriched dictator Batista with 30% cash and his wife 10% cash from the intakes.
Remember at first, America supported Castro revolutionary victory but soured when Castro ‘stood his ground’ refused submission to any ‘America’s colonial type ‘ rule or interference.
The privileged wealthy elitists fled to Fl Thus followed by sanctions/embargo….. also the riddance of gambling, drugs and other vices. Thus enters Russia and…..
Meanwhile under Castro, Cuba’s literacy rate now 99.7% (second best in the world) better health care, infant and mortality rate than America.
Yes, it’s a “poor” country but prides itself on it’s independence rather than an America’s ‘puppet country. ‘
12
Castro's big money came in payments for protection by Latin American drug lords. You didn't know, or just don't care?
6
Opinions vary. What are more difficult to ignore are numbers. For example; numbers of Syrian refugees that have been displaced by the war in Syria. When Castro gained power, Cuba's population was 6 million; now it is 11 million. Before Castro, Cuban emigration was negligibly small. Under Castro, some 2 million Cubans from all races and social backgrounds left; a staggering proportion of that small nation. An equivalent proportion of America's 319 million people would equal 58 million people displaced. What could possibly have triggered a population upheaval of such magnitude? As they say, "quantity has a quality of its own." Apparently Castro's "earthly paradise," paradoxically, has triggered a massive migration of historic proportions fleeing from "paradise." Explain that away.
8
It's not just people's fleeing, it's the decline in significant statistics like infant mortality, literacy rates and per capita food consumption*.
By all accounts, the people of Cuba have not fared well under Castro.
*****
* "The Left's Appalling Whitewashing of Castro's Legacy,"
http://dailysignal.com/2016/11/26/the-lefts-appalling-whitewashing-of-ca...
By all accounts, the people of Cuba have not fared well under Castro.
*****
* "The Left's Appalling Whitewashing of Castro's Legacy,"
http://dailysignal.com/2016/11/26/the-lefts-appalling-whitewashing-of-ca...
10
Castro had maybe eleven homes, chased anything in a skirt, and fathered 11 kids, 2 to actual wives. He tossed gays into jail as well as men with hair that was too long.
It's been guessed by 1 or more of his security people that he had sex with maybe 800 women. He was as secretive as any despot, and his people never knew where he was staying.
The media love affair with clowns like this is pushing former liberals into conservatism.
It's been guessed by 1 or more of his security people that he had sex with maybe 800 women. He was as secretive as any despot, and his people never knew where he was staying.
The media love affair with clowns like this is pushing former liberals into conservatism.
10
A commentator on Face the Nation today said there are two opposing views of Fidel Castro. One is the America-centric view and the other is the Rest-of-the-world-view. I'm reading comments here that lead me to believe many only have the America-centric view of Fidel. He had two main goals: 1. Keep the U.S. and it's interference and exploitation of Cuban resources and Cuban people OUT of Cuba! 2. Support other Latin American countries still facing colonial oppression and exploitation of its resources and people. If Fidel had not kept a tight rein on things he needed to keep a tight rein on, an assassination attempt would have succeeded, another Bay of Pigs would have failed, and another U.S. puppet like Batista would have filled the void. Any talk of him as a ruthless bloody dictator need to read up on U.S. history around the world.
9
Actually there was another view, members of Castros own family who fled the regime and live comfortably as Americans to inform you.
12
Unfortunately, we have an American president who seems to feel about Castro the same way those misguided crowds did who hailed him.
7
It was reported that Castro owned 20 mansions in the Caribbean and Latin America. It was also noted that he lived in palace-like accommodations but he led the Cuban people to believe he lived in a hut. He was a Communist who in reality behaved like someone who resided in a democracy but one riddled with greed and corruption.
The poor Cuban people were starving and residing in slum-like conditions while their leader Castro was treated like a king. I wonder what accommodations await him now after death. I do not think he believed in an afterlife and would probably not be allowed to enter even if he did. He probably thought he was immortal. He will soon find out his fate which will not be pretty.
The poor Cuban people were starving and residing in slum-like conditions while their leader Castro was treated like a king. I wonder what accommodations await him now after death. I do not think he believed in an afterlife and would probably not be allowed to enter even if he did. He probably thought he was immortal. He will soon find out his fate which will not be pretty.
11
"It was reported"??
5
Good for you, Margaret! I too am sick and tired of "passive-voice assertions," especially when opinions differ greatly and verifiable facts are scarce. And on that second point, merely changing to "active voice assertions" gets us only half-way there. A link, for example, may be to an article whose author simply "asserts," without any factual basis whatsoever (other than, perhaps, a citation to yet another article that makes the same assertion without any factual basis).
It would be better simply to say here, for example: "Though no evidence of this has been presented, some critics assert that Castro owned 20 mansions [etc.]"
It would be better simply to say here, for example: "Though no evidence of this has been presented, some critics assert that Castro owned 20 mansions [etc.]"
5
Margaret and Mythreecents,
I was listening to NY1, a local NYC TV station, when they reported these facts. You can contact the station if you want to verify these facts. I hope you are happy now with this source.
I was listening to NY1, a local NYC TV station, when they reported these facts. You can contact the station if you want to verify these facts. I hope you are happy now with this source.
2
Clearly Fidel Castro had negatives, especially for the Cuban people, i.e. the ones who remained in Cuba and worked for change. At the same time Americans have no right to criticize Fidel, since we attempted to murder him numerous times, staged a relentless war of aggression against his country and regime, and, hypocritically, performed the same atrocities we insisted he was guilty of. At the end of the day, Cubans, because of Fidel, have better health care, are a smarter more articulate population, and possess a deeper cultural regard for their nation than Americans will ever realize for theirs. So what is history going to remember? You tell me.
16
Well wait a minute. Cuba confiscated American property that it never paid for. That's an act of war, I'm quite sure. There was no "relentless war" against Cuba, if there had been, Castro would have been deposed years ago and put on trial had he survived.
Cubans have a deeper cultural regard for their country than Americans? What does that mean? They are more articulate...?
History will remember him as a base dictator, a totalitarian who took many lives on his march to power.
Cubans have a deeper cultural regard for their country than Americans? What does that mean? They are more articulate...?
History will remember him as a base dictator, a totalitarian who took many lives on his march to power.
8
Well wait a minute. Cuba confiscated American property that it never paid for. That's an act of war, I'm quite sure. There was no "relentless war" against Cuba, if there had been, Castro would have been deposed years ago and put on trial had he survived.
You mean like the white man did to the natives in the U.S.
Cubans have a deeper cultural regard for their country than Americans? What does that mean? They are more articulate...?
It means they do not bolster false patriotism and are happy with Cuba they do not want to invade and colonize other countries and yes they have a literacy rate of 99.9%
You mean like the white man did to the natives in the U.S.
Cubans have a deeper cultural regard for their country than Americans? What does that mean? They are more articulate...?
It means they do not bolster false patriotism and are happy with Cuba they do not want to invade and colonize other countries and yes they have a literacy rate of 99.9%
6
Castro didn't wield power "like" a tyrant. He was a tyrant. He was in fact a ruthless despot who trampled rights and freedoms; it's not a matter of how you view him. Fact is fact. Thousands of people are dead. They didn't die due to anyone's point of view. They died because Castro had them killed. Still thousands more had all of their property confiscated - middle-class people - thrown out of their homes and rendered destitute, like the family that fled and moved to my neighborhood in the USA when I was a kid. The one thing that has shocked me more than anything else has been the kid gloves, the whitewashing of this mass murderer in the wake of his death, which was long overdue.
14
With the Left, history is not a record of what actually happened;rather, it is the story of what they want others to believe happened...
5
Castro did not bring the Cold War to Latin America. The Eisenhower administration arguably had that honor, when it masterminded the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954. Ernesto Guevera was there in Guatemala City at the time, and he took note, as did the Castros from afar. The CIA was so giddy about the apparent success of "Operation PB-Success" in Guatemala, meanwhile, it used the operation as a model for the the Bay of Pigs.
10
The fact that over a million Cubans fled the communist country under the murderous Castro regime speaks volumes. His atrocities are too many to list.
11
those were the privileged elitists under Batista the cruel oppressive dictator supported by the U.S. government and did little if anything for the regular people. It was the Batista's dictatorship that brought Castro into being.
8
To all who want to throw the first stone at Fidel here are some facts that you should know:
US civilian death count :
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia [1,450,000], Irak [112,000-123,000], Korea [ 600,000 civilian of north Korea], Afghanistan [ 26,000 ]. And then we can add the dictators that we directly supported like Pinochet [30000]...
Castro estimated death count :
27000
He who is free of sin shall cast the first stone...
US civilian death count :
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia [1,450,000], Irak [112,000-123,000], Korea [ 600,000 civilian of north Korea], Afghanistan [ 26,000 ]. And then we can add the dictators that we directly supported like Pinochet [30000]...
Castro estimated death count :
27000
He who is free of sin shall cast the first stone...
11
If I had to describe Castro in simpler terms, it would be like this. Among most other world leaders, particularly those in the third world and eastern bloc, he was like an old and respected member of the firm, revered for past exploits that many of them could only dream of achieving. But at home, in his own country and region, he was more akin to an abusive and controlling patriarch, one whose family lived in absolute terror of him. His popularity and legacy abroad speaks nothing to his actual abilities as a leader, in which he was an abysmal failure. He delivered Nothing of what he promised; Cuba today is no better off than it was under Batista; with hotels and beach resorts catering to rich gringo tourists while even well-educated Cubans must flog cigars and drive taxis to make a livable wage. This man accomplished nothing; like every other caudillo before and after, he took power by force and then ruled by force. He is no hero, and he is definitely no icon. He is a myth, a mirage for other people to project their own fears and aspirations on. To make him more than he was would be to do a grave disservice to future generations. Let the myth die with the man.
7
Fidel Castro has made the USA look so small and petty. Its presidents he faced are all lilliputians compared to this great man. He turned all of Latin America against the USA, and most of the World too. Only in the USA do they celebrate his death, making themselves look even smaller and more petty. And dead thought he is, he remains a colossus, compared to his critics.
14
He made the U.S. look small and petty cause it is , Thanks to our politicians who care nothing for the common man
7
The majority of Cubans in Florida voted for Trump, who has a dictator style personna. Why wouldn't Cuban American immigrants want their native country to have better conditions and a higher standard of living? Fidel Castro is dead, trade should be allowed and the Cuban people's standard of living raised in Cuba.
6
Why to leftists insist on labeling murderers, thugs and genocidal maniacs as Revolutionists?
I feel that a true revolutionist in this day & time would be Reagan or Trump, since they both overthrew the stagnant, wine sipping, czarists in DC.
I feel that a true revolutionist in this day & time would be Reagan or Trump, since they both overthrew the stagnant, wine sipping, czarists in DC.
4
If the Leftists called them "Freedom Fighters" would that make you happy(ier)?
3
Seems to me Fidel Castro could have been handled better. Spanish culture would so indicate. JGAIA
1
I am always astounded at how the media and political pundits will inevitably repeat the American propaganda, which omits significant historical events. Regarding Castro, he gets a lot of blame for seeking support from the USSR, but it is never mentioned that he first asked for support from the Eisenhower Administration and received not help but excoriation. As a poor island, which had been colonialized by the US, which also supported every past nasty dictator in Cuba, it is amazing that he even asked. He was knowlegeable enough to know that without support from the US, Cuba would be colonialized by the US again for exploitative profit, including the Mafia's casinos and artificially low sugar prices. If Eisenhower and his advisors had been smarter in seeking an advantage for the US, they would have supported Castro as a friendly country. Instead they drove him to the USSR through economic need, never mind what Castro later said in praise of Communism, having previously been against it.
After the media's tunnel vision during our recent presidential election, it is obviously not reforming, as the NY Times has claimed in its recent letter to subcribers, but continuing its usual establishmentarian practice of repeating the same old nontruthful reporting.
After the media's tunnel vision during our recent presidential election, it is obviously not reforming, as the NY Times has claimed in its recent letter to subcribers, but continuing its usual establishmentarian practice of repeating the same old nontruthful reporting.
22
Right off, he nationalized American properties, including Esso Oil. Same thing his devotees in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Bolivia later did, to all foreign companies, esp. United Fruit. Without any new cars since 1959 except for imported Commie-built junkers, Castro could just trade coffee beans & sugar for Russian oil. Some revolution, eh?
2
Those news publications seen as too critical of administration policies can be threatened with loss of access to current information from the various governmental departments. They don't want to risk this.
I first heard of this when neocon Eliot Abrams was running the Latin American bureau of the Reagan State Department - while it was aiding and assisting the death squad governments of El Salvador and Guatemala, etc.
I first heard of this when neocon Eliot Abrams was running the Latin American bureau of the Reagan State Department - while it was aiding and assisting the death squad governments of El Salvador and Guatemala, etc.
4
Good comments, Margalo. I recall that at the time I thought the Ike/Dulles policies toward Cuba and Castro were significantly mistaken. Can't prove it, but I continue to suspect that my views then may have been roughly correct.
6
A couple of other facts for those who think he was such a great guy.
Castro grew up in privilege with his parents on a 25,000 acre farm with 400 employees.
Castro went to private school and led a life of privilege throughout his upbringing.
Not surprisingly, Forbes estimated Castro's net worth at more than $1 billion. Money he certainly "earned" from his salary as his country's leader.
Castro grew up in privilege with his parents on a 25,000 acre farm with 400 employees.
Castro went to private school and led a life of privilege throughout his upbringing.
Not surprisingly, Forbes estimated Castro's net worth at more than $1 billion. Money he certainly "earned" from his salary as his country's leader.
8
Many here appear to have a historically cherry-picked view of history that avoids conditions that prevailed on that island under Batista. It is worth remembering that the overthrow of the Batista regime was mostly praised (as was Fidel) at the time, especially so in Latin America where dictatorships were the near-norm.
Despite all that has occurred since, normalization makes obvious sense. I hope Trump and Friends don't screw it up for another 50 years.
Despite all that has occurred since, normalization makes obvious sense. I hope Trump and Friends don't screw it up for another 50 years.
9
The leftists have never let us forget about Batista. To Castro apologists, Batista's seven-year regime totally excuses the Castro brothers' much more repressive 57-year rule. Castro's Cuba was truly unique; during many of the Castro years, Cuba was the Western Hemisphere's only dictatorship. Now Fidel has gone on to meet his maker, and it is expected that his brother Raul will join him shortly. It is to be hoped that the long-suffering Cuban people soon get to experience the blessings of personal liberty that so many people in the rest of the hemisphere and world have come to expect as a right.
1
Fidel Castro will be immortalized alongside Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin as having a great impact on South America's history as a military leader, revolutionary and statesman. Current images of Havana can be seen at joncaputophotography.com.
3
Bolivar freed Latin America. Casto was a despot.
7
Read and re-read the title of the main article on one of the most important figures of the 20th and 21st Century. The fact that he defied the U.S. is what made him that. What a joke. Any intellectually honest person with half a brain would laugh out loud. Here is a man who almost single handedly overthrew one of the most disgusting regimes that ever ran a country, 90 miles away from their unabashed sponsors, enablers and beneficiaries. The disgusting regime ran a bordello for their client and kept everyone else as miserable as in all those little or big countries that fulfill the same mission for the leading nations of the world, east and west; north and south. Fidel, with infinite love and passion for his people, did away with all that and survived to see the decades when their lot improved despite all the evil that was there to reverse his amazing accomplishment. Invasions, assassination attempts in the hundreds, bribes, embargoes, you name them! People in Cuba are poor but there is no poverty in Cuba. People have access to free, universal education and healthcare, both excellent and admired worldwide. Cuban doctors go and save lives all over the world. They expect nothing in return. The West tries to bribe these fine souls with visa, citizenships, dreams of plush living; most turn all of that down. They love Fidel and what he has done for them. They will always do. A great man died yesterday. May he rest in peace and be proud of what he has achieved.
13
Castro was surely beloved by the people -- how else could he have won reelection for five decades despite facing a hostile press and the vigorous opposition of political rivals and human rights activists. Look at the "Cuban Renaissance" that flowered under his reign with artists, writers and poets enjoying freedom of speech that Americans could only envy. And is there a better testament to his greatness than the thousands of Americans have died over the years trying to make the perilous journey from Florida to Cuba, braving 90 miles of open waters and the intervention of the U.S. Coast Guard intent on returning these would be expatriates to American soil.
Any "intellectual honest person with half a brain" would acknowledge Fidel's "infinite love and passion for his people" and "laugh out loud" at the vicious American propaganda that says otherwise.
Any "intellectual honest person with half a brain" would acknowledge Fidel's "infinite love and passion for his people" and "laugh out loud" at the vicious American propaganda that says otherwise.
3
He did it his way... and won.
5
Anyone who in anyway praises Castro should be force to suffer through the oppression he rained down upon those who opposed him.
Saying there anything good about him is like saying "Hitler had great parties so only went to those"...
Even the Devil himself has some nice qualities, but there is now way I want him around...
My GOD have mercy on Castro's soul and my his Judgement be righteous, and as for me I will celebrate no part of his life...
In no way does the ends justify the means...
Saying there anything good about him is like saying "Hitler had great parties so only went to those"...
Even the Devil himself has some nice qualities, but there is now way I want him around...
My GOD have mercy on Castro's soul and my his Judgement be righteous, and as for me I will celebrate no part of his life...
In no way does the ends justify the means...
7
You must have loved the Batista regime he overthrew...there was a reason for the Cuban revolution
10
Having read through the 1,561 Comments as of 9:10 PST on Sunday.
I am struck by those who wish that Castro "Rest in Peace".
They make no mention of those executed by Castro and those thrown in
horrible jails.
No do they mention that Castro only assumed the facade of Communism
in order to obtain aid from Russia/China.
No do they mention that Castro admitted in a personal talk with McNamara,
years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, that he was willing to begin Nuclear War,
if the US invaded Cuba and attempted to remove him from power. He openly
admitted that he would have launched the nuclear tipped missiles if the
Russians did not stop him.
I suppose it depends on whether providing the bare minimum to the Masses
is more important than Democracy.
In short Castro was nothing more than the "Grand Inquisitor from
Brothers Karamazov".
As others have said a modern day Caudillo - beloved by the fashionable and
youthful Leftists who never had to work in the Sugar Cane Fields or watch
every word they said - lest they be imprisoned - and were never given the vote
or allowed to properly migrate from a country they were no longer full citizens.
I am struck by those who wish that Castro "Rest in Peace".
They make no mention of those executed by Castro and those thrown in
horrible jails.
No do they mention that Castro only assumed the facade of Communism
in order to obtain aid from Russia/China.
No do they mention that Castro admitted in a personal talk with McNamara,
years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, that he was willing to begin Nuclear War,
if the US invaded Cuba and attempted to remove him from power. He openly
admitted that he would have launched the nuclear tipped missiles if the
Russians did not stop him.
I suppose it depends on whether providing the bare minimum to the Masses
is more important than Democracy.
In short Castro was nothing more than the "Grand Inquisitor from
Brothers Karamazov".
As others have said a modern day Caudillo - beloved by the fashionable and
youthful Leftists who never had to work in the Sugar Cane Fields or watch
every word they said - lest they be imprisoned - and were never given the vote
or allowed to properly migrate from a country they were no longer full citizens.
10
John Brown:
"They make no mention of those executed by Castro and those thrown in
horrible jails."
********
Castro was never held to a very high standard. In fact, the bar was lowered for him as it is has been for anyone they romanticize.
"They make no mention of those executed by Castro and those thrown in
horrible jails."
********
Castro was never held to a very high standard. In fact, the bar was lowered for him as it is has been for anyone they romanticize.
1
Kaari,
Batista was a Dictator.
The US never should have given him the support they did.
As I said you have to decide what is more important
"A Caudillo like Castro" or "Democracy".
While Cubans supported the Revolution did they wholly support
the 57 year dictatorship of Castro ?
What is sad is that as Capitalism makes it way back into Cuba
the poverty level will increase and in twenty years it may not
be all that different from 1957.
Batista was a Dictator.
The US never should have given him the support they did.
As I said you have to decide what is more important
"A Caudillo like Castro" or "Democracy".
While Cubans supported the Revolution did they wholly support
the 57 year dictatorship of Castro ?
What is sad is that as Capitalism makes it way back into Cuba
the poverty level will increase and in twenty years it may not
be all that different from 1957.
AACNY,
I have never understood why the Left turns a blind eye toward
Dictators - save they improve the overall living standard of the
people.
How anyone can be in favour of a 57 year Dictatorship that
made Democracy impossible baffles me.
I have never understood why the Left turns a blind eye toward
Dictators - save they improve the overall living standard of the
people.
How anyone can be in favour of a 57 year Dictatorship that
made Democracy impossible baffles me.
Time and time again we see the men who lead revolution are not suited to lead a nation. But power goes to their heads and they use their skills and their stock of good will to hold on to it. So much suffering, so many lives lost, so many homes given up are laid at this man's door. He did a great thing, but shame on him and his obsessions and his twisted hypocrisy for not letting go afterwards. And shame on those around him for not making him. In the end, what did he really change?
3
Very good free healthcare for all. Good free education for all. These are important contributions. However, the revolution quickly became a continuation of a typical left/right dictatorship. Sad as many of his active supporters abandoned him and Cuba within a year or two disillusioned that the anticipated democracy would not materialize but had returned to Batista style oppression.
1
As a birder, I hope that this leads to greater scientific cooperation between our two countries. I would like to know if the Cuban subspecies of Ivory-billed woodpecker still exists. Even if it doesn't, there are many other migratory birds that spend the winter in Cuba and other countries south of our border. We need to preserve both Summer and Winter habitat.
5
There already is tremendous cooperation between academic institutions in both countries. Scientists/naturalists from Cuba have long been working with those at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. See for example, "Cuba salutes Cornell ornithologist Eduardo Iñigo-Elias" in the Cornell chronicle. From 2010 "Shared Birds, Shared Goals: Acoustic Training In Cuba" in the Cornell Lab of Orinthology newsletter.
5
LJ,
A megalomaniac dictator who almost brought nuclear war to the world
has finally died and you are worried about birds ?
A megalomaniac dictator who almost brought nuclear war to the world
has finally died and you are worried about birds ?
6
mr. brown,
you forget the u.s. installed missiles in turkey? what do you expect the Russians to do?
the u.s. removed the missiles from turkey and the Russians removed theirs from cuba and that's how the Cuban missile crisis was resolved.
you forget the u.s. installed missiles in turkey? what do you expect the Russians to do?
the u.s. removed the missiles from turkey and the Russians removed theirs from cuba and that's how the Cuban missile crisis was resolved.
2
Let’s weight in the sad faces that will miss Fidel Castro vs. the happy faces that are glad that he will no longer be around; wisdom can guess that eudaimonia is prevalent.
One day the absence of religions as well as corruption in governments will not be the standard and will be morally wrong.
Do we think that, “Allegory of the Cave” was a gift from Plato for the individual.
The Cosmic Mind
One day the absence of religions as well as corruption in governments will not be the standard and will be morally wrong.
Do we think that, “Allegory of the Cave” was a gift from Plato for the individual.
The Cosmic Mind
1
"Human Florishing aside, You are sorely wrong in your assessment.
I will tell you that corruption will continue whether you link it to some ancient greek lecture or the sad faces of the fools that will miss this dictator.
Democrats=corruption.
I will tell you that corruption will continue whether you link it to some ancient greek lecture or the sad faces of the fools that will miss this dictator.
Democrats=corruption.
1
I've been to Cuba many times over the past 25 years and I feel a lot safer walking round Havana than I do walking around Miami . The people may not have modern electrical goods , junk food , internet porn, recreational drugs , guns and large waistlines but they are highly educated , extremely healthy . great humour , a pious attitude to religion (95% are Roman Catholics ) and genuinely care for each other .
I fear for Cuba .
I fear for Cuba .
16
And I say, it should be the people of Cuba who decide whether and to what extent they want modern electrical goods, "junk" food, et al. And the way to do that is free elections. To impose a different choice on them, one in practice leading to great privation, is exactly the opposite of everything democracy stands for. And that's exactly what Fidel Castro did, by holding on to power at the point of a gun.
His followers can run on the platform he imposed on the country.
I don't think they'll get many votes.
His followers can run on the platform he imposed on the country.
I don't think they'll get many votes.
6
So do I now that we have elected Trump.
Could not that supposed free election be won by a candidate from big money donors peddling junk food?
A terrific article. But one must remember that the government he overthrew, that of Batista, was not the paragon of democracy. One regime was as bad as the other, maybe for different reasons, but bad nevertheless.
3
Fair and balanced obit. Thank you.
3
His background reads like a Central American version of Osama bin Laden.
3
The bottom line is that even if he did what some people regard as "good things" he had no right to stay in power for decades.
8
A story in the British Guardian is more balanced and less U.S.-centric. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/27/fidel-castro-dead-revoluti...
Let the Batistianos have their day. The revolution will live on.
Let the Batistianos have their day. The revolution will live on.
7
Castro pushed the world close to a nuclear war? Isn't it the Soviets, or the NATO who set the nuke missile on the boundary of the USSR?
That's a shame, really, that the media can choose a black sheep to cover the fault of their government so easily.
He is hated by the people who believe in slavery and think that he released their slaves from their backyards.
That's a shame, really, that the media can choose a black sheep to cover the fault of their government so easily.
He is hated by the people who believe in slavery and think that he released their slaves from their backyards.
10
I was lucky enough to go to Cuba a few years ago (as part of one of those educational trips). While there I heard tales of people having to subsist on orange peels - when the Soviet Union collapsed and with it all that money flowing into Cuba. At that time, there was no money for fuel to move crops from the countryside into the cities and many crops rotted in the fields - despite Castro's plan to give everyone a bicycle to have them bike 100s of miles to bring the crops in (by bike!). But the important thing was that Castro held on to power - and that is really all you need to know about him. He would rather have people starve, then give up his power. Hard to imagine Cuba NOT being better without him.
15
The USA tried and failed to assassinate Castro several times. You think that says enough about who Castro was and what he stood for? This was a very bad guy. Look forward to better times in Cuba.
6
Not being killed at the hands of our government?
"You think that says enough about who Castro was and what he stood for? "
"You think that says enough about who Castro was and what he stood for? "
6
It tells me that he was smart and surrounded by loyal soilders. I think the USA trying to assassinate him tells me what he stood for. This was a very bad guy.
1
On the contrary, for a lot of readers that's a sign of legitimacy. They are willing to overlook his executions and forsaken promises, willing only to see his brave anti-US stance.
In fact, he was no better than the Mujahideen who took up with the communists for what they offered monetarily and never demanded in humanitarian terms.
In fact, he was no better than the Mujahideen who took up with the communists for what they offered monetarily and never demanded in humanitarian terms.
3
Why no reference to the Fact that During the Cuban Missile Crisis Fidel Castro Urged The Soviet Union to Initiate A Nuclear Missile attack on the United States...So Horrified were the Soviet leaders at Castro's Grotesque demands that they ultimately pulled out the tactical nuclear weapons not covered by the initial agreement with Kennedy. This was an evil man in an age that had lost the capacity to recognize and condemn evil
7
Ok, let's get it right straight. Did Castro made some good? Yes. he took a dictator out. Only to become a worst one. Did he made some good to cuban people? NO! While trying to give equal chances, he educated people but never gave them any chance to use that education. But he kept his people and the whole country poor, more poor as any government in all latina america. Very, very poor through years and decades, and that is unforgiveable. And as any dictator does, he did kill most liberties any human is deserved to have. Should he be well remembered? not at all.
12
The hypocrisy is astounding. The comments about Fidel Castro being a brutal dictator and being such a terrible man is at times politically motivated . Most people don't support summary executions but at times we look the other way if we like those who are doing the executions.
The Unites States government were silent about human rights violation in many countries as long as the dictators were seen as vanguards against Communism or if they support the interest of the United States.
The President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko.
A brutal dictator who kill tens of thousands was the friend of many US presidents. Ronald Reagan invited him to the White in 1983. He was friend who was supported financially for his anti-communists efforts.
Anastasio Somoza a brutal dictator of Nicaragua also murdered an estimated 50,000. He came to power with the help of the United States Government. The list of dictators supported by the United States were many.
Right wing murderous dictators who are friends of the United States are treated more kindly than the so called left wing dictators who stand up to the United States. I guess this is human nature.
The Unites States government were silent about human rights violation in many countries as long as the dictators were seen as vanguards against Communism or if they support the interest of the United States.
The President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko.
A brutal dictator who kill tens of thousands was the friend of many US presidents. Ronald Reagan invited him to the White in 1983. He was friend who was supported financially for his anti-communists efforts.
Anastasio Somoza a brutal dictator of Nicaragua also murdered an estimated 50,000. He came to power with the help of the United States Government. The list of dictators supported by the United States were many.
Right wing murderous dictators who are friends of the United States are treated more kindly than the so called left wing dictators who stand up to the United States. I guess this is human nature.
13
Love him, respect him or hate him, Mr. Castro certainly left a huge mark on the world from Africa to the smallest US town... his legacy however is a small, miserably poor island which the young seek to flee, risking death in shark infested waters to reach to US. Now is the time to engage in a huge way. Cubans are hungry for change and this moment of anticipation can be used to secure a bettwr life for them and economic opportunity for the US.
2
Three things missing in this fawning piece: 1) No mention of how extravagantly the Castros lived, while the people (quite literally) starved in the streets; 2) No presentation of his record: under the Castro reign of terror, Cuba, by every metric imaginable, is a much, much worse place than it ever was; and 3) No mention of all the people he executed or imprisoned or tortured.
11
I cannot respond to each and every baseless comment spewed forth here. It always amazes me how people have such strong opinions on subjects they nothing about; on a country they have never even visited. On a man who, like so many other leaders who wont bow down to Washington, is then demonized.
And, this is the NY Times! Supposedly the readership is more sophisticated.
This is how we got a Trump as a president. With people who really don't know how to make an informed decision.
And, this is the NY Times! Supposedly the readership is more sophisticated.
This is how we got a Trump as a president. With people who really don't know how to make an informed decision.
18
Good point.
2
On the contrary, the fawning over someone like Castro is the kind of thinking that Americans have grown tired of and what has caused them to elect a completely different type of leader.
3
Good riddance to the leader who put his personal political beliefs above the interest of his citizens. Can anyone say with a straight face that Cuba is better off him having been there?
Reminds me of another socialist President in the United States who continually adopted programs that did not work and actually hurt his people.......fortunately President Obama will be out of office in a month and a half and will not be able to single-handedly do continued damage to the social fabric, institutions and traditions of the United States although his indelible mark has been made through the myriad of crap that must be undone.
Reminds me of another socialist President in the United States who continually adopted programs that did not work and actually hurt his people.......fortunately President Obama will be out of office in a month and a half and will not be able to single-handedly do continued damage to the social fabric, institutions and traditions of the United States although his indelible mark has been made through the myriad of crap that must be undone.
6
You mean the socialist that didn't nationalize the auto industry or several large banks when he could have? The guy who gave us the conservative invented market-based healthcare plan? Sheesh conservatives are drama queens.
2
Yup I can. Without Fidel Cuba would have been the paradise of the American fruit company, of the casino industry, the haven of the mob. And where would the Cuban people be, unfed, uneducated, poor, without healthcare.. Not to mention the despot that would be in his place, like say Bautista, well there would still have been executions and persecutions. But hey not everybody is like you and believes that fascism and greed is the way to go... Some of us actually believe in community, solidarity, and the re partition of wealth.
4
This obit is about as long as one of Fidel's speeches. Just one example of misguided praise. "Medical advances" under
Castro: Cuba rigorously quarantined HIV/AIDs carriers, an effective action, but one which which your paper would have condemned rather than praising had it been tried in the U.S.
Castro: Cuba rigorously quarantined HIV/AIDs carriers, an effective action, but one which which your paper would have condemned rather than praising had it been tried in the U.S.
5
When will the Times call for free elections in Cuba? I'm still waiting.
7
When will we have elections un-corrupted by private money, with candidates that actually represent the people s interest, instead of these lackeys of the super rich... We have been waiting for ever.
4
FIDEL!! For those of us who grew up in Hispanic America, the name became a very potent symbol of resistance to US Hegemony in this hemisphere. US policy toward its southern neighbors has always favored the entrenched oligarchs to the detriment and suffering of its people. Chile, Argentina, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras...
The Cuban exile community in Miami can celebrate all they want. But the fact is that Fidel died of natural causes, at a ripe old age and frustrated every US president since Eisenhower.
Like he said so many years ago: La Historia me absolvera.
The Cuban exile community in Miami can celebrate all they want. But the fact is that Fidel died of natural causes, at a ripe old age and frustrated every US president since Eisenhower.
Like he said so many years ago: La Historia me absolvera.
13
Rather than the headline "Cuban leader who defied US," how about "Cuban leader who broke US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere"? He kicked our military and the mob out of Cuba and brought medical care and education to millions. The only people who hated him were the far right in Cuba and the United States, and all the profiteers who lost their ill-gotten gains when he nationalized their holdings. RIP, Fidel!
14
Bad political leadership and its consequences
Cuba was not blessed in its leadership.
America was: Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison etc.
But now Trump. How steep a fall can the country survive.
We're going down.
Cuba was not blessed in its leadership.
America was: Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison etc.
But now Trump. How steep a fall can the country survive.
We're going down.
2
There is no joy in hearing of his death.
May we heal the wounds and grow together.
May we heal the wounds and grow together.
2
The amount of space dedicated to this obituary is beyond belief. It goes to the demographic of the readership I guess, no offense intended, It's being treated as if a US president died, a popular one. A footnote to the cold war, at best.
6
BOTH MR. FIDEL CASTROAND CHE GUVERA HAVE decimated hundreds of thousands who were against the revolution. He did not keep up his promise to
bring democracy and give freedom to Cubans. He is more of a dictator like his
Predecessor. He has instilled fear in the minds of foreign investors by forcefully seizing land and nationalizing the Canadian and. Mexican companies which were doing business in Cuba.
bring democracy and give freedom to Cubans. He is more of a dictator like his
Predecessor. He has instilled fear in the minds of foreign investors by forcefully seizing land and nationalizing the Canadian and. Mexican companies which were doing business in Cuba.
11
Actually the number is estimated at 27000. A far cry from Pinochet or even what we just did in Irak... And out of those 27000, how many do you think were supported by the US in an attempt to overthrow him...
2
Castro watched the neighboring US colony of Puerto Rico -- with an unhealthy, illiterate, unskilled, unemployable, welfare-dependent population -- descend into bankruptcy.
He lived long enough to see a puppet petty tyrant installed via a rigged election and covert coup as president of the USA.
Aside from winning the cold war, I'd say he also had the last laugh.
He lived long enough to see a puppet petty tyrant installed via a rigged election and covert coup as president of the USA.
Aside from winning the cold war, I'd say he also had the last laugh.
11
It would have been obscene if, on Pinochet's death, there had been eulogies praising his foresight in setting Chile on a path that would eventually enable it to provide its people with education and health care of a standard far higher than that enjoyed by the people of communist Cuba. It would have been obscene because Pinochet, regardless of the economic and even social achievements his free-market policies enabled, was a murderous dictator.
By all serious accounts, Fidel was no less murderous a dictator than Augusto Pinochet. The murderous Pinochet, unlike Castro, even allowed the people of his country to decide whether they wanted him to remain in office, and when they said "no," he respected their wishes. And yet the immediate reaction of many of Fidel's "mourners," who would quite rightly recoil at the thought of praising anything related to Pinochet, seems to be to highlight Cuba's supposed achievements in education and health care (which, incidentally, cannot hold a candle to those of many another capitalist Latin American country, including of course Chile).
What I take from these reactions is that the left is every bit as morally and intellectually bankrupt as the right, with the aggravating circumstance of being convinced of its moral and intellectual superiority.
By all serious accounts, Fidel was no less murderous a dictator than Augusto Pinochet. The murderous Pinochet, unlike Castro, even allowed the people of his country to decide whether they wanted him to remain in office, and when they said "no," he respected their wishes. And yet the immediate reaction of many of Fidel's "mourners," who would quite rightly recoil at the thought of praising anything related to Pinochet, seems to be to highlight Cuba's supposed achievements in education and health care (which, incidentally, cannot hold a candle to those of many another capitalist Latin American country, including of course Chile).
What I take from these reactions is that the left is every bit as morally and intellectually bankrupt as the right, with the aggravating circumstance of being convinced of its moral and intellectual superiority.
13
If there is one that the world should never forget, it is Fidel Castro. Keeping a subjugated, enslaved people trapped on an island for seventy years and eliminating those who happen to dream of being free of brainwashing is indeed a feat that inspires sick minds worldwide. This monster has to be remembered as a patient who should have been eliminated to eradicate the worst psychapathy of the 20th century.
10
These "subjugated, enslaved people trapped on an island for seventy years "
were taken out of extreme poverty, provided healthcare, education, jobs, and a better life after Fidel Castro removed Batista.
Fidel Castro was a hero to all but the top 1%.
were taken out of extreme poverty, provided healthcare, education, jobs, and a better life after Fidel Castro removed Batista.
Fidel Castro was a hero to all but the top 1%.
2
It is either ideological blindness, exceptionally poor journalism or a combination of both, to make the claim that "Castro brought the cold war to the Western Hemisphere." It doesn't matter one's political persuasion, it is easily shown and should be easily admitted that cold war intrigue had been part of US and Russian operations in Latin America and the Caribbean well before a few dozen Castristas (aka, Castro's boys) landed in Cuba from Mexico.
1
It was inaccurate to say that only Elizabeth II held office longer than Castro. I believe that a recently-deceased King of Thailand also held office longer than Castro. But Castro may have held the record for non-monarchs.
3
The headline says: "Brought Cold War to Western Hemisphere". What kind of idiotic thinking is that? The most powerful economy in the world treated Cuba as a casino and brothel. When Castro and Cuban people overthrew Batista, the USA put a boycott on. Then the USA sponsored an invasion and got whooped. Yet Cuba put into place a literacy program which outstrips the rest of the world in literacy percentage and has a free health care system. The USA and USSR brought the Cold War on, no the eLittle Country with the Big Heart. So please tell your journalist to stop telling bold-faced lies.
11
The media will keep telling bold-faced lies ad nauseam and that's not longer surprise..What surprises me is that most people fall hook and sinker for those pathetic lies..
4
Is The Times so oblivious to Latin American and international opinion that, in Fidel Castro's obituary no less, it can arrogantly refer to the region as "the United States' sphere of influence"?
Maybe The Times really is that oblivious. After all, Secretary of State Kerry recently referred to Latin America as "our backyard."
Latin Americans responded that Latin America is not Mr. Kerry's backyard: it is his neighbor's yard.
Maybe The Times really is that oblivious. After all, Secretary of State Kerry recently referred to Latin America as "our backyard."
Latin Americans responded that Latin America is not Mr. Kerry's backyard: it is his neighbor's yard.
4
. My classmates at Harvard rushed to Soldiers Stadium and sat enthralled when Castro spoke there in 1959. I refused to participate. I grew up in a home where politics was daily conversation and the events of WWII discussed in detail from 1939. I knew how to recognize evil in politics.
Castro was the worst kind of man. He will be a footnote.
Castro was the worst kind of man. He will be a footnote.
7
Ok, enough with the communist. Must be something else meaningful for the front page.
3
you want more news on trump?
3
I am amazed at the hypocrisy of American comments who so exaggerate the repression of the Castro regime.Have some perspective.Your government incarcerates millions of African Americans,keeps prisoners in solitary confinement for months or years and has officially accepted torture as a policy. Your governments persecution of their tiny neighbour over so many years is shameful.You should take responsibility for the state of the Cuban economy and try to make amends.
7
Amen. Except for the last sentence. Please don't take responsibility for Cuba, you've done enough harm already.
1
The fact that there are many people of Cuban heritage in Miami and other parts of the world celebrating this man's death speaks volumes.
4
Those who are celebrating are those who were doing just fine under the corrupt Batista government...not the mistreated majority who were living in extreme poverty.
4
So? If someone was "doing fine" under the corrupt Batista government, does that mean they deserve to be in prison? Do they deserve to have their property and businesses taken away or to be shot by a firing squad?
1
"Mr. Castro bedeviled 11 American presidents and briefly pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war."
This may make for sensational headlines, but that's not what happened.
Whatever evil Fidel Castro is responsible for, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war was not something _he_ did.
It is something the idiot leaders of the USSR and the USA did, or seemed to do, in their saber rattling during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
This may make for sensational headlines, but that's not what happened.
Whatever evil Fidel Castro is responsible for, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war was not something _he_ did.
It is something the idiot leaders of the USSR and the USA did, or seemed to do, in their saber rattling during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
4
Lucky for the old has-been he died strategically before President Trump take office.
One less hero for the Left.
One less hero for the Left.
1
He certainly outlived most his enemies,..maybe Castro didn't CONsider Trump an Enemy?
2
Please he would have made Trump look like the fool he is.
Despite all his all flaws and a contested legacy, a towering political leader who loved and fought for his country, and stood up to machinations the of U.S. Government. I just indulged in a Cohiba to honor his memory. Rest in peace, Fidel. Que en paz descanses, Fidel.
3
Regardless political opinion, Castro is a towering figure of the 20th century and will rightfully be in the history books as such. Like many complex political leaders, there is much to criticize, particularly his human rights record which is littered with victims. That said, his health care programs, devotion to Cuba, resistance to the corrupt Batista regime, and overall focus on "standing his ground" are commendable. History will write the final chapters, but cannot ignore Castro's dictatorial tendencies. It's notable that Obama focuses on continuing to extend a hand to Cuba while Trump delights in Castro's death. If I could say anything to Cuba, it would be to not let your country turn into yet another "tourist destination" and keep your focus on what makes Cuba unique. This independence and identity should be a core part of Castro's legacy, outlasting the contentious politics of the last 60 years. Was Castro "right"? No -- in the context of today. Did he fend off decades of foreign interference and remain focused on Cuba? Definitely. How different is that from what Donald Trump has promised to "make America great"? Perhaps not so much so. Revolution is all about perspective and dominance, no?
19
Castro was a bum. A cruel dictator. He only lasted because the former USSR poured 5 billion dollars a year into Cuba. Get rid of the rose colored glasses and see the man for what he is. Democracy is hard and Castro took the easy way out. Be a Dictator. He murdered too many for his "cause."
8
Anyone interested in understanding more should read Fidel Castro: My Life, by Ignacio Ramonet. While it cannot be an objective account, and it seems he was not innocent of offences against his people as well, it is fascinating to hear his perspective on his whole life, the Revolution, and his resistance against the US. He shows himself to be a man of intelligence and principle withstanding amazing pressure from the most powerful nation just a hundred miles from Cuba's shore. I am not Cuban and can only go by what I read from sources like the Times and from scholars, but reading his own words gives a fascinating account of this period in history of Latin-American politics and US policy. Whatever your opinion of him, he was a man of courage and principle who started out defying a corrupt Cuban government and risked his life many times for what he believed in. The story of what happened in the years after that has many stake-holders whose story should also be heard.
4
While Fidel is gone, his nephew Alejandro Castro Espín is waiting in the wings. He seems to be every bit the despot that his uncle was.
4
Espin has written that US leaders are:
"those who seek to subjugate humanity to satisfy their interests and hegemonic goals."
"those who seek to subjugate humanity to satisfy their interests and hegemonic goals."
2
Wow. Hillary lost. Castro dead. And soon, Obama will be gone, replaced by Donald Trump. No "Happy Days Are Here Again" for the Left.
4
Go ahead bask in your glory. Trump will bring you lots of joy, Merry xmas.
4
One doesn't have to be a big fan of Fidel to recognize he was a significant figure both politically and culturally. The US could have got of him years ago if they had killed Cuba with kindness instead of besieging it in a vain attempt to remove him. As it was it the US more than anyone that turned him into an international icon. As usual it was domestic politics that prevented a sensible response. The need to appease right wing opinion generally and the Cuban community in Florida in particular who pillory Castro as torturer and murderer as if his predecessor Batista who they supported was any different. Finally the good sense of Obama is bringing the nonsense to an end and the death of Fidel serves as something of a full point. Raul will be departed soon. Despite all the bluster the arrival of Trump seems unlikely to make any substantive difference. He'll probably be trying to win the hotel concessions in his private interest.
10
We will miss Fidel. He was a leader for all who cared about freedom, equality and justice. Those of us in the U.S. will miss him most for standing up to our corrupt leaders and fighting against injustice.
We are deeply saddened that Fidel has passed away. Our hope is that his supporters will continue his work. Viva Fidel!
We are deeply saddened that Fidel has passed away. Our hope is that his supporters will continue his work. Viva Fidel!
10
Yes, Monsignor, he did care about freedom. His freedom to murder, torture, imprison and enslave those who had the God-given right to dare disagree with him.
8
Monsignor Juan,
With no respect at all and in utter repugnant contempt for what you say or believe, I did not expect you to say any less than what you wrote because that goes along with a religious mentality as well as the mentality of any corrupt government, or did you forget about the inquisition?
Let’s weight in the sad faces that will miss Fidel Castro vs. the happy faces that are glad that he will no longer be around and wisdom can guess that eudaimonia is prevalent.
One day the absence of religions as well as corruption in government will not be the standard and will be morally wrong.
Do you think that, “Allegory of the Cave” was a gift from Plato for the individual?
The Cosmic Mind
With no respect at all and in utter repugnant contempt for what you say or believe, I did not expect you to say any less than what you wrote because that goes along with a religious mentality as well as the mentality of any corrupt government, or did you forget about the inquisition?
Let’s weight in the sad faces that will miss Fidel Castro vs. the happy faces that are glad that he will no longer be around and wisdom can guess that eudaimonia is prevalent.
One day the absence of religions as well as corruption in government will not be the standard and will be morally wrong.
Do you think that, “Allegory of the Cave” was a gift from Plato for the individual?
The Cosmic Mind
1
Poor Cuba. Without the 3.5 billion dollars a year in aid, subsidies and weaponry provided by the now defunct Soviet Union, Cuba would only have been a thorn in the side of the USA. It is and has always been in their interest to have good relations with the USA. Castro just chose wrong. Alas, Cuba just is not that important to the USA so we can afford to go slow, whereas Cuba cannot. They have become just one more poor Caribbean Island nation whose entire population would head to the USA at the first chance they have. The Cuban Socialist Paradise existed only as long as the Soviets were willing and able to pay for it. Those decades of assistance came at great cost to ordinary Soviet citizens and enabled the Cuban Government (Castro) to avoid reasonable accommodation with the USA and to disregard human rights in Cuba. This came at great expense to Cuba and its citizens. The Castro Regime was very costly to its own people and to the ordinary soviet citizen. I doubt that history will judge Fidel Castro as anything other than bad.
10
The death of the Cuban Adjustment Act is also long overdue. Most of the Cubans arriving in the US are economic migrants, not political. Our preferential immigration policy is deeply unfair to people from countries that are far more dangerous, yet who get no protection.
Not only that, but newly arrived Cubans are given innumerable health and other benefits - and often receive their social security payments after returning to Cuba. Some have set up Medicare fraud schemes and fled to the island when they were caught. It's horribly unfair and a huge tax burden. It's the type of thing Republicans normally rail against. They have generally lacked the courage to challenge this anachronistic, wasteful and unfair policy because this particular favored group traditionally has leaned toward their party.
Not only that, but newly arrived Cubans are given innumerable health and other benefits - and often receive their social security payments after returning to Cuba. Some have set up Medicare fraud schemes and fled to the island when they were caught. It's horribly unfair and a huge tax burden. It's the type of thing Republicans normally rail against. They have generally lacked the courage to challenge this anachronistic, wasteful and unfair policy because this particular favored group traditionally has leaned toward their party.
6
By overwhelmingly embracing this murderous dictator and extreme totalitarian political system that he embodied, the American Left is losing all credibility. What's gonna be next, cheering for North Korean regime? Oh, wait...
9
To me, the obvious comparisons with Castro are George Washington and Robespierre.
Washington, after 2 terms, told the US to find someone else and the country did. Self-government became possible, with a large group of talented leaders. Maybe these men were not better, but they were different, and every 4 years they were chosen. In this way, the US was allowed to prosper.
Robespierre wanted to help France, but was unwilling to allowed dissent. Castro is more in the Robespierre category. Sad that he did not allow others to lead and allow the country to grow in self-government.
Washington, after 2 terms, told the US to find someone else and the country did. Self-government became possible, with a large group of talented leaders. Maybe these men were not better, but they were different, and every 4 years they were chosen. In this way, the US was allowed to prosper.
Robespierre wanted to help France, but was unwilling to allowed dissent. Castro is more in the Robespierre category. Sad that he did not allow others to lead and allow the country to grow in self-government.
4
Shortly after defeating Batista, Newspaper Editors invited Castro to New York. Castro came in April, 1959 and desired to meet with President Eisenhower, but Ike went off to play golf and snubbed Castro. But Castro did meet with Nixon for three hours discussing Cuba's needs. Castro told Nixon that he opposed dictatorship and wanted a free press. Castro then met with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and went to the Lincoln Memorial. The U.S. offered no assistance to Castro.
But the Soviet Union seeing an opportunity agreed to provide assistance including major purchases of Cuban sugar. Eisenhower then directed the CIA to begin planning a Cuban invasion.
A missed opportunity for the U.S. with tragic consequences.
But the Soviet Union seeing an opportunity agreed to provide assistance including major purchases of Cuban sugar. Eisenhower then directed the CIA to begin planning a Cuban invasion.
A missed opportunity for the U.S. with tragic consequences.
15
In a world gone crazy with terrorism spawned from oppression, Fidel was one of the most oppressive terrorists of all. You do not celebrate such atrocity with tributes, nor mourn for it with words of respect. You accord it what it most deserves. Revulsion.
Where there is no justice, there is no peace. Where there is no choice, there is no freedom. Where there is no honour, there is no respect.
Cuba is not free until all the Castros are gone and the people freely govern.
Where there is no justice, there is no peace. Where there is no choice, there is no freedom. Where there is no honour, there is no respect.
Cuba is not free until all the Castros are gone and the people freely govern.
9
Castro didn't cripple the Cuban economy, the U.S. did.
7
betcha they didn't teach that in our high schools?
My guess is that he prospect of a Trump presidency was too much for Fidel to bear.
Well, at least one good thing has come out of Mr. Trump's election.
Well, at least one good thing has come out of Mr. Trump's election.
1
Once again, many commenting here have short memories. The only difference between all the despot/dictators that the American government has "propped up" and supported over the decades and the despot/dictator Fidel Castro is that for over 50 years he refused to worship at the altar of U.S. self-interest and for that reason he was despised and alienated, yet, he survived. Prior to his revolution, Bautista was supported by America and at the time, Cuba was an island whose government was essentially under the control of the mob! It seems also everything is OK with the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia whom in order for the Royal family to hold on to power at any cost have executed and jailed many of its own people and women probably have less rights than those in Cuba. And then there was the Shah of Iran.
I am certainly no fan of Castro, however, hyocricy here on the part of pompous, self-righteous U.S politicians is pathetic.
I am certainly no fan of Castro, however, hyocricy here on the part of pompous, self-righteous U.S politicians is pathetic.
28
Yes. Seems the US is ok with dictators who are right wing.
3
Excusing Fidel, his steal-vution, his iron fist, because of what another did is just as pathetic. One does not excuse the other.
3
Every European colony in the Caribbean has had liberators. The so called abolition of slavery did little to immediately improve the lot of those previously held in that yoke. Castro's removal of Batista provided him the opportunity to improve the lot of those abused and trod upon by Batista and his US associates. Health and education were immediate targets for advancement. I know of no freedom fighter whom is a model of perfection. Bradshaw, Bird, Williams, Joshua and many others who fought despots of European colonialism in the Caribbean were merely representing needs of their population. Castro was of this group. Cuba and it's people will move forward, thanks to the course correction which took place following Castro's emergence from the mountains in 1959. May he rest peacefully. He's earned it.
12
Francis,
And no mention of those that Castro had executed or imprisoned ?
And no mention of those that Castro had executed or imprisoned ?
3
Castro started out right to oust a cruel dictator. He was successful but lo and behold he became another Battista. He put others to death, put others into prison that were most cruel to the inmates. He was a smart and articulate
man but opted for Communism. That system as we know is a major failure around the world. China, Russia, and other Marxist nations that became successful for their people chose Capitalism. So, we see only Cuba and Venezuela left as true Marxist nations and we see total failure. Yes, Castro pushed Medical advancement and used intelligent Cubans as a way to pay for his dictatorship. Like all dictators he dictates. There is not one "major" news journalist in America that would choose to live in Cuba and Venezuela, without some outside assistance. Bury this dictator and stain against true freedom and move on. Cuba...we only hope you become a true free country and enjoy the success of being such.
man but opted for Communism. That system as we know is a major failure around the world. China, Russia, and other Marxist nations that became successful for their people chose Capitalism. So, we see only Cuba and Venezuela left as true Marxist nations and we see total failure. Yes, Castro pushed Medical advancement and used intelligent Cubans as a way to pay for his dictatorship. Like all dictators he dictates. There is not one "major" news journalist in America that would choose to live in Cuba and Venezuela, without some outside assistance. Bury this dictator and stain against true freedom and move on. Cuba...we only hope you become a true free country and enjoy the success of being such.
19
A true free country, ie a greedy capitalist nation, that considers companies like people, that allows the exploitation of the masses for the benefit of a few... I would not wish that on my worst enemy. Communism or Marxism never came to be. All the examples you stated where never communist states but totalitarian states. The basis of Marxism, Communism is the dictatorship of the proletariat, which means absolute democracy. The only two historical examples that came near to that ideal are the Paris communes and Spain in the 30s. Both where crushed by outside capitalist countries that feared for their way of life, for as we know revolution spreads and threatens the establish order. Fidel like most revolutionary leaders failed because he betrayed the ideal that he was fighting for. Could it be that absolute power corrupts absolutely? Or was it outside forces, like the United states, that made him believe that a period of tyranny was necessary in order to face such a foe and solidify the revolution? One thing is clear, America felt threatened, it feared for it s way of life, it feared that a tiny nation like Cuba could demonstrate that another way was possible. We need to bury our arrogance, it blinds us, makes delusional, and creates animosity where none needs to exist. Calling Cuba, China, Russia or Venezuela communist or marxist is as ludicrous as stating that America is democracy, for need I remind you that democracy means the will of the majority and in this land it is clear that we endure the will of minority.
2
Oops, wrong post. You nailed it
1
Rest in peace Mr. Fidel Castro Ruz. When I was a kid I was told you were a bad guy and I believed it until I researched for myself. You risked your life to uplift the Cuban people from deep poverty. You ( with others) made land communally used instead of privately owned, kicked out parasitic US corporations, nationalized all industry, made education free, capped rent at maximum 10% if peoples income, and eradicated institutional racism and sexism that was rampant before the Cuban revolution. You tried to build an independent socialist nation liberated from capitalist greed in the face of great adversity. Imagine what you could have done if you didn't have to spend so much resources fighting invasions, assassination attempts, and economic embargoes. In your last years you were warning against nuclear wars and saying all weapons of war should be destroyed. In the age of warmongers it was amazing to have a leader say that. Truth really is stranger than fiction and you are a real life hero!!! You risked your life on behalf of the oppressed! What American president has done that?! Your are an inspiration to millions including to this young Amercan. Rest in peace Mr. Fidel Castro Ruz. Your spirit lives on.
49
26julyM,
And what would have happened to your if you ever criticised Castro
in Cuba ?
Evidently you missed the interview with McNamara where Castro admitted
he was quite willing to launch, had the Russians allowed him to, nuclear
weapons at the US of A in October of 1962...
For all Castro did for the oppressed he never allowed them a democracy.
And what would have happened to your if you ever criticised Castro
in Cuba ?
Evidently you missed the interview with McNamara where Castro admitted
he was quite willing to launch, had the Russians allowed him to, nuclear
weapons at the US of A in October of 1962...
For all Castro did for the oppressed he never allowed them a democracy.
2
Before Castro, Cubans could afford recently-made cars. That has NOT been the case since. Human Rights Watch has a lot to say about the Cuban prison gulag.
2
Are you kidding? He was a tinpot communist dictator that kept his country in the third world. He imprisoned dissent (most of the fawning Hollywood types in the U.S. would have been imprisoned in Cuba if they were living there).
He did the citizens of his tiny country a disservice. They are better off today that he is gone.
He did the citizens of his tiny country a disservice. They are better off today that he is gone.
3
...and the world is a better place...
10
"The story of the transformation of Cuba from a friendly ally to a Communist base is - in large measure - the story of a government in Washington which lacked the imagination and compassion to understand the needs of the Cuban people... First, we refused to help Cuba meet its desperate need for economic progress. In 1953 the average Cuban family had an income of $6 a week. Fifteen to twenty percent of the labor force was chronically unemployed.
Only a third of the homes in the island even had running water, and in the years which preceded the Castro revolution this abysmal standard of living was driven still lower as population expansion out-distanced economic growth.
Only 90 miles away stood the United States - their good neighbor - the richest Nation on earth - its radios and newspapers and movies spreading the story of America's material wealth and surplus crops.
But instead of holding out a helping hand of friendship to the desperate people of Cuba, nearly all our aid was in the form of weapons assistance".
JFK, 10/06/1060
Washington created Castro and then spent six decades punishing the Cuban people because of him. That's a very evil foreign policy.
Only a third of the homes in the island even had running water, and in the years which preceded the Castro revolution this abysmal standard of living was driven still lower as population expansion out-distanced economic growth.
Only 90 miles away stood the United States - their good neighbor - the richest Nation on earth - its radios and newspapers and movies spreading the story of America's material wealth and surplus crops.
But instead of holding out a helping hand of friendship to the desperate people of Cuba, nearly all our aid was in the form of weapons assistance".
JFK, 10/06/1060
Washington created Castro and then spent six decades punishing the Cuban people because of him. That's a very evil foreign policy.
17
true
2
"....In 1953 the average Cuban family had an income of $6 a week." They still have that now. How much do you think a worker earns a month?
2
Good. The tyrant is dead. He was as inauthentic as they come. Dressing like a so-called "communist revolutionary," but living like a prince in a palace. Meanwhile the Cuban people were suffering -- ramshackle housing, a failing economy, substandard education, food shortages, and imprisoned for life on their small, isolated, behind-the-times island.
30
You need to inform yourself a little better. He improved the healthcare and education. The shortages you are describing of food and primary goods were due to a certain embargo. That very same country provided arms and means to anyone trying to overthrow Fidel. At least he didn't create any drug laws to oppress the minorities that reside in his land. He didn't use the institutions of his land to justify segregation and institutional racism. But what can one expect from an individual who was educated in this country. Your narrow mindedness is frightening and explains why individuals such as Trump rise to power in land where a minority a fear mongers dictate to the majority and have the audacity to call themselves a democracy.
4
May the thousands of innocents who were executed without a trial or died trying to escape Castro's brutality rest in peace.
32
Shall we say the same for the millions killed by America?
3
Free the Milnes, Forbes, and Munro's from Trump Tyranny.
Blow up the Scottish wall.
Blow up the Scottish wall.
3
Arm19: what are you talking about?
Perhaps people should understand the history of Cuba under Batista, a brutal dictator that the US had no trouble working with. He was our dictator. The Jewish Mafia owned the casinos and prostitution business. Americans spent winter holidays there. The rich and white of Spanish heritage had huge rancheros and were the landowners. The poor and brown skinned had nothing. The right wing pals, military, police and other Batista hangers ons fled to Florida when revolution brought Castro to power. No wonder they are Republicans!
Castro brought land reform, healthcare for all and universal literacy. Yes, he too became a dictator and did much wrong, BUT remember the Cuban Americans in Florida were the rich and powerful in Cuba under Batista who hated Castro for divvying up their spoils to the poor. When they were in power, Cuba was a horrible existence for most Cubans. They had no concern for human rights just the rights of the rich.
Castro brought land reform, healthcare for all and universal literacy. Yes, he too became a dictator and did much wrong, BUT remember the Cuban Americans in Florida were the rich and powerful in Cuba under Batista who hated Castro for divvying up their spoils to the poor. When they were in power, Cuba was a horrible existence for most Cubans. They had no concern for human rights just the rights of the rich.
20
The more I read about Castro the more I'm convinced that all he really wanted was to abolish aristocracy and poverty and initially had no leaning to joining the Communist bloc. But the U.S.A. won't tolerate a neutral reformer. If you won't embrace the U.S.A.'s version of inequality you'll be forced to embrace the Soviet Union's version. Without the U.S.A., Castro would never have been pushed into the global Communist fold. As was the case with the Sandinistas, right-wingers in the U.SA. and Communists in Latin America NEED each other so that they can point fingers at the dirty nasty foreigners and make the populace afraid, and, therefore, docile. Dan Ortega nearly had a cow when the Contras almost disappeared. He quickly flew to the USSR and got lovey-dovey with The General Secretary, for the cameras. U.S. reaction was swift, relaxing restrictions on support to the Contras, and the Contras continued serving the purpose that Ortega needed them to serve, and Ortega continued serving the purpose that Ronald Reagan needed him to serve.
4
I have been to Cuba. Canadians are free to travel there.
The country was so impoverished. Cattle looked starving as you passed fields. There were shortages, even in our resort. Even before you go, all the websites say to bring gifts of school supplies and cosmetics to leave behind.
Our hotel staff were educated people who took these menial jobs despite better degrees - for example our bell boy was an architect - obviously for the pay and specifically the tips.
The staff was so nice and refined but clearly very guarded. Any attempt to engage them in conversation about their country was quickly shut down. It was like everything you see in a movie about the old Soviet Union.
We traveled to Havana on a bus tour with a guide, himself watched by a minder. The party line was repeated over and over about how utopian Cuba was as you passed infrastructure in such bad condition you felt like you were in a war zone. Crumpling bridges were described as akin to Venice. I don't know if this was misplaced pride or ignorance by the bright young man who was not only locked into his country but not even allowed to explore the world in a virtual way. Either supposition depressed us.
Except for some showplace reconstruction Havana was completely decaying and everyone,even museum staff, approached us begging.
We left praying for the end of this regime so these people could be free.
I am ashamed of my PM and disappointed in Obama that they did not address this reality.
The country was so impoverished. Cattle looked starving as you passed fields. There were shortages, even in our resort. Even before you go, all the websites say to bring gifts of school supplies and cosmetics to leave behind.
Our hotel staff were educated people who took these menial jobs despite better degrees - for example our bell boy was an architect - obviously for the pay and specifically the tips.
The staff was so nice and refined but clearly very guarded. Any attempt to engage them in conversation about their country was quickly shut down. It was like everything you see in a movie about the old Soviet Union.
We traveled to Havana on a bus tour with a guide, himself watched by a minder. The party line was repeated over and over about how utopian Cuba was as you passed infrastructure in such bad condition you felt like you were in a war zone. Crumpling bridges were described as akin to Venice. I don't know if this was misplaced pride or ignorance by the bright young man who was not only locked into his country but not even allowed to explore the world in a virtual way. Either supposition depressed us.
Except for some showplace reconstruction Havana was completely decaying and everyone,even museum staff, approached us begging.
We left praying for the end of this regime so these people could be free.
I am ashamed of my PM and disappointed in Obama that they did not address this reality.
23
You are aware that the the biggest trading partner had a 60 year embargo.....or did you go there without having bothered to read anything?
13
Precisely my experience.
6
Been to Cuba four times as a Canadian. Never had that experience. Tour guides and people spoke openly of their situation. Most blamed US for sanctions rather than blame Castro. Havana is a shambles....because it was has infrastructure for a million and a population of two million. Cities like Bayamo and Trinidad were in far better shape.
This is not a cheer for Castro. But recognition that, just like millions of Americans, Cubans may not love their leader. So why isolate and punish the people of Cuba when US has opened relations to China, Russia, even Vietnam? Is it any wonder the population despises the US more than they do their dictatorship?
This is not a cheer for Castro. But recognition that, just like millions of Americans, Cubans may not love their leader. So why isolate and punish the people of Cuba when US has opened relations to China, Russia, even Vietnam? Is it any wonder the population despises the US more than they do their dictatorship?
13
I am sick and tired of all these negative comments about Mr. Castro. Before you accuse him of atrocities, ask yourself: how many deaths is the US responsible for worldwide in the last 60 years? Go ahead. How many right-wing, death-squad regimes did we support? Go ahead. Yes, Castro was flawed. But he was also on the bulls eye of the world's most powerful nation his entire rule. He was protecting his country. Imagine if he was not subject to the most draconian embargo for >50 years, how much better off Cuba would have been. Already it has one of the best education and health care systems in the world. I suppose y'all want Cuba to be what it was: a playground for the America's rich and famous. Under a brutal dictatorship.
Don't be so hypocritical. America has sided with many dictators. And still does. Why single out Castro? He was simply protecting his country. RIP.
Don't be so hypocritical. America has sided with many dictators. And still does. Why single out Castro? He was simply protecting his country. RIP.
31
Thousands of innocents don't risk their lives trying to flee a democracy. Castro's secret police executed thousands of dissenters, homosexuals, mentally ill and common people. He oppressed human rights for decades.
15
And we helped many regimes do the exact same thing. There in lies the hypocrisy!
9
Srini, you desperately need to learn some history. Early on, the US actually supported Castro, back when he was claiming to be pro-democracy & pro-business. We fell for Castro's act. As it turns out, he was a communist as early as his undergrad days at the University of Havana. The split came when US oil companies who had refineries in Cuba asked to be paid for the petroleum products that they had been supplying that country. Seeing an opportunity, Castro refused to pay unless the US-owned refineries accepted the crude that the Soviet Union had given the regime, which was unacceptable both politically and technically. The Castro regime then nationalized the refineries, prompting the US government to take further measures. At every step of the escalation, the Castro regime acted first and aggressively and the US responded only later and much more cautiously out of fear of appearing to be the heavy. This reluctance gave the impression of weakness, which only emboldened the Castro regime to take further action.
1
Like all dictators, he will soon be forgotten, just like a bad dream.
Cubans will be free and the older ones, who had wasted their life under this dictatorship, will be sorry he didn't die sooner.
Life is not fair. For the dreams of one psychopath to come true thousands died and millions suffered for decades.
Cubans will be free and the older ones, who had wasted their life under this dictatorship, will be sorry he didn't die sooner.
Life is not fair. For the dreams of one psychopath to come true thousands died and millions suffered for decades.
15
How do you know ?
3
Life is ironic and funny. All the dumb talk and attacks on capitalism and he dies on Black Friday. hahahahaha! Talk about revenge.
1
Except Pedro, he OUTlived the many (US) Govt Leaders that tried to Kill Him.
Seems Castro didn't laugh Last after you but he (certainly) laughed Last after his enemies.
Seems Castro didn't laugh Last after you but he (certainly) laughed Last after his enemies.
2
Oddly enough, I've just read the chronology of a man named Fidel Castro who entered the international stage as a self-described liberator, but ultimately came to be viewed by legions as a dictatorial demagogue and near-isolationist...and I thought of Trump. Swept in to power and prestige by adoring fans, able to mesmerize crowds with words, inflections, and persuasion...but ultimately responsible for a broken down, impoverished, isolated antique of an island. Just as Trump could do for America if we continue to let ourselves be hypnotized by an outsized personality at the expense of accepting intelligence and an ever- broadening world view.
11
Very true. You hit the nail in the head.
Laughable, Ella. Obama has made a socialistic mess in the US; Trump will begin to undo these ridiculous policies and programs.
Cuba has another revenue stream not mentioned here. Earlier waves of Cuban refugees have pointed out that there are those among the Cubans, who came here in the last decade or so, who have applied for all kinds of welfare, and then returned to Cuba where they spend this welfare money.
Poor Cuban refugees are allowed to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Older Cubans are granted the monthly allowance (for life) as are younger Cubans who are physically or mentally handicapped. Some Cubans pretend they suffer from mental illness to qualify for SSI. They might say that living under Castro made them anxious or they might claim that their escape to the U.S. was so difficult it prevents them from being able to get jobs to support themselves.
Once these people have been awarded SSI, some of them tell our government to deposit their monthly checks in their U.S. bank accounts, and then they return to Cuba. They arrange for friends to forward their checks to them.
Fidel Castro must have laughed whole-heartedly when he learned what was going on.
Even though many of the Cuban refugees, who came to our country earlier, have told their congressmen about this scam being carried out by more recent Cuban “refugees”, our government has done little about it. We continue to fund Cubans who have returned to live in Cuba.
Poor Cuban refugees are allowed to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Older Cubans are granted the monthly allowance (for life) as are younger Cubans who are physically or mentally handicapped. Some Cubans pretend they suffer from mental illness to qualify for SSI. They might say that living under Castro made them anxious or they might claim that their escape to the U.S. was so difficult it prevents them from being able to get jobs to support themselves.
Once these people have been awarded SSI, some of them tell our government to deposit their monthly checks in their U.S. bank accounts, and then they return to Cuba. They arrange for friends to forward their checks to them.
Fidel Castro must have laughed whole-heartedly when he learned what was going on.
Even though many of the Cuban refugees, who came to our country earlier, have told their congressmen about this scam being carried out by more recent Cuban “refugees”, our government has done little about it. We continue to fund Cubans who have returned to live in Cuba.
8
And yet they vote republican.
I beautiful article on the phenomenon that was Fidel. He symbolized the Rebel against the elitist organization of society, where a wealthy ruling class party away and lord it over the mass of groveling peasants.His humanitarian view was of a society equal human beings, living in harmony and probably peace. I'm looking forward to an objective, informative examination of the peasant hero, Fidel.
6
The Fidel smackdown of democracy is not social justice. It is paternalism. Fidel helped starve his people. Smackdown the Trump tyranny.
1
He was a dictator who had no patience with dissent. He brought his people literacy, health care, economic equality and national pride. No one cares if you can't handle the contradiction.
12
No one cares if you can handle it either.
Neither does Trump have any patience with dissent, viz his treatment of Rosy O'Donnell.
He achieved the dream of every dictator: to die peacefully in his sleep, while still in power. It very rarely happened this way.
8
I am shocked with the falsehoods and lies that people believe and perpetuate. Cubans lived under a dictatorship before 1959, but Batista was a choir boy in comparison to Fidel Castro. When he could have sentenced Castro to death he chose not to. Fidel Castro and his band of thugs sent thousands before firing squads. Under Batista, Cuba had high literacy rates, truly free public schools, and a flourishing economy. Fidel Castro slightly increased the literacy rate, made children go to agrarian boarding schools to work the land in exchange for their supposedly free education, and destroyed the economy. Doctors in Cuba, unless they are specialists are a joke. They are primary care physicians by their mid-twenties, but since there is no malpractice to worry about, it doesn't matter how many patients they kill while they finish learning how to be a doctor. Hospitals are hovels where you must bring your own food, water, bed linens, medications, and medical supplies. These medications and medical supplies usually end up being supplied by exiles. Fidel Castro turned Cuba in the Castro family farm. More than 20% of your population does not leave if you're the great guy that many like to believe Fidel Castro was. Fidel Castro was a bully from the time he was a child. He harbored a lifelong inferiority complex probably borne of being illegitimate in a time when this was greatly stigmatized. He took his revenge out on the Cuban people and thousands have died of a result.
29
I am shocked with the falsehoods and lies that people believe and perpetuate. Batista died in Spain leaving an estate in excess of $200 million dollars. Not bad for life long army officer. Castro spent his later years living in a modest home in Havana with no particular fortune of note. Those facts say it all.
24
Batista's Cuba was, by all accounts, a playground for rich tourists and Cuba's 1%. If you didn't belong to either of those groups, you welcomed Fidel.
Compared to other poor countries - Haiti, Dominican Republic, most of South and Central America, most of Africa - Castro's Cuba was a pretty good place to be.
But most Americans couldn't name a single African or South American dictator because, instead of demonizing them, the US has quietly supported them for decades.
Compared to other poor countries - Haiti, Dominican Republic, most of South and Central America, most of Africa - Castro's Cuba was a pretty good place to be.
But most Americans couldn't name a single African or South American dictator because, instead of demonizing them, the US has quietly supported them for decades.
7
Castro didn't need to technically own anything; he had in essence stolen the entire country of Cuba and converted it into his own private hacienda. Anything he wanted was his simply for the taking.
3
Fidel Castro was a scoundrel. He fought his way to leadership in Cuba at the head of a revolution that promised liberation for the masses of Cubans who were economically imprisoned only to lie about his intent until he had collected all of the privately held firearms and then the launched an economic repression that destroyed Cuba's middle classes and led to complete loss of freedom of movement and massive poverty. At the same time, those who could not flee the island and were deemed counter revolutionaries were given kangaroo trials and executed. He murdered tens of thousands. The only way he was able to accomplish all of this was because of the backing of Nikita Khruschev and the Soviet Union. Yes Cubans have a health care system and they can read, but nobody was trying to raft their way to the Estados Unidos until Castro became Cuba's communist dictator.
23
My takeaway from this, is that the times has never lost its depth of reporting and its stature as one of the best investigative newspapers in the world. From painting a benign picture of Castro as an idealist, to a true account of his deeds now. Facts matter. We need to support high quality journalism if we are to survive and maintain all the gains of the progressive movement
12
My condolences to the friends and families of the countless people who died at sea seeking freedom, as well as those whom Castro murdered more directly in Cuba itself.
23
Instead of comparing Cuba to Western democracies, the question to ask is: are average Cubans better off today than they were under Fulgencio Batista? I believe most would say yes, by a long way.
16
They may be marginally better off financially (at least those who weren't brutally murdered by Castro without due process), but that growth rate is horrible compared to a comparable third-world country in the 1950s, such as Singapore, which is thriving now.
1
Which is why tens of thousands risked their lives in a desperate attempt to leave.
14
And that's why they're prepared to risk drowning at sea to leave Cuba? We had no such refugees under Batista. Maybe it was an increase in the quality of rubber-raft technology?
14
I read some of these comments and it makes me think, does no one know the mid century history of Cuba?
The regime of Fulgencio Batista subjected its people to be brutalized, exploited, uneducated and poor.
A regime, that by all accounts, engaged in terror tactics, rescinded civil liberties, banned strikes, censored the press, banned political parties and murdered 20,000 Cubans, during its seven year term.
A regime that redefined what it meant to be corrupt. When Batista left Cuba, he took with him a $300 million fortune - the equivalent on $2.6 trillion, yes trillion dollars today.
A regime that was supported financially, militarily and logistical by our government - the US government.
I don't condone the tactics of any government that engages in that type of behavior, but neither should our government.
Castro was no angel, all he ever wanted was, what was best for his people. His tactics were no better, but it seems to me the height of hypocrisy to criticize Castro when the US backed a dictator?
The US has a bad history in Latin America, supporting a series of despots.
The answer is to engage.
The world has changed and a partner 90 miles from our border beats a country who can be susceptible of other sphere's of influence?
The regime of Fulgencio Batista subjected its people to be brutalized, exploited, uneducated and poor.
A regime, that by all accounts, engaged in terror tactics, rescinded civil liberties, banned strikes, censored the press, banned political parties and murdered 20,000 Cubans, during its seven year term.
A regime that redefined what it meant to be corrupt. When Batista left Cuba, he took with him a $300 million fortune - the equivalent on $2.6 trillion, yes trillion dollars today.
A regime that was supported financially, militarily and logistical by our government - the US government.
I don't condone the tactics of any government that engages in that type of behavior, but neither should our government.
Castro was no angel, all he ever wanted was, what was best for his people. His tactics were no better, but it seems to me the height of hypocrisy to criticize Castro when the US backed a dictator?
The US has a bad history in Latin America, supporting a series of despots.
The answer is to engage.
The world has changed and a partner 90 miles from our border beats a country who can be susceptible of other sphere's of influence?
23
To say that he wanted "the best for his people" is to go to a level of cognitive dissonance that completely disregards parts of "his people" who he had executed without cause.
Also, your 2.6 trillion figure is complete incorrect - the figure is actually 2.6 BILLION.
Also, your 2.6 trillion figure is complete incorrect - the figure is actually 2.6 BILLION.
9
""Castro was no angel, all he ever wanted was, what was best for his people. ""
Ah. That surely explains the 're-education camps' for gays, the execution of political enemies, restriction against freedom of assembly, barring access to outside information, and so on.
Ah. That surely explains the 're-education camps' for gays, the execution of political enemies, restriction against freedom of assembly, barring access to outside information, and so on.
14
George you are wrong and don't know all of your facts. Under Batista people were fed, educated and lived their lives freely. Education was available to all. Under Castro things got ugly. From someone who has relatives who lived under Batista and from all that I was told from them they led very good lives.
5
If he hadn't gone over to the Dark Side he would have been one of the great leaders of history. Instead, he presided over a basket case of a country propped up by an ally for their military advantage, not for the sake of human development or progress. Even as it was, he was a force of nature.
I prefer to remember him for one moment when he showed some real character. It was in the 80s I think. A baseball team from the US made the first trip to Cuba to play those then-Unknown Cuban stars. Castro astonished everyone by standing respectfully for the Star Spangled Banner. When asked after the game he said "baseball is more important than politics." I can't hate the man.
I prefer to remember him for one moment when he showed some real character. It was in the 80s I think. A baseball team from the US made the first trip to Cuba to play those then-Unknown Cuban stars. Castro astonished everyone by standing respectfully for the Star Spangled Banner. When asked after the game he said "baseball is more important than politics." I can't hate the man.
8
That's actually pretty silly. You obviously never faced a firing squad. But still, I have to "like" the comment.
3
Are you talking about Batista's firing squads?
What I wouldn't give for twenty more years! Here we are, protected, free to make our profits without Kefauver, the goddamn Justice Department and the F.B.I. ninety miles away, in partnership with a friendly government. Ninety miles!
2
He could be mean and controlling, cynical even, like when he unloaded all of the Mariel boat people on us. But I always admired the man, especially for his ability to frustrate the American regime, again and again and again.
12
An American regime that allowed itself to be made fools of because Communism must be resisted -- even when the Communists were a bunch of out-at-the-knees peasants -- no matter what.
Our embargo that deprived Cubans of so much, when flooding the place with food and consumer goods would've pulled the rug out from under Castro in short order -- is a blotch on our history.
Our embargo that deprived Cubans of so much, when flooding the place with food and consumer goods would've pulled the rug out from under Castro in short order -- is a blotch on our history.
8
Like Donald Trump, Fidel Castro in his prime was a political figure who worked without a net. Both men had the confidence—some would call it arrogance—to speak so bluntly to the press. Both were unscripted and unpredictable. The media flocks to politicians like these, someone who might give you a headline from an off-the-cuff remark. Unlike Trump, Castro was friendly to American reporters and courted their attention. But each man understood full well his impulsive personality was catnip to the media.
6
Fidel Castro had been out of power for ten years when he died yesterday. A lot changed in Cuba in those ten years, and a lot remained the same. However, during the past two years the USA and Cuba restored diplomatic relations, some trade and travel restrictions were lifted, more Cuban and non-Cuban travelers visited the island. Additionally, a number of important issues, benefiting both countries were discussed and new agreements signed. It would be a terrible mistake for Trump to reverse these advances. It will do nothing to foster change within Cuba and the world will see an unjustified animosity towards an impoverished country, only 90 miles from the USA. It will give Raúl Castro a justification to circle the wagons and become paranoid. I do not like the very undiplomatic language used by Trump today in relation to Castro's death. He should let Cubans decide on Fidel's legacy, the evil and the good associated with that man. To many in Cuba's government, Trump's words almost sound like a declaration of war. He should have been more realistic and statesman-like. Trump wants good relations with Russia, without regime change or deprecating Putin. He wants good relations with Vietnam and only complains about China regarding trade. I do not see why he should not adopt the same attitude regarding Cuba. He was elected to govern the USA, not Cuba. He should keep his promise to get along with everyone.
9
The first paragraph of this commentary is wholly unacceptable. Castro was a complex historical figure. He can be dis robed from various perspectives, painted in differing lights. But he did not bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. That was the doing of Jack Kennedy, the 'heroic' President assassinated in curious circumstances.
The Bay of Pigs came first. Journalism has been publishing in 'post truth' style for decades; long before the appearance of Donald Trump.
The Bay of Pigs came first. Journalism has been publishing in 'post truth' style for decades; long before the appearance of Donald Trump.
9
In the heat of the Cuban Missile Crisis on october 26th 1962, Castro sent Soviet Leader Nikita Krushev a coded telegram known as the Armageddon Letter concocting a lit in an attempt to instigate nuclear war.
"We have solid intelligence that the U.S. attack is coming within 24 to 72 hours. Strike first. It's an act of seld defense, there is no other solution."
The man wanted nuclear war.
"We have solid intelligence that the U.S. attack is coming within 24 to 72 hours. Strike first. It's an act of seld defense, there is no other solution."
The man wanted nuclear war.
Major historical irony in that the Kennedys tried to assassinate Castro a hundred different ways, all those plots failed, both Kennedy's were assassinated and Castro lived to 90.
Those are the longest of odds. Makes the Trump presidency look rather pedestrian. Billionaire long shot wins presidency. Not such a big shock all things considered.
Those are the longest of odds. Makes the Trump presidency look rather pedestrian. Billionaire long shot wins presidency. Not such a big shock all things considered.
11
How different and isolated are the voices of much of the US political class about Fidel's passing when compared to most of the rest of the world.
13
It is odd to listen to the media report that the US maintained a strong embargo against Cuba and then, in the same breath, say Cubans are poor because of Castro.
28
Cuba was free to trade with everyone else in the world. Lack of trade with the US was something they brought upon themselves. If their economy remained destitute it was not the fault of the US - it was their own policy.
6
Not at all. Castro could have easily end the embargo. Instead he chose to enslave the Cubans.
7
@Master of the Obvious NY, New York.
Not true where patented material is concerned, The US owns most patents on medicine and it forbade, on threat of sanctions, to allow any country to sell to Cuba. Not even the 10cent leprosy pill, which was patented by a US company but manufactured by a multinational company in Europe, and that is why Cuba had hospitals for lepers! I visited one with a group of doctors. The embargo was shameful and petty and vindictive on so many levels.
Not true where patented material is concerned, The US owns most patents on medicine and it forbade, on threat of sanctions, to allow any country to sell to Cuba. Not even the 10cent leprosy pill, which was patented by a US company but manufactured by a multinational company in Europe, and that is why Cuba had hospitals for lepers! I visited one with a group of doctors. The embargo was shameful and petty and vindictive on so many levels.
6
What is not mentioned here is that Castro was a puppet of the Soviet Union, and the KGB, from day one, just as his spiritual father Lenin was on his part a puppet if Germany during the fisr world war. They both were very skilfully used by those superpowers to futher their national interests.
5
He was also preaching fidelismo his own criminal and communist agenda
3
Who was a puppet of whom? Castro used the USSR to achieve his ends. That has become even more clear over time.
6
John, watch the movie "The Fog of War" for some insights into why Castro became friendly with the Russians. He tried to develop a relationship with the US first, but they spit in his face, siding with Monsanto and the other corporations Castro kicked out. Castro was then offered support by Russia, but he was not with them "from day one".
5
Adios Fidel, Cuba was the playground of feudalistic landlords and foreign (American) gangsters until you came to power. To keep the United States at bay you had to make a deal with the Soviet devil, but, at least for once, while you ruled Cuba a Caribbean country was not treated as the exclusive property of American business interests.
29
He died with honor and dignity
18
Honor and dignity? For killing thousands and depriving Cubans of basic human rights?
14
It is fair to make an assessment of Fidel Castro's regimen, persona, etc. But those doing so, have a moral and ethical responsibility of learning about US international policy. How many Latin American dictators have been backed/empowered by USA? Criticize Fidel Castro, but also say something about especial operations in Guatemala (Jorge Ubico), Brazil (military junta overthrowing a democratically elected president), Chile (Pinochet killing Democratically elected President Allende), Nicaragua (Somoza), Dominican Republic (Rafael Trujillo), Haiti (Jean-Claude Duvalier). Who is keeping the log of that hypocritical geopolitics of freedom?
18
Castro and the U.S. government did horrible things. I would hope that we have learned from our mistakes and will refuse to support dictators of any sort.
2
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and other notable world leaders were not close friends of Castro for nothing.
In the face of a decades of American imperialism (puppet governments ending with Batista and the U.S. sugar industry eradicating general farming and economically enslaving the average Cuban) and for over fifty years with a U.S. foot placed squarely on its neck in the form of a worldwide trade embargo, Cuba was able to achieve: perhaps the best primary medical care in the world, the production of essential medicines for the world, a strong start to the eradication of discrimination based on colour and gender and the suppression of "machismo," an almost universal literacy rate and low child mortality.
Cuba has provided thousands of doctors to the world. It volunteer army saved Angola from invasion.
Castro has said his fight was with globalization and consumerism. His compass was always the welfare of his people. Considering the incredible barriers the U.S. and its satellite states imposed. Cuba under Castro has done a remarkable job.
In the face of a decades of American imperialism (puppet governments ending with Batista and the U.S. sugar industry eradicating general farming and economically enslaving the average Cuban) and for over fifty years with a U.S. foot placed squarely on its neck in the form of a worldwide trade embargo, Cuba was able to achieve: perhaps the best primary medical care in the world, the production of essential medicines for the world, a strong start to the eradication of discrimination based on colour and gender and the suppression of "machismo," an almost universal literacy rate and low child mortality.
Cuba has provided thousands of doctors to the world. It volunteer army saved Angola from invasion.
Castro has said his fight was with globalization and consumerism. His compass was always the welfare of his people. Considering the incredible barriers the U.S. and its satellite states imposed. Cuba under Castro has done a remarkable job.
18
Definitively you don't know what you are talking about. Ignorance make people say stupidities. That medical care. Have you been in Cuba? Production of medicines? Why do I have to send even Motrin because they don't have analgesics? Stop discrimination? Never in Cuba's history blacks have been as oppressed as today. If you think I am lying just go, visit the hospitals in the provinces, talk to the people, nowadays is easy. Then and only then talks about it.
When have you seen socialism working? That is a fallacy.
When have you seen socialism working? That is a fallacy.
13
Thank you for the comment. I have been to Cuba. I've seen a doctor's house/clinic in every town. One cannot get Motrin and like drugs because if the manufacturers sold their product into Cuba they would be prohibited by U.S. law from selling that product in the U.S. it's the same with many other items, like vehicles and computers. On the other hand, Americans are going to Cuba for certain drugs manufactured there that are not available in the U.S.
Socialized services are working everywhere. For example, in Florida you have "socialized" your fire department and you policing.
Socialized services are working everywhere. For example, in Florida you have "socialized" your fire department and you policing.
3
Gerry, exactly how many countries participate in this "worldwide trade embargo" against Cuba? As far as I can tell, only the United States, Israel, and a minor country or two in the Pacific still maintain the embargo. Every other nation on the planet is free to trade with Cuba-- and many do. The Cubans have always been allowed to buy food and medicine from the USA, with the only significant restriction being that the Cubans must pay cash up front, not on credit. The Cubans have also proven adept at getting around the embargo by starting trading companies in third countries, allowing them back-door channels to get US goods, albeit at slightly increased cost. There are other minor inconveniences, but overall, the embargo is no longer more than a propaganda issue for Cuba. They have had over 50 years to find other suppliers and other buyers for their goods. If they still can't make a go of their economy, at this point it is hardly the fault of the USA.
1
It's time for us to recall that Castro put gay people in internment and labor camps.
13
Thanks, Mike. I wasn't aware that Castro was an evangelical fundamentalist.
6
He afforded decent healthcare and education to his people through a spartan way of life as long as he received the economic support of USSR.
Then he fed them on rice,eggs and black beans.
Cubans are still living in the 1950s and don't have a clue about what is going on in the rest of the world and don't know that they are the only people in the Americas, Venezuela is a special case, still living under a pluto-gerontocratic ruthless dictatorish.
Then he fed them on rice,eggs and black beans.
Cubans are still living in the 1950s and don't have a clue about what is going on in the rest of the world and don't know that they are the only people in the Americas, Venezuela is a special case, still living under a pluto-gerontocratic ruthless dictatorish.
5
As we will, in a few weeks.
8
Pol Pont California "Cubans are still living in the 1950s".
Materially maybe - Cuban's might not have the latest SUV's and iphones, but they have a far higher education rating than the US and they are far more aware and knowledgeable of what is going on in the world including politically and culturally than the majority of Americans.
Materially maybe - Cuban's might not have the latest SUV's and iphones, but they have a far higher education rating than the US and they are far more aware and knowledgeable of what is going on in the world including politically and culturally than the majority of Americans.
3
He enslaved Cuba, still it is enslaved, people eat sometimes nothing, I know people that developed neuro pathologies due to lack of vitamins and minerals. Hospitals have nothing either, only medical tourism gets the good deal, and the communist nomenklatura (and the good jobs and money) American Communists: Why do not you go and live in Cuba? Why don't you go and live in Venezuela? Slaves, as poor and as captive as slaves, those are the Cubans today. Rubbish...And I am all for social-democracy Parties.
14
Remember the time when people lost the sight and became blind for some type of nutritional deficiency?
4
"....something nothing...." ?
Good, the world is a little better now, still got many to go, it would be nice if they all went at the same time!
9
What we tend to forget is that our country prior to Castro supported the ruthless dictators who ruled Cuba as long as we were allowed to use the island as a banana republic to serve our economic purposes and provide high-life entertainment for the rich. The fact that abject poverty was a way of life for millions on the island was overlooked conveniently, and we were always willing to provide safe asylum to the overthrown Cuban dictators, allowing them to use their stolen wealth to live in luxury.
16
""The fact that abject poverty was a way of life for millions on the island was overlooked conveniently""
The same could be said today about you and yours.
The same could be said today about you and yours.
5
Were you there in 1958? I think you have read too much of the yellow media. You better be proud of your country. With their help Cuba was the richest, modern, prosperous country in America. Be proud you are American.
2
Idania, one can generally be proud of one's country and at the same time be aware of instances when as a nation we have not been as sensitive as we should have been regarding existing injustices and cruelty. Would you have overlooked slavery in our country because slave owners were prosperous?
Taiwan, S Korea, china, India, Singapore, Chile, etc were all in the same economic condition as Cuba 50 years ago. They introduced more market discipline to their economies and have surpassed Cuba in every respect since, in most cases many times over.
9
how convenient of you to forget the trade embargo imposed by uncle sam?
we didn't normalize relation with Vietnam until the Clinton administration. that's twenty plus years after the war. all because we didn't have our way with a less developed country half way around the world.
we didn't normalize relation with Vietnam until the Clinton administration. that's twenty plus years after the war. all because we didn't have our way with a less developed country half way around the world.
4
But Singapore was ruled by a dictator who employed caning! Progress at a terrible price! (Not that Castro was any better.) But I hate to hear Singapore listed as a paragon of virtue to be imitated.
2
Some commentators have tried to defend Fidel as a laudable ardent nationalist and comparing him to the likes of Ho Chi Minh. But these are baseless arguments. Ho Chi Minh cared about his people and his country. Fidel only cared about himself and ensuring that he became "el maximo lider". He was just a self-absorbed and power-hungry demagogue -- a very skillful one. Even his early successes in improving the country's health care and education systems must be viewed in this context.
Fidel embodied the very worst attributes of the caudillo he deposed, and in magnified fashion. The jury is out on whether Fidel (or Castro rather) is popular within his country as some seem to suggest, especially when considering how many Cubans fled the island in droves over the past decades. And it is probable that the Cubans who stayed behind just played along with staged manifestations of Fidel's popularity, believing they had no other choice.
Fidel embodied the very worst attributes of the caudillo he deposed, and in magnified fashion. The jury is out on whether Fidel (or Castro rather) is popular within his country as some seem to suggest, especially when considering how many Cubans fled the island in droves over the past decades. And it is probable that the Cubans who stayed behind just played along with staged manifestations of Fidel's popularity, believing they had no other choice.
10
I met a Cuban lady that use to go to the manifestations because there were free sandwiches and they did not have anything to eat at home, or to buy in the stores.
8
You are a good man Mr. Cuban.
1
Through the ages, history was written by the powerful even if the powerful was defeated. Only the peoples of small and weaker countries that triumphed over much more powerful countries understand and know the true history of fighting, dying and sacrificing to gain self-determination and independence.
6
So when do the Cuban people get to self-determine?
Asking for a few thousand political prisoners and their families.
Asking for a few thousand political prisoners and their families.
6
We lost our independence when Castro the monster came to power. When there is a dictatorship no one is free. He was an oppressive dictator compared only to Stalin.
8
I just don't understand. The Cuban people have been denied liberty and democracy by Castro and not more powerful countries. He and his brother have dictated and controlled the country for over 50 years. They controlled the media, executed any political opposition and nationalized Cuban industries simply to consolidate their power and overwhelming wealth meanwhile as the majority of Cubans lived in abject poverty.
5
the art of the obituary as only in the NYT. What a fantastic first sentence.
7
As a daughter of Cuban Americans , today is a joyous day , this represents the era of a horrific dictator and murderer who killed innocent people and jailed and tortured protesters of his cruel regime , hopefully one da the Cubans in the island will be able to enjoy the freedoms that come with a true democracy like many of us have the privilege to have in the US
17
Please don't burst their fantasy bubble.
3
Good riddance. Castro stole the wealth and property of tens of thousands of Cubans who were forced to flee to America. He did likewise with the wealth of many international corporations who had businesses in Cuba. he then turned his own country into a gulag, with a privileged class of confidants and the military, and a much larger class of impoverished people who lived off the government dole. Castro's arrogance and inability to accept change in his socialist rhetoric kept Cuba and Cubans in a state of poverty and ever crumbling infrastructure. Good riddance to the dictator who betrayed his own people and country.
21
Now that the US has its own strongman leader we will get to experience at least some of the "joys" of a dictator with none of the healthcare benefits. Humans never learn, but tend to fall in (for the most part) behind bluster and ego.
7
Has the Constitution with all it's checks and balances been suspended?
5
No, Mandrake, the one who got 2 million less votes won the election.
3
The United States mismanaged the relationship with Cuba, like Iran, for the better part of the last century. Aggressive corporate imperialism, constant coup intrigue, and the hoovering threat of regime change created mythical figures like Castro.
He's like Jesse James or the Roadrunner - always escaping the anvil. Americans have always romanticized rebel figures and for anyone to express shock that Castro would be romanticized, well, they haven't been paying attention. In fact, if you've noticed, Castro has grown more popular as more Americans (on the right and left) begin viewing our own country as an international bully always looking for a war.
He's like Jesse James or the Roadrunner - always escaping the anvil. Americans have always romanticized rebel figures and for anyone to express shock that Castro would be romanticized, well, they haven't been paying attention. In fact, if you've noticed, Castro has grown more popular as more Americans (on the right and left) begin viewing our own country as an international bully always looking for a war.
13
Why you people can be so DESPICABLE talking about your on country? Where is your patriotism? Common our wine is sour but is our wine. You exhibit the traitors attributes.
"Cuba Reports Lower Child Mortality Rate than US and Canada"
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Cuba-Reports-Lower-Child-Mortality...
Think about it: A dirt poor country beats the US and Canada.
We could learn a lot from Cuba.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Cuba-Reports-Lower-Child-Mortality...
Think about it: A dirt poor country beats the US and Canada.
We could learn a lot from Cuba.
14
It was not a dirt poor country before the revolution
Cuba before the revolution was a leader in both education, literacy and healthcare
..If you fail to know history...you are become an easy and gullible individual prone to believe political propaganda. BTW, NONE of the statistics are verified by ANY third party or world organization..they have never been allowed in to confirm...They just accept the numbers being reported by the self-serving central authoritarian dictatorship...YOU want to believe them..really? REALLY?
You have nothing to learn from Cuba..outside of not to be fooled and to become more respectful of the freedoms we enjoy here..
Cuba before the revolution was a leader in both education, literacy and healthcare
..If you fail to know history...you are become an easy and gullible individual prone to believe political propaganda. BTW, NONE of the statistics are verified by ANY third party or world organization..they have never been allowed in to confirm...They just accept the numbers being reported by the self-serving central authoritarian dictatorship...YOU want to believe them..really? REALLY?
You have nothing to learn from Cuba..outside of not to be fooled and to become more respectful of the freedoms we enjoy here..
13
""We could learn a lot from Cuba.""
Oh, trust me - people in the Obama administration just *dream* of being able to manipulate state-approved statistics. Why, if they were able to do like Cuba, Obamacare would have a 99% approval rating, and all its critics would be sent to re-education camps.
Oh, trust me - people in the Obama administration just *dream* of being able to manipulate state-approved statistics. Why, if they were able to do like Cuba, Obamacare would have a 99% approval rating, and all its critics would be sent to re-education camps.
10
Woof please educate your self a bit. Compare Cuba when Batista was in power to Cuba when Fidel took power. I had several relatives who remember what it was like pre Castro night and day. Food was plentiful, people were well educated and life was good then Castro came in, put people to death and corrupted the country further, he lived quite well, $5,000 Brioni suits while his people starved and made do without. You believe the propaganda that his regime put out.
4
So many comments from people who have never been to Cuba and whose
information comes primarily from US sources. it is understandable.
It never ceases to amaze me the ignorance and arrogance of this country
that has the knack to criticised, and undermine, everything they disagree with .
Do bother to visit, learn, and then have an opinion . Cuba was, and is not
perfect as US democracy is not perfect ,( the popular vote determined Clinton,
but the US , as Cuba and China, have (unelected ) electors who determine who is the winner.( & don´t forget those Puerto Rican freedom fighters in prison !)
But in its poverty you find dignity and a sense of community that you would love to have in the US. The solidarity and understanding of common man.
information comes primarily from US sources. it is understandable.
It never ceases to amaze me the ignorance and arrogance of this country
that has the knack to criticised, and undermine, everything they disagree with .
Do bother to visit, learn, and then have an opinion . Cuba was, and is not
perfect as US democracy is not perfect ,( the popular vote determined Clinton,
but the US , as Cuba and China, have (unelected ) electors who determine who is the winner.( & don´t forget those Puerto Rican freedom fighters in prison !)
But in its poverty you find dignity and a sense of community that you would love to have in the US. The solidarity and understanding of common man.
17
This comment might be the single most idiotic thing I've read all day.
Castro was a murderous thug. His country suffers because of him and his gang.
His attempt to institute Communism resulted in what all Communist regimes end up as: corrupt, murderous, and broke.
Your analogy with the Electoral College is moronic.
Castro was a murderous thug. His country suffers because of him and his gang.
His attempt to institute Communism resulted in what all Communist regimes end up as: corrupt, murderous, and broke.
Your analogy with the Electoral College is moronic.
20
Strange how so many people have fled "the solidarity of common man" for a better life in the US over the last half-century.
And still try and flee today.
And still try and flee today.
15
forgot the most important, : "..and understanding.. "
2
Even a writer as accomplished as Mr. DePalma seems unable to cut through the fog of US bias, throwing around words like totalitarianism and zealot. Fidel looks very different from most of Latin America.
The revolution inspired a generation of students and young people to resist oppression and injustice. Some followed Fidel's lead and took up arms against corrupt, repressive regimes.
They, of course, mostly failed. Che Guevara himself hoped to apply his revolutionary theories in Bolivia but was soon captured by Bolivian soldiers and the CIA. See the iconic photo of Che's corpse shortly after being captured and executed in 1967
But even as many idealistic young people across Latin America marched toward a premature death, the Cuban Revolution continued to capture the imagination of the region. Cuban folk singers such as Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes shaped the region's culture more profoundly than Bob Dylan or the Beatles. The leading literature prize in the region is annually awarded in Havana. From Left to Right, many cheered as Fidel shook his fist at a succession of US presidents, from Eisenhower to Bush. (It was Raul Castro and Barak Obama who finally brought an end to the Cold War in the Western Hemisphere some 27 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall).
Fidel was one of the giants of the 29th century. Most other politicians look diminished in his shadow. Fidel, descanse en paz.
The revolution inspired a generation of students and young people to resist oppression and injustice. Some followed Fidel's lead and took up arms against corrupt, repressive regimes.
They, of course, mostly failed. Che Guevara himself hoped to apply his revolutionary theories in Bolivia but was soon captured by Bolivian soldiers and the CIA. See the iconic photo of Che's corpse shortly after being captured and executed in 1967
But even as many idealistic young people across Latin America marched toward a premature death, the Cuban Revolution continued to capture the imagination of the region. Cuban folk singers such as Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes shaped the region's culture more profoundly than Bob Dylan or the Beatles. The leading literature prize in the region is annually awarded in Havana. From Left to Right, many cheered as Fidel shook his fist at a succession of US presidents, from Eisenhower to Bush. (It was Raul Castro and Barak Obama who finally brought an end to the Cold War in the Western Hemisphere some 27 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall).
Fidel was one of the giants of the 29th century. Most other politicians look diminished in his shadow. Fidel, descanse en paz.
15
The last paragraph should, of course, say 20th century. The typo doesn't change how ethnocentric, the article and the coverage ande comments have been.
Here are a few more facts and indicators that may help explain why we in Latin America view the Cuban Revolution so much differently than the the prevailing North American lens which still seems to be unable to escape from its Cold War hangover:
• UNICEF declared Cuba to be the only country in the Americas without childhood malnutrition.
• UNICEF declared Cuba as the country with the lowest incidence of infant mortality in the Americas
• Cuba has developed vaccines against four different types of cancer
• Cuba is the first country in the world to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child
• The World Health Organization declared the Cuban health system as a model for the world
• The Unite Nations Development program ranks Cuba as the second highest in Latin America on its Human Development Index, combining indices of health education and longevity
• Cuba is the country that dedicates the greatest percentage of its GDP to education
• 54% Cuba's of budget goes to social services.
Here are a few more facts and indicators that may help explain why we in Latin America view the Cuban Revolution so much differently than the the prevailing North American lens which still seems to be unable to escape from its Cold War hangover:
• UNICEF declared Cuba to be the only country in the Americas without childhood malnutrition.
• UNICEF declared Cuba as the country with the lowest incidence of infant mortality in the Americas
• Cuba has developed vaccines against four different types of cancer
• Cuba is the first country in the world to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child
• The World Health Organization declared the Cuban health system as a model for the world
• The Unite Nations Development program ranks Cuba as the second highest in Latin America on its Human Development Index, combining indices of health education and longevity
• Cuba is the country that dedicates the greatest percentage of its GDP to education
• 54% Cuba's of budget goes to social services.
13
Only problem is that you left out the truth in your little story: Fidel the murderer of thousands of civilians who dared to oppose him, the consummate hypocrite who lived a luxurious standard of living and amassed a wealth of 900 million dollars according to a recent article in Forbes Magazine and who never raised the people up from a subsistence level of existence. Just because he snubbed his nose at the US doesn't mean that he was a person to be admired. He was a dictator and refused to allow Democratic elections. What do you think about that? Doesn't that bother you just a little bit?
2
A true revolutionary.
A friend to Malcolm, Mandela, and struggle.
A friend to Malcolm, Mandela, and struggle.
5
One aspect of Castro, as in the case of Lennin, not emphesized in the above article at all is the fact that both of these tyrants they were the Puppets of a foreign superpower, used skilfully forctheir own superpower interests at the time. In the case of Castro it was the defunct Soviet Union, and the case of Lennin it was the Germany before the first world war.
5
Fidel Castro did not bring the Cold Wat to Latin America, as the headline blares.
In 1954, the United States destabilized the constitutional government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman of Guatemala. The Eisenhower administration alleged that President Arbenz was a Communist, soft on communism, or oblivious the the Communist threat. These allegations were all false.
Stephen Rabe
Ashbel Smith Chair in History
In 1954, the United States destabilized the constitutional government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman of Guatemala. The Eisenhower administration alleged that President Arbenz was a Communist, soft on communism, or oblivious the the Communist threat. These allegations were all false.
Stephen Rabe
Ashbel Smith Chair in History
13
Thank you Professor Rabe. I too found the headline jarring, ideological and ahistorical.
8
Not a competitive swimmer, however.
To evaluate Castro's achievements for his people, you need to compare not to Florida or other parts of the US, but to comparable hispanic countries such as El Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala, which in a way are failed states. Despite, (or because) there was no communist regime and despite continued support from the US. I would think that Cubans as a whole are far better off than inhabitants of those countries, where the rate of murder and violent crime is similar to that in Iraq and Syria. Difficult to imagine what would have happened to Cuba if there would have been no embargo.
9
An excellent comparison. Too bad that so many Americans are so committed completely brain-washed that they can't even process your point.
4
Communist or non-, He was the leader of the Free World. He brought hope to millions of people in the third world, eking out a living subservient to hegemonic racists of the western world. Fidel is dead, but his bequest will live forever.
10
Absolutely correct, but an assessment that is unlikely to get many up votes. We have have been too thoroughly indoctrinated in an unreflective, knee-jerk anti-communism for that.
In other words, many of us can recite (like a parrot) all of the many flaws and failures of the Castro regime; many fewer can give an educated account of its multiple accomplishments.
In other words, many of us can recite (like a parrot) all of the many flaws and failures of the Castro regime; many fewer can give an educated account of its multiple accomplishments.
5
Wouldn't one have to let his own people live in freedom before he would be called a leader of the free world? Your logic is the logic of every Communist in this world.
7
Fidel Castro was NEVER the leader of the Free World.
Fidel Castro would never abide a world where freedom reigned.
"Hegemonic racists of the western world?"
And yet, here you are, Jamil. Don't know whether you immigrated here or were born here, but, and I'm judging based on your surname, I would bet the overt race and class system in the country I have a hunch you descend from is far worse than what we have here. What's more, if you think that race and class aren't important in Latin America then you need a cold shower. Racism is not confined to the Western world.
The fact that he did indeed, as you mentioned, provide hope for the 3rd world speaks to how those country's haven't figured out how to rule themselves and always look to some loud-mouthed strongman to relieve them of their suffering. Pathetic.
Be glad you live in West Virginia and be glad that you can voice your opposition to the government under which you live. The people of Cuba don't have that luxury. You know nothing of Cuba other than on an intellectual level. I know those that have died or suffered in those dank prisons for simply speaking their minds. If health care and literacy statistics are more important to you than the freedom to think and be, then I have nothing more for you.
Fidel Castro would never abide a world where freedom reigned.
"Hegemonic racists of the western world?"
And yet, here you are, Jamil. Don't know whether you immigrated here or were born here, but, and I'm judging based on your surname, I would bet the overt race and class system in the country I have a hunch you descend from is far worse than what we have here. What's more, if you think that race and class aren't important in Latin America then you need a cold shower. Racism is not confined to the Western world.
The fact that he did indeed, as you mentioned, provide hope for the 3rd world speaks to how those country's haven't figured out how to rule themselves and always look to some loud-mouthed strongman to relieve them of their suffering. Pathetic.
Be glad you live in West Virginia and be glad that you can voice your opposition to the government under which you live. The people of Cuba don't have that luxury. You know nothing of Cuba other than on an intellectual level. I know those that have died or suffered in those dank prisons for simply speaking their minds. If health care and literacy statistics are more important to you than the freedom to think and be, then I have nothing more for you.
3
Made a mistake on CIA report looked at maternal death rate instead of birth mortality death rate. Yes Cuba has a slightly lower birth mortality rate 1.2 less deaths per 100,000 but Cuba maternal death rate is much higher 39 deaths per 100,000 versus 21 per 100,000 for U.S.
5
They are going to have nine days of mourning in Cuba for Castro. Will the Cuban communist regime allow those who are happy about his passing celebrate his demise like they are doing in Miami? They will probably go underground and celebrate quietly. Oh the wonderful price for being a free nation. Those who despised Donald Trump's election burned him in effigy and protested in the streets of America. Try doing that in Cuba and you may not be free or alive for very long.
12
Like many I have mixed feelings about Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. First and foremost it must be recognized that Cuba is still essentially a police state, albeit one that provides housing, education, and health care for all its people. The execution of political opponents in the early years, and the ongoing repression of political opponents and of gays and lesbians later on, was odious and unacceptable. And yet the Cuban government has been far more dedicated to the overall welfare of its people than most other Caribbean nations or the other nations in the former 'communist block', not to mention other authoritarian regimes around the world which the West somehow finds acceptable and sometimes even supports. His hostility to 'US imperialism' was not entirely irrational given US actions in the region through most of the 20th century, and his determination to have Cuba chart its own way as a sovereign nation was admirable in many respects. One only has to compare health, social, and educational standards of Cubans to other Caribbean nations to see that there have been positive aspects to the Cuban Revolution.
There are many Cubans whose hatred for Castro is understandable and justified, and I wouldn't dispute their reasoning. I truly hope that Cuba will now transition to a much freer and more democratic country, but I also hope they do not lose their hard won achievement of a largely egalitarian, well educated, proud, and independent nation.
There are many Cubans whose hatred for Castro is understandable and justified, and I wouldn't dispute their reasoning. I truly hope that Cuba will now transition to a much freer and more democratic country, but I also hope they do not lose their hard won achievement of a largely egalitarian, well educated, proud, and independent nation.
7
I see the complimentary and derogatory views on Fidel Castro. Paradise or living hell, give or take. Perhaps the or a measure of a populace's satisfaction or tolerance of a country's regime and conditions is the answer to the question: are people leaving or trying to leave or staying or trying to get in? And, if they choose to depart, are they willing to risk their lives, lose whatever they had and undertake arduous transits?
3
How about not the worst place on earth and far from the best?
3
I always thought it particularly grotesque that in a country where no one could speak freely, Fidel Castro Ruz would hold forth for hours before captive audiences.
It conjures an image of a 400-pound man sitting on a stage with a few well-fed compañeros, gorging himself on steak and salmon, in front of an audience of emaciated serfs who aren't free to leave and find sustenance.
The man is lecturing the silent serfs that although they may be hungry, it is worse outside the theater, and he reminds them that many of them were hungry under the prior regime, before he locked them in.
Half of the audience, having never been allowed outside of the theater (although occasionally a scintilla of information filters in from a caterer or maintenance worker), believes it. The other half knows better or senses it's wrong.
It's academic who thinks what, though, because the guards at the exits will shoot anyone who tries to leave and find out.
It conjures an image of a 400-pound man sitting on a stage with a few well-fed compañeros, gorging himself on steak and salmon, in front of an audience of emaciated serfs who aren't free to leave and find sustenance.
The man is lecturing the silent serfs that although they may be hungry, it is worse outside the theater, and he reminds them that many of them were hungry under the prior regime, before he locked them in.
Half of the audience, having never been allowed outside of the theater (although occasionally a scintilla of information filters in from a caterer or maintenance worker), believes it. The other half knows better or senses it's wrong.
It's academic who thinks what, though, because the guards at the exits will shoot anyone who tries to leave and find out.
12
A socialist turned into a communist by U.S. heavy handedness and absolute stupidity. No matter how bad he was he was way ahead of U.S. backed Batista. From Cuba to Regan backed Contra's the U.S. has never learned that backing right wing dictators is self defeating.
16
Certainly Michael--the U.S. should have been backing left wing dictators instead of right wing dictators.
How insightful of you...
How insightful of you...
2
The willingness of people to overlook the thousands of Cubans summarily executed without trial during & after the revolution is appalling. But we know that atrocities committed by those we favor are ignored, while those committed by those we loath are broadcast with righteous indignation.
7
One of the great figures of the 20thC, Castro sought to create a better world for the people of his country and to inspire others abroad as well. He embodied a utopian spirit, of which there is virtually none left today anywhere, and the belief that oppression could be overcome. He did not succeed in everything he and the Cuban people tried, but he faced embargoes, assassination attempts, and fickle friends from the first day to the last.
He changed Cuba for the better and forever. If the so-called Exiles return from Miami, they will find that no one missed them and their old regime. After some time, no doubt, Cuba will be repurchased and returned to its subordinate place.
He changed Cuba for the better and forever. If the so-called Exiles return from Miami, they will find that no one missed them and their old regime. After some time, no doubt, Cuba will be repurchased and returned to its subordinate place.
5
A great icon has graduated.
If you're such a fan then why are you living in Trinidad instead of Cuba?
3
The one book which is essential to understanding the Castro dicatorship is "Against All Hope," by Armando Valladares:
https://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Hope-Memoir-Castros/dp/1893554198
Here's an recent article by Valladares:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-new-cuban-partners-my-old-jailers-144...
https://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Hope-Memoir-Castros/dp/1893554198
Here's an recent article by Valladares:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-new-cuban-partners-my-old-jailers-144...
3
I think Fidel Castro was the perfect representation of the human condition. You could make the case that he was evil and a terrible person but in truth he had, like all human beings, both good and evil within. He was at times brutal and unforgiving but he did love his country and he tried to give something back to the people to ease a little of their suffering through his education and healthcare policies. He also perfectly embodied our most fundamental characteristics of self preservation and determination to succeed against all odds. Love him or hate him he has earned his place in history, and deserves some respect, even if its just for what one man can achieve if he remains true to his ideals, whether they be good or bad.
3
"Mr. Castro defended the executions as necessary to solidify the revolution. He complained that the United States had raised not a whimper when Mr. Batista had tortured and executed thousands of opponents."
it's always the other guy who is evil. absolute power corrupts absolutely and leads to violence definitely.
it's always the other guy who is evil. absolute power corrupts absolutely and leads to violence definitely.
2
Fidel has died. Trump was elected President of the US. Is there a connection between the two? Fidel was revolutionary and his impact has been felt not only in Cuba, but also in Latin America and around the world. He is a symbol, an icon. Fidel was was fighting for the underprivileged. Trump, a billionaire, belongs to the overprivileged class who prétends he can help the underprivileged. He is a paradox: a billionaire who says he will help the poor. But we are living paradoxical times: neo-liberal globalisation controlled by the billionaires who control the large multinational corporations has created the white american underclass. But Trump is for american supremacy, for an american empire that will dominate the world. Bush tried that and it ended in catastrophe in the middle east. Americans created the Islamic State which created the refugee crisis in Europe. Trump is extremely dangerous because he doesn't understand that force cannot resolve the world's problems, that it can only make them worse. That violence begets violence until it destroys everything. What I fear most is that maybe Trump is the punishment for America's deadly imperialism that has made millions of victims around the world in the post-WWII period. Because punishment for what America has done to the world, because of its might, can only come from within, and not from without. America herself has created the monster that can devour America. Read W.B. Yeats's poem Second Coming and you will understand.
6
The best we can hope for is for Trump to avoid a war in the next four years, the Democrats to nominate a respectable person in 2020, and for more people to actually go out and vote.
3
As it turns out, if JFK had remained alive and carried through his ideas to the end, the world would probably be a very different place today. Ironically, in his defiance, Castro and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when it ultimately ended and as a result of bringing the world to the brink of nuclear destruction, quite ironically started to make JFK and the Russians communicate and had them seriously totally re-think the world in which they lived and they realized that unless major changes were made, the planet would continue to be in constant state of peril.
The trouble is, JFK never lived long enough to see his ideas to fruition and Russia changed leaders and things have never been the same since.
The trouble is, JFK never lived long enough to see his ideas to fruition and Russia changed leaders and things have never been the same since.
He was extraordinarily brave and dedicated to his purpose, whether you agree with everything he did or not.
The United States government threw just about everything they had - short of open war, which in those days it seemed to still have the desire to uphold appearances about - against him.
He survived in large part owing to the great loyalty of most of his supporters, a fact which is powerful testimony to the man's leadership.
The forces after Castro in the United States failed in attempt after attempt to kill him, but then they went after John Kennedy, who had more or less guaranteed Castro's future to end the Cuban Missile Crisis, and killed him.
They even deliberately faked up the trail leading to Kennedy's assassination with clues and hints which were intended to link Castro to the assassination.
It sure wasn't poor little old Oswald, a man who actually liked Kennedy, doing any of that.
Who else still is not completely clear, but the crazed, fanatical Cuban refugees, trained and supplied by the CIA, along with some fanatical CIA guys working on the file have always seemed the strongest candidates to me.
Money for the plot undoubtedly came from the Mafia who had been working with the CIA in this dirty business and also were disillusioned with Kennedy.
That is of course the untold story of the Kennedy Assassination, an event which punctuates Castro's early years much like a giant historical exclamation point.
4
Although my sense is that the United States deserves a lot more blame for dysfunction in Cuba I did find your article a useful summary of a complex history. One thing, however, stands out as worthy of disagreement. Under the section title “Global Brinkmanship” it is written that, “Mr. Castro’s alignment with the Soviet Union meant that the Cold War between the world’s superpowers, and the ideological battle between democracy and communism, had erupted…” In simple terms the Cold War was between American capitalism and Soviet communism. US support for governments was rarely based on “democracy” and almost always based on an openness to American “investment” and, very often, American corporate control. I could give pages of examples, but I will cite only one: Fulgencio Batista. He first came to US attention in 1933 then, after that time, until 1959 when Castro brought an end to his brutal reign Mr. Batista was either the man in charge (president twice) or the man behind the man in charge (including most of the years he lived in the Waldorf-Astoria). Mostly he ruled with the support of the US. There was no “democracy” but there was American control of most industries including sugar production. Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano controlled the nightlife. Brothels flourished. And corruption and inequality grew uglier every year.
6
As someone who lived in a dictatorship as a child, I find the pro-Castro comments here typical of Westerners who romanticize the third world and smugly practice salon socialism. Sorry, but you don't have a clue. Actually, I think you do: I'm almost certain not one of you who write admiring comments about Castro would choose to move there. Not one of you would trade places with a Cuban, who is forbidden from leaving the country under threat of getting shot. Not one of you can imagine the level of repression and destitution that characterize the island.
I am a left-wing liberal through and through, but I've retained some humility, gratitude, and common sense, which many commenters apparently have not. Defying America is not, all by itself, a quality to admire. I think the left-wing peanut gallery is confusing Castro's egocentric stubbornness with nobility.
I am a left-wing liberal through and through, but I've retained some humility, gratitude, and common sense, which many commenters apparently have not. Defying America is not, all by itself, a quality to admire. I think the left-wing peanut gallery is confusing Castro's egocentric stubbornness with nobility.
15
Very well stated.
2
Fidel Castro was a visionary, and while his vision may not have been fully realized in Cuba, he accomplished a great deal against formidable obstacles. Raul Castro is not a young man, but one might reasonably guess that some plans for the future are underway.
The most impressive aspect of Mr. Castro's life was not that he defied the U.S. It is that he led the Cuban nation to a point at which they are viewed as literate, strong, leaders in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The most impressive aspect of Mr. Castro's life was not that he defied the U.S. It is that he led the Cuban nation to a point at which they are viewed as literate, strong, leaders in the Caribbean and Latin America.
3
Doug Broome: I agree with all except one thing: You say the poor in Cuba have hope. For what? Something went very wrong in Cuba under Castro. I do not for one minute believe that the way of life that most Cubans have had to live was necessary. I think that Castro could have and should have done far more to lift the country out of what was a sustenance level for so many. And why did he refuse democratic elections? For his own benefit - that's why. Why else? The U.S. embargo was wrong, IMO, but I don't think that is why Cuba has remained so poor. Enough to eat and basic schooling and medical care but nothing else. Who are we kidding. They could have had and deserved better. By the way, Castro didn't live as they did, not did his family and close associates. They lived a well to do, coddled life. Forbes magazine recently estimated his personal wealth at $900 million yet the average person was expected to scrimp and barely get by. Ten years ago I heard one person in his close circle of privileged beings, a man spending a year or two at Harvard (or was it Columbia) in a graduate school program. He admitted outright that the way Castro and his circle live is luxurious, how they have a large staff of servants,, etc and the average person gets by on very little: The interviewer asked him how could he reconcile that life with those of the citizens? He simply said, "I am not a Christian. I don't feel obligated to give up what I have for the poor."
5
He enslaved the Cuban people, fed and clothed them well enough to keep working, and enriched himself. Maybe a nicer dictator than most but not much different than any dictator who ever lived.
4
I find the editorial choice of the word "defied" an interesting selection albeit 'enemy' may be more appropriate for someone who, whatever his motives, invited the Soviet installation of nuclear missiles and exposed his beloved country not to mention ours to unspeakable horror.
3
He stood up to America. Did the best he could for his people and would have done better if it wasn t for the embargo. He was a threat to the American way of life because he believed a different way was possible. One not based on greed but solidarity. He had his faults, like not knowing when to leave power, not following the true communist belief of absolute democracy that is what is meant by the dictatorship of the proletariat. He resisted multiple attempts by the United states to remove him from power. He attempted to be the counterweight of US aggression in central and south America. He, unlike America, never funded death squads that terrorized this continent. He tried to improve the daily life of the Cubans and had some successes like healthcare and education. He never promoted hatred. He will be missed.
Hasta Siempre.
Hasta Siempre.
5
Yes, he'll be missed...
Not by me....
2
He really loved his people
"I propose the immediate launching of a nuclear strike on the United States. The Cuban people are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause of the destruction of imperialism and the victory of world revolution."
As quoted in "Castro Wanted a Nuclear Strike" in The New York Times (October 23, 1992)
"I propose the immediate launching of a nuclear strike on the United States. The Cuban people are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause of the destruction of imperialism and the victory of world revolution."
As quoted in "Castro Wanted a Nuclear Strike" in The New York Times (October 23, 1992)
3
Yeah. And we should always take the words of politicians at the their face value, right? I'm sure that's how you judge the words of American politicians . . .
2
Pierre Trudeau was prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1984, a philosopher prince. His son Justin is our current p.m.
As a young man, Pierre was banned from visiting the U.S. because he visited Cuba (by canoe!).
Pierre and Fidel were warm personal friends and Fidel was an honourary pallbearer at Pierre's funeral.
Nelson Mandela praised Fidel as a great humanitarian who was critical in ending the apartheid, an abhorrent racist system supported by the U.S. who considered Mandela a terrorist.
Yes, there were executions and suppression of human rights in Castro's Cuba. There was also liberation from poverty and racism so that now the U.S. has far worse child poverty than the U.S.
For 70 years the U.S. has overthrown democracies across Central and South America. At the School of the Americas the CIA has trained torture and death squads who have killed hundreds for every execution under Castro. From Guatemala and Nicaragua and El Salvador to Brazil, Argentina and Chile American-backed thugs have killed democracy and poets and students in the tens of thousands.
And the U.S. has "elected" a man without one per cent of Fidel's intellect, courage, idealism, and historical import. Well, Trump will have more historical import if he starts a nuclear war or pushes climate change past the tipping point.
As a young man, Pierre was banned from visiting the U.S. because he visited Cuba (by canoe!).
Pierre and Fidel were warm personal friends and Fidel was an honourary pallbearer at Pierre's funeral.
Nelson Mandela praised Fidel as a great humanitarian who was critical in ending the apartheid, an abhorrent racist system supported by the U.S. who considered Mandela a terrorist.
Yes, there were executions and suppression of human rights in Castro's Cuba. There was also liberation from poverty and racism so that now the U.S. has far worse child poverty than the U.S.
For 70 years the U.S. has overthrown democracies across Central and South America. At the School of the Americas the CIA has trained torture and death squads who have killed hundreds for every execution under Castro. From Guatemala and Nicaragua and El Salvador to Brazil, Argentina and Chile American-backed thugs have killed democracy and poets and students in the tens of thousands.
And the U.S. has "elected" a man without one per cent of Fidel's intellect, courage, idealism, and historical import. Well, Trump will have more historical import if he starts a nuclear war or pushes climate change past the tipping point.
13
Yes, there were executions and suppression of human rights in Castro's Cuba.
======================
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
======================
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
1
Thank you for your comment, I know very well - I'm a Latin American myself - what you say is true..
3
The silence is deafening from the enemies of Fidel Castro concerning the vast numbers of men, women, and children murdered by right wing governments in Central and South America.
2
Well, hear this... They are two separate issues
2
A 90-year old president for life of a country in which people are desperate enough to swim 80 miles for freedom is finally consigned to the ash heap of history. Hopefully the younger "comandantes" will realize that their East Germany with palm trees needs to change soon and join the West, before they end up like Ceaucescu or Khaddafy.
5
Exactly well said
1
About all I can say good about Fidel Castro is that he kept drug cartels out of Cuba and a lot of classic cars running in Havana. I hope his death will inspire Raul and his successors to drop the yoke of communism to open a new era of freedom and opportunity for the long-suffering people of Cuba.
4
This was a stunning obituary written with so much detail. Thank you.
I think a lot of Castro coverage always comes from an American perspective and it seems like people get so upset if you don't automatically denounce Castro.
I am not jumping on the gravy train. Developing nations tend to generate president for life types who have been iconic figures in the development of the country. These people are never going to be perfect and you don't get to the top of the totem pole without violence.
Castro was a friend to Africa. He was against apartheid and imperialism and colonialism and for that, I was not surprised to see African leaders giving Cuba the respectful condolences that a former head of state deserves.
Castro was a formidable foe who showed that imperialism can be fought regardless of who is trying to change the country. He was not going to make Cuba a US colony nor was the country going to be a Caribbean foil for the US to do whatever it wanted.
The West talks a lot about principles and ideals. Well here is someone who walked the line and did it his way. Just because it wasn't ''democracy's way'' does not mean he was wrong or right.
I think a lot of Castro coverage always comes from an American perspective and it seems like people get so upset if you don't automatically denounce Castro.
I am not jumping on the gravy train. Developing nations tend to generate president for life types who have been iconic figures in the development of the country. These people are never going to be perfect and you don't get to the top of the totem pole without violence.
Castro was a friend to Africa. He was against apartheid and imperialism and colonialism and for that, I was not surprised to see African leaders giving Cuba the respectful condolences that a former head of state deserves.
Castro was a formidable foe who showed that imperialism can be fought regardless of who is trying to change the country. He was not going to make Cuba a US colony nor was the country going to be a Caribbean foil for the US to do whatever it wanted.
The West talks a lot about principles and ideals. Well here is someone who walked the line and did it his way. Just because it wasn't ''democracy's way'' does not mean he was wrong or right.
5
I'm a political centrist (who doesn't like the Democratic policies in this nation) - but I find completely ignorant and hypocritical the right wing comments on this page and other media. The fact of reality and history is that US backed regimes in Central/South America and the Caribbean were more murderous than Fidel Castro. That's an inconvenient truth. Whether Panama - Honduras - Argentina - Chile. Whichever you would like to choose.
4
We have our own south american still strong man now! hope you enjoy.
2
I assume by "right wing" you mean anyone with negative comments. That's funny.
Wayne - well what is sad is that you care about "right wing" vs. "left wing" rather than the hundreds of thousands - if not millions of people who died because of both sides political machinations.
He was a pragmatist, not an Communist in the traditional sense, who was not above being an opportunist, which puts him alongside pretty much every politician/statesman who ever lived.
Trump will likely not send anyone to the funeral, given political expediencies, but he should attend himself. When it comes to grabbing power and holding it, there was no equal. End of day, Fidel Castro, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, is the role model for every modern leader from Putin to the Dalai Lama.
Trump will likely not send anyone to the funeral, given political expediencies, but he should attend himself. When it comes to grabbing power and holding it, there was no equal. End of day, Fidel Castro, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, is the role model for every modern leader from Putin to the Dalai Lama.
1
Pocketing $900 million from the poor people of your country and killing any that try to escape goes well beyond 'pragmatic'.
1
America needs to learn a lesson here. Demonizing him didn't work. It was like reefer madness; nobody bought it. The faults of his regime should have been left to speak for themselves. Honesty is more convincing than either PR or frothing at the mouth hatred.
4
Trump on Castro death " A brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades"
Trump in 1998 explored through 3rd parties the possibility of a Trump Hotel & Casino in Cuba.
"There ain't nothin more powerful than the odor of mendacity" T.W.
Trump in 1998 explored through 3rd parties the possibility of a Trump Hotel & Casino in Cuba.
"There ain't nothin more powerful than the odor of mendacity" T.W.
5
Castro was a giant, on par with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi. His greatest achievement was to keep the US out of Cuba and thus to save Cuba from becoming just another paddock to plant drugs for the US market, like so many other countries in the region.
He should have opened Cuba up to the outside world many years ago but didn't feel safe to do so when the country was circled by vultures like Nixon, Bush, etc. Cuba would need Obama now more than ever.
Of course, Castro didn't get it all right. But at least, the Cuban society has a sense of pride and purpose that may be strong enough to help it find safe passage into the modern world.
If the US mess up this opportunity to leave Cuba alone and to allow the country to slowly evolve into a free, modern, sovereign society, I can foresee that Cuba could become the ground for unrest and upheaval that could pose a threat greater then the Russian missiles in 1962.
He should have opened Cuba up to the outside world many years ago but didn't feel safe to do so when the country was circled by vultures like Nixon, Bush, etc. Cuba would need Obama now more than ever.
Of course, Castro didn't get it all right. But at least, the Cuban society has a sense of pride and purpose that may be strong enough to help it find safe passage into the modern world.
If the US mess up this opportunity to leave Cuba alone and to allow the country to slowly evolve into a free, modern, sovereign society, I can foresee that Cuba could become the ground for unrest and upheaval that could pose a threat greater then the Russian missiles in 1962.
2
Such sophomoric nonsense: sense of pride and purpose? Are you kidding me?
They live in a mediaeval society!
They live in a mediaeval society!
He was a brutal, Communist dictator. He imprisoned and terrorized his own people. Cuba is better off without him.
4
Yes and all the human suffering does not matter-wake up.
1
One of the greatest symbols of the involution of the communist farce, and a primary responsible dictator on spreading terrorism around Latin America. One less brutal being on earth...
8
Life in Cuba cannot be understood without the embargo. Any country going through that would have collapsed. That is what angers many (especially those sipping mojitos en Miami and now celebrating). Cuba Did not fall before the power of others. They developed many other areas that most Latin American countries will take decades to match, if they can. If they would not suffer the embargo, Cuba could be totally different now.
3
It's about time. Castro is a shining example of the adage "only the good die young." He murdered thousands, suppressed freedom for everyone in Cuba, and exported his brand of Marxism and internecine revolutionary war to Africa. No one will be sad for his demise.
9
Castro was a dictator plain and simple. You can romanticize it all you wasn't but his people were oppressed for 50+ years. As a typical tyrant he installed his relatives to run the country. And the NYT criticizes Trump!
14
Bill - The Castros' predecessor was a dictator plain and simple. You can romanticize it all you wasn't but Cuba, under the dictator Batista, was even more oppressed than by the Castros.
As a typical tyrant Batista offered little public education or health, and Cuba's citizens were highly oppressed. he installed his relatives to run the country. The Castro's actually improved Cuba, by offering free education and healthcare to all the Cubans, creating 100% literacy. The Castros also kicked the Mafia out of Cuba, which, of course, was beneficial to most Cubans.
Many of not most of those Cuban-Americans who rant against the Castros, were themselves from the families of the oppressors of the Cuban people prior to the Castros,
Under the Castros, the Cuban economy has had many problems, but that was largely due to Cuba's total boycott by the USA.
Cuba is now has the potential opportunity to demonstrate whethera communist nation can be a democracy.
In the late 1960's, Dubček tried to create a communist democracy in Czechoslovakia, but Brezhnev hated democracy, so the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia and removed Dubček.
In the early 1970's, Allende tried to create a communist democracy in Chile, but Nixon, the cold warrior, wanted to perpetuate the myth that a communist nation cannot be a democracy, so the USA created a coup in Chile, resulting in Allende's assassination.
Communism was never threat to the USA's security. Rather it has always been Russia, communist and non-communist.
As a typical tyrant Batista offered little public education or health, and Cuba's citizens were highly oppressed. he installed his relatives to run the country. The Castro's actually improved Cuba, by offering free education and healthcare to all the Cubans, creating 100% literacy. The Castros also kicked the Mafia out of Cuba, which, of course, was beneficial to most Cubans.
Many of not most of those Cuban-Americans who rant against the Castros, were themselves from the families of the oppressors of the Cuban people prior to the Castros,
Under the Castros, the Cuban economy has had many problems, but that was largely due to Cuba's total boycott by the USA.
Cuba is now has the potential opportunity to demonstrate whethera communist nation can be a democracy.
In the late 1960's, Dubček tried to create a communist democracy in Czechoslovakia, but Brezhnev hated democracy, so the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia and removed Dubček.
In the early 1970's, Allende tried to create a communist democracy in Chile, but Nixon, the cold warrior, wanted to perpetuate the myth that a communist nation cannot be a democracy, so the USA created a coup in Chile, resulting in Allende's assassination.
Communism was never threat to the USA's security. Rather it has always been Russia, communist and non-communist.
3
Castro was a tyrant and trump and his theocratic cronies would like to be. no sympathy or love for any of them. NO GODS, NO MASTERS!
2
Trump is a tyrant, autocrat, oligarch.. Castro may have been a dictator but Trump is not a saint and not a person we should respect either.
3
The romanticized comments about Castro really shock me. Fought poverty? A good health and education system? Only if you compare them to the worst of the worst. Poverty is endemic in Cuba, healthcare mediocre on most of the island, education is an extraordinary exercise in brainwash, with every letter of the alphabet associated with some "glorious" pro-Castro slogan, the economy is a failure even without the (ridiculous and inhumane) US embargo (remember the disastrous effort to meet a sugar quota that all but bankrupted the island?). And let's not forget the grotesque human rights violations including firing squads and summary executions of all dissent, perceived and real.
Castro did not care about the Cuban people as much as he cared about himself, driven by megalomaniacal, sociopathic tendencies to see himself as a god of some kind. If he cared about the country, he would have stepped aside and allowed the people to choose a leader and pushed for normalization with the US, the obvious biggest trading partner in the region.
Instead he found a brilliant scapegoat in the US, and proceeded to enrich himself while his people starved. What kind of economic policy prompts the entire middle class and intelligentsia to flee? How does a man under embargo become one of the 50 richest men in the world, per Forbes? Have you seen the Human Rights Watch reports about his violations?
Castro was the worst possible combination: totalitarian without a clue how to run an economy.
Castro did not care about the Cuban people as much as he cared about himself, driven by megalomaniacal, sociopathic tendencies to see himself as a god of some kind. If he cared about the country, he would have stepped aside and allowed the people to choose a leader and pushed for normalization with the US, the obvious biggest trading partner in the region.
Instead he found a brilliant scapegoat in the US, and proceeded to enrich himself while his people starved. What kind of economic policy prompts the entire middle class and intelligentsia to flee? How does a man under embargo become one of the 50 richest men in the world, per Forbes? Have you seen the Human Rights Watch reports about his violations?
Castro was the worst possible combination: totalitarian without a clue how to run an economy.
31
Soon, Trump will be romanticized.
Best comment!
4
"Trump didn't kill everyone in the U.S.! The greatest President ever!"
Fidel Castro is a landmark historic figure of the 20th century. He freed the Cuban population from the Batista dictatorship. Due to the pressure from the USA he was pressed into the unholy alliance with UDSSR, initially he was much more liberal than we consider him today. His merits are in the health and educational sectors. I know several Cuban physicians : this country has produced almost miracles despite lacking resources. Notably child mortality in Cuba is lower than in the USA. Health is accessible and affordable for anybody, the USA can learn a lot from Cuba - Obamacare is just a shy echo of the exemplary Cuban health model. Many countries ( of course mostly leftist governments) have received substantial medical assistance ( for propaganda reasons, but still). Lack of democracy and catastrophic economic policy are hugely negative in contrast. I was in Cuba just after 1989, the population suffered massively. Despite cruel lack of democracy and sagging economy, Fidel has remained a mythical leader, not far below el Che for many Cubans and the world over. The emotional support from many older Cubans will remain. A sober analysis shows many shortcomings of the Cuban experience. But it is unique in modern history. No other government has been able to withstand US pressure for so long, no other country has conserved some humanity in spite of an orthodox comunism. Hasta siempre Fidel. Con todo my carinho.
12
Dream on. A dictator by any other name.
11
Yes, and we can trust the statistics supplied to us-oh yeah Stalin was a great guy too. But this being the NYT's, we will need a safe place to mourn his loss.
1
Dictatorship as well as oppression can be many things like the total integration into the capitalistic model of debt. In the end you pay up to the few up above you/us.
1
A seminal figure, for ill and for good. I cannot endorse his methods nor many of his results, but I respect his energy and his stated commitment to human equality.
8
I respect Trump's energy, bigmouth, his stated commitment to the workers
3
Napoleon Solo and Carol Brady passing away this week must have put him over the edge.
Seriously, though.... Wow, we are loosing our 1970s and earlier iconic persons quickly now! 2016 has been a tough year for icons (including Cubs losing streak). I feel so old...
Seriously, though.... Wow, we are loosing our 1970s and earlier iconic persons quickly now! 2016 has been a tough year for icons (including Cubs losing streak). I feel so old...
5
The story of the Cuban Revolution is as remarkable as it is improbable. He launched an "invasion" from his exile in Mexico with a single, leaky 60 foot wooden yacht, overloaded with his revolutionaries. In the Museum of the Revolution in Havana, the two most potent weapons from the revolution are on display: a knife and a typewriter. Behind the museum, the old leaky yacht stands as a symbol of how one man with determination attracted many followers and changed history.
Castro was deeply flawed as are many political leaders. But he did love Cuba and he did as much as he could to help his people. Universal healthcare and free higher education have long been staples of life in Cuba. I have mixed emotions about him, but do admire what he accomplished. I do not blame him for resisting America's ham-handed attempts to regain dominance there.
Rest in peace, Fidel.
Castro was deeply flawed as are many political leaders. But he did love Cuba and he did as much as he could to help his people. Universal healthcare and free higher education have long been staples of life in Cuba. I have mixed emotions about him, but do admire what he accomplished. I do not blame him for resisting America's ham-handed attempts to regain dominance there.
Rest in peace, Fidel.
116
Oh brother. Take off the rose colored glasses. There were two tiers of of medical care. Great care for Castro and his fellow thugs and scarce poor medical care for the general population.
3
Fidel rid his country of criminals and one percenters. Maybe we could benefit from a little castroism.
1
Rubbish, you are admiring the cause of millions on a permanent brink of starving, slaves in their own Country. And I am a left winger...
3
Two undocumented aliens set foot into the United States. The one from Cuba is allowed to stay, as well as given housing, food and other benefits at the expense of the taxpayer. The other one is arrested and deported. Now can we stop illegal aliens from Cuba, and have the Cubans take the legal steps for immigration?
19
in 2003 the baggage handlers at the havana airport broke into our bags
and stole?
toothpaste.
soap.
deodorant.
so much for the workers' paradise.
cuba was never communist, never socialist,
siempre fidelist.
bienvenidos a hades, commandante.
and stole?
toothpaste.
soap.
deodorant.
so much for the workers' paradise.
cuba was never communist, never socialist,
siempre fidelist.
bienvenidos a hades, commandante.
19
What do you expect? The average Cuban makes $20 a month.
3
One down . . one to go (Raul). Never forget that President Kennedy was murdered by a true believer in the Cuban revolution or that the tyrant Castro brought the world to the edge of a nuclear abyss in 1962. I've never believed that high literacy rates and free medical care were worth the price: a police state and universal poverty. The Cuban people always deserved better.
21
LBJ couldn't have believed in the Cuban Revolution.
1
Everyone knows perfectly well that resisting the ruthless power of the US was what dictated a totalitarian regime in Cuba. What we just put in power here gives us little right to talk about a dictator.
18
One rather glaring difference, "we just put in power..". I dont remember Castro sitting for an election in the last 60 years. In 4 years or sooner if he gets impeached, we'll get trump again or somebody else. Castro was a real dictator. A term Americans toss around a lot, but have no idea what it really means.
5
When a statement begins with "everyone knows", what follows is always a lie.
4
Fidel Castro might have been most succinctly characterized by Woody Allen in the movie "Bananas". A delusional ideologue haranguing a large adoring crowd with a new dictum (along the lines of): "Every citizen must wear clean underwear every day. And wear them on the outside, so we can check". Good intentions, poorly executed.
8
"" Good intentions, poorly executed.""
Oh, some things were "well executed". Political dissidents, for instance.
Even were the 'good intentions' given better Top Men to deliver on them, do you really think they are all that 'good' when the price in terms of human liberty is tallied?
Oh, some things were "well executed". Political dissidents, for instance.
Even were the 'good intentions' given better Top Men to deliver on them, do you really think they are all that 'good' when the price in terms of human liberty is tallied?
2
As someone with a lifetime interest in poverty who has visited Cuba several times over decades and the U.S. multiple times, I have observed that Cuba has none of the deep child poverty and alienation of the U.S.
Over these decades the U.S. has armed, trained and coordinated extreme right mass murderers in many countries including Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Most of the hideous U.S. barbarism was in Central America with murders in the hundreds of thousands.
Argentine tools of the CIA engaged in the mass torture and killings of democrats. In Chile, a democratic president was overthrown as Pinochet exterminated youth and poets.
Nothing in Cuba came within light-years of the School of the Americas and its genocides in favour of fascist oligarchs.
The incarceration rate of Cuba today is far less than in the U.S., and the Cuban poor have hope while the U.S. poor have extreme privation and private prisons.
Over these decades the U.S. has armed, trained and coordinated extreme right mass murderers in many countries including Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Most of the hideous U.S. barbarism was in Central America with murders in the hundreds of thousands.
Argentine tools of the CIA engaged in the mass torture and killings of democrats. In Chile, a democratic president was overthrown as Pinochet exterminated youth and poets.
Nothing in Cuba came within light-years of the School of the Americas and its genocides in favour of fascist oligarchs.
The incarceration rate of Cuba today is far less than in the U.S., and the Cuban poor have hope while the U.S. poor have extreme privation and private prisons.
34
Reagan had Pinochet over to the White House right under our noses; even Mobutu was entertained. Nancy could have advised him to just say No but that never materialized. Instead the "Reagan Death Squads" were mobilized because that little country wanted the Freedom to decide what kind of government they wanted. Then there's Honduras who DeMint and the Heritage Foundation decided to overthrow the Democratically elected President of. I'll bet Trump voters don't know any of it. I'll bet Trump doesn't know any of it.
2
Amen.
In America we cling to our myths and get bored quickly with facts. That is the only way we have the gall to criticize Cuba.
And compare the access poor Cubans have to higher education in Cuba to the access poor Americans have to higher education in the US, where our president-elect just settled his for-profit Trump "University" case where he was accused of ripping off working class students. Deplorable.
In America we cling to our myths and get bored quickly with facts. That is the only way we have the gall to criticize Cuba.
And compare the access poor Cubans have to higher education in Cuba to the access poor Americans have to higher education in the US, where our president-elect just settled his for-profit Trump "University" case where he was accused of ripping off working class students. Deplorable.
4
Fidel's goals and policies were largely shaped in reaction to the United States' economic exploitation and military domination of the Caribbean and Central America since at least the Spanish-American War. Fidel was very aware of the long history of ruthless elimination of any reformist governments by the US military or U.S. agents and local oligarchs, the partners and benefactors of U.S. economic interests.
Fidel was indeed oppressive, but that was a requirement for the survival of any opposition to American hegemony. The U.S. made him what he was by creating the injustices leading to the Cuban Revolution and by requiring him to centralize power in order to remove those injustices. In the tragic dialectical dance of American power and Latin resistance, new injustices emerged.
Fidel was indeed oppressive, but that was a requirement for the survival of any opposition to American hegemony. The U.S. made him what he was by creating the injustices leading to the Cuban Revolution and by requiring him to centralize power in order to remove those injustices. In the tragic dialectical dance of American power and Latin resistance, new injustices emerged.
22
An interesting man with certain qualities, who was hampered by having the wrong ideology. A dangerous man.
I think Trump has a similar character - extreme narcissism, nationalism, glib grandstanding -- but this is okay so long as he has an ideology of helping American families, upholding the Constitution, and not getting us into foreign wars. Clinton was good too, but simply had an ideology that Americans did not like as much.
I think Trump has a similar character - extreme narcissism, nationalism, glib grandstanding -- but this is okay so long as he has an ideology of helping American families, upholding the Constitution, and not getting us into foreign wars. Clinton was good too, but simply had an ideology that Americans did not like as much.
2
Clinton spent her life helping America families. Trump spent his life discriminating against and ripping off American families/workers.
2
Yea..... but Clinton lost.
The rebel who became the tyrant he rebelled against and worse...
9
Succinct way to put it.
3
Be ever in memory of people! Your deed will win!
2
He was simply one more person who thought he was the only one who could "fix" things.
And when he found he couldn't, he hid his shame and anger in edicts, torture, and provocation of other leaders and countries. Any good he did was less than what the people could have done as a democracy.
When will people understand we're #StrongerTogether because #WeAreOne?
And when he found he couldn't, he hid his shame and anger in edicts, torture, and provocation of other leaders and countries. Any good he did was less than what the people could have done as a democracy.
When will people understand we're #StrongerTogether because #WeAreOne?
8
Be ever in memory of people! Your deed will win!
1
I find it impossible that leaders such as Castro, Ho Chi Minh, and Qaddafi could survive if the United States didn't want them to. Take the Bay of Pigs operation for instance. A reporter from the NYTimes basically tipped Castro off according to this story. Capitalists were known as "pigs" in communism, making one wonder who chose that particular bay to slaughter freedom fighters in(?) with next to no support being given those 1,500 Cuban exiles?
Sometimes, it is more beneficial for the U.S. to retain boogeymen for their own deceitful purposes and agendas. Sweeping the Castro regime from Cuba by a superpower would not have been difficult.......please? Blunting mob influence outside the country without him.......not so simple.
Sometimes, it is more beneficial for the U.S. to retain boogeymen for their own deceitful purposes and agendas. Sweeping the Castro regime from Cuba by a superpower would not have been difficult.......please? Blunting mob influence outside the country without him.......not so simple.
5
The longest oppressing dictator is now Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, 92 years old. It's sad that he and Castro were able to tyrannize so long.
Time for North Korea's Kim family to go too.
Time for North Korea's Kim family to go too.
13
1 brother down and 1 to go .
Maybe then, Cuba will finally be free. Not yet.
Maybe then, Cuba will finally be free. Not yet.
12
Condolences to all the political prisoners that perished in Cuban jails.
May you all RIP.
May you all RIP.
14
And those that perished in Gitmo.
4
With Fidel now gone, Trump’s kids are probably on a boat to Cuba to buy a few lots along the Cuban coast. The art of a deal. A few more Grifter’s towers. Why not! Americans love a Groper. So those who voted against their own interests will now see how $$$ works.
9
Get real people... Castro's death is an Obama orchestrated CIA plot to end the life of a foreign world leader... our government has been trying to get him since 1959... well they finally got him. I expect in the next couple of days Obama will annex the island and arrest the ruling party... then he will abandon the island like he did Detroit, Baltimore and St. Louis.... WAKE UP PEOPLE read the handwriting on the wall.
1
Really NYT??? Castro a revolutionary leader who defied US? Even the Washington Post got it right in their headline: "Cuban dictator, one of the world’s most repressive leaders, dies at 90"
Castro killed and tortured 1000s. Caused millions to live in poverty and fear for decades.
Castro killed and tortured 1000s. Caused millions to live in poverty and fear for decades.
13
Amazing! A cigar smoking revolutionary lives for 90 years!
3
As they say " The Good Die Young "
4
As I read the numerous comments praising Castro for caring about his people, reducing poverty and providing education, it is no wonder the Democrats (of which I am one) got their butts kicked in the presidential election.
My wife, who is from Latin America, knows of the horrors of a brutal dictatorship, where speech is prohibited, political jailings are common and basic human rights do not exist.
For those of you who dare compare the US to this suppressed dictatorship, shame on you, for you wouldn't survive a week in Castro's Cuba without your cars, your wifi and your NY Times.
My wife, who is from Latin America, knows of the horrors of a brutal dictatorship, where speech is prohibited, political jailings are common and basic human rights do not exist.
For those of you who dare compare the US to this suppressed dictatorship, shame on you, for you wouldn't survive a week in Castro's Cuba without your cars, your wifi and your NY Times.
15
Speak for yourself.
And Castro was no Pinochet.
And Castro was no Pinochet.
2
History will absolved Fidel.
3
Fidel is dead.
Hail George Washington.
We were so fortunate to have had him.
Hail George Washington.
We were so fortunate to have had him.
4
Unless you were a slave.
From the BBC - Re: Cuba Emigration
"Would-be travellers need a letter of invitation from the person they want to visit (fee: $200, £128) and permission to leave their place of work. For graduate professionals, that means a letter signed by a minister. They also need $150 for the exit permit, more than seven times the average monthly salary.
Government critics can be refused permission to travel. Highly-valued professionals, like doctors, face extra restrictions"
That's all you need to know about Cuba
"Would-be travellers need a letter of invitation from the person they want to visit (fee: $200, £128) and permission to leave their place of work. For graduate professionals, that means a letter signed by a minister. They also need $150 for the exit permit, more than seven times the average monthly salary.
Government critics can be refused permission to travel. Highly-valued professionals, like doctors, face extra restrictions"
That's all you need to know about Cuba
12
I am surprised much has not been said of the initial comment from Trump through his tweet ' Fidel Castro is dead!'
His subsequent statement on the subject truly reveals where Trump, the consummate ignoramus, stands in regards to the Cuban Revolution. But we're certain this will come as no surprise to Cuba's current leaders. With this unstable demagogue in the White House, the American people better get ready for the dangerous days ahead.
6
Trump has no understanding of the impact the President's words mean to the world. We are looked to as a stabilizing force for world affairs and Trump is devaluing the United States in the world's eyes.
3
You members of the alt-reality are delusional if you think liberals have any love for Castro or other dictators. Trump is the one espousing love for Putin, not liberals.
5
The 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion against Fidel is one of the biggest mistakes ever committed by a u.s. goverment, up there with the invasion of Iraq in 2003. With the death of Fidel, i would hope that the BoP invasion will not somehow be slowly and conveniently left out of textbooks; for it is through mistakes in which we learn.
3
Don't forget supporting the coup which installed the Shah in Iran, and using radical Islam as a foil against the Soviet Union. Cold War chickens are still coming home to roost.
9
"He dominated his country with strength and symbolism from the day he triumphantly entered Havana on Jan. 8, 1959..."
No, Fidel Castro dominated his country with fear and totalitarian power like the murderous Communist thug he was.
No, Fidel Castro dominated his country with fear and totalitarian power like the murderous Communist thug he was.
16
One of the great men of my generation has passed. RIP Fidel.
8
Would you say this to families of those he killed, jailed, and threatened?
9
Farewell Don Quixote! Hope you find peace in death alongside such men as Mandela, Che and others before you who fought for justice and equality for all. Like the legendary hero of La Mancha, it was your mission to provide the disenfranchised free health care, education and a decent place to rest.
10
Yes, the butcher of Havana threw the dissidents into prison and tortured them until they found their rest in death. He drained the strength out of people who spent all their waking hours experiencing the thrill of scrounging for food with no energy left for achieving their potential. Gee Fidel, you were quite a guy.
13
Hilarious that this obituary still quotes Herbert Matthews and Tad Szulc as if their reporting at the time was found to be credible later.
4
And if the Times had failed to mention that reporting? Then either you or a myriad of others would have been quick to point out a "cover up" of past NYT reporting. Sigh... damned if do, damned if don't. Such is the life of a newspaper in an age of "comment is free".
1
Lucifer be lost.
6
How many Satans are there? Since our own election began, every time I picked up the paper, someone was pointing to someone and saying that's who they were. Maybe dictatorships do simplify one thing.
1
I wonder if smoking for all those years had anything to do with it?
3
yeah he only lived to be 90.
2
I didn't like him, but admired his longevity as the caudillo of Cuba.
1
The United States invented the Cold War. Castro had nothing to do with "bringing it to the western hemisphere" as it was already well under way when he came to power. Don't believe me? Google Jacobo Arbenz.
16
I hope Raul follows in short order and the whole stinking Castro regime dies forever.
21
Raul is resigning in 2018.
Despite all the harm he did to people, the liberal press has a fondness for him, and there is none of the shrill condemnation of his Communist rule like there would be if he was a right leaning dictator.
20
All of you alt-reality people are delusional that liberals have any love for Castro or other dictators.
4
I wish you were right.
3
When the majority of our citizens have nothing more to look forward to than a bright future cleaning Trump hotel rooms, we may be looking for our own Fidel Castro and our own revolution. What goes around comes around.
17
In 1989, conservative Wall Street Journal commentator Jonathan Kwitny stated the obvious on his PBS TV show: that if you lived in Latin America and were opposed to the government, you stood a much better chance of staying alive if you lived in Cuba or Sandinista Nicaragua than if you lived under one of the murder squad regimes in US-controlled countries in Latin America.
Kwitny's show was immediately cancelled.
And so it has been, for almost 60 years, in US media coverage. The Washington Post headlines the obituary on Fidel this morning ludicrously declaring him "one of the world's most repressive leaders." US media insistently avoid admitting that empires are dictatorships, and (like the US Empire) quite murderous ones.
The facts, however: Like Ho Chi Minh at his death in 1969, Fidel Castro is today the most respected leader in the world -- even by his enemies.
And 500 years from now, the name Fidel Castro will be remembered for his positive contributions, including resistance to the US Empire, when the names of US and European leaders are forgotten.
Kwitny's show was immediately cancelled.
And so it has been, for almost 60 years, in US media coverage. The Washington Post headlines the obituary on Fidel this morning ludicrously declaring him "one of the world's most repressive leaders." US media insistently avoid admitting that empires are dictatorships, and (like the US Empire) quite murderous ones.
The facts, however: Like Ho Chi Minh at his death in 1969, Fidel Castro is today the most respected leader in the world -- even by his enemies.
And 500 years from now, the name Fidel Castro will be remembered for his positive contributions, including resistance to the US Empire, when the names of US and European leaders are forgotten.
17
Castro will be remembered for the murderer delusional
Megalomaniac that he was.
Megalomaniac that he was.
8
I think you may not know what an Empire is. The US is most certainly not one. On the other hand the UK is. Go figure huh?
When we talk about murder by the Empire, we're not just talking about millions in Vietnam, or (now) drone killing of supposed "terrorists" and "collateral damage" killing of indisputably innocent bystanders.
No, we're talking about the School of the Americas training in torture and murder, as well as the role of US officials like Dan Mitrione who under USAID cover trained military and police in the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Uruguay to torture and kill students, professors, journalists, clergy, members of parliament, labor leaders, and human rights activists, among many others.
The democratically elected governments of all three countries were overthrown and replaced by death squad regimes imposed by US authorities, including (in the case of the Dominican Republic) through a US invasion. Wholesale killing followed, and continued for decades.
And it hasn't stopped, as the 2009 coup d'etat against the democratic government of Honduras shows. There has been an open season on Honduran journalists ever since, and mass murder in the streets. The coup was sponsored by the US authorities, of course, with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton obstructing efforts by Latin American governments to restore the legitimate, democratic government.
No, we're talking about the School of the Americas training in torture and murder, as well as the role of US officials like Dan Mitrione who under USAID cover trained military and police in the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Uruguay to torture and kill students, professors, journalists, clergy, members of parliament, labor leaders, and human rights activists, among many others.
The democratically elected governments of all three countries were overthrown and replaced by death squad regimes imposed by US authorities, including (in the case of the Dominican Republic) through a US invasion. Wholesale killing followed, and continued for decades.
And it hasn't stopped, as the 2009 coup d'etat against the democratic government of Honduras shows. There has been an open season on Honduran journalists ever since, and mass murder in the streets. The coup was sponsored by the US authorities, of course, with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton obstructing efforts by Latin American governments to restore the legitimate, democratic government.
Castro was a bad man for many reasons. He was also a madman. He was furious with Khrushchev for backing down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He had no problem with sacrificing his country in a nuclear war, so long as the U.S. suffered the same fate. It is a sad commentary that he was able to hijack his country for so long with a failed ideology, using his ignorant heavy hand to suffocate the dreams of the Cuban people. He also sent Cuban boys off to fight in foreign wars such as Angola. He was universally hated by the Cubans who were able to flee his tyrannical rule and start their lives over in the U.S. and other countries around the world.
13
Under Castro, Cubans achieved a higher life expectancy than Americans, Cuban babies have a higher probability of first year survival than American babies, and the Cuban People are more literate than the American People - all this according to the CIA fact book, available online.
9
If you knew how to read that chart on birth mortality rate the CIA put out you would see Cuba is ranked 85th in the world and the U.S. Is ranked 135th but if you look at the numbers, Cuba has 73 deaths per 100,000 and U.S. has 21 deaths per 100,000. So countries ranked at the top actually have more deaths, for example Sierra Leone is ranked 5th in birth mortality at 890 deaths per 100,000.
1
Other countries have achieved free education and healthcare without having to become dictatorships responsible for numerous human rights abuses.
2
Although Mr. De Palma's obituary of Fidel is compelling, he had an impossible task. Fidel Castro was such an enormous presence in Cuba that it will require the hindsight of 50 years before a competent historian can write an authoritative biography. On the one hand, Castro was ruthless, executing and jailing countless Cubans who tried to resist him. His treatment of Major Huber Matos, one of Castro's early supporters but also a man of integrity and conscience, was despicable. Yet today, the Cuban people are literate and have the best medical system in the Western Hemisphere. Little Cuba is now a world medical power. Cuba also has a thriving arts community, and its baseball players are sought by the Major Leagues.
The problem for Cuba remains similar to that of Mexico and other Latin American nations: so far from God, so close to the United States.
The problem for Cuba remains similar to that of Mexico and other Latin American nations: so far from God, so close to the United States.
8
After reading the most liked reader comments, the hypocrisy of our community is clear to me. Over the past couple months, we've been railing on Donald Trump, and that criticism has mostly come from his words. The hatred towards Fidel Castro has come from his actions. His regime betrayed the millions of Cubans that cheered him on as he marched though Havana in 1959, promising free elections and relief from a corrupt and repressive ruler. He became exactly what he rebelled against. He rigged elections, jailed political opponents, and executed thousands of his own citizens. Human Rights Watch has described the incredibly tragic situation in Cuba, and I suggest everyone read it, especially those who tout Castro's improvements in health care and education. Would we praise Donald Trump if he executed our citizens, destroyed our economy, and created an environment of fear, yet made improvements in education and health care? Absolutely not. So please, don't praise Castro or his regime. It's an insult to the millions of Cubans who have suffered under his tyrannical rule.
24
Would we praise Obama if he executed our citizens with secret drones, put behind bars those who exposed war crimes instead of prosecuting those who committed them, made the Bush tax cuts permanent, suspended habeas corpus, and dropped more bombs on the ME than any other president, yet made improvements in education and health care?
Although I'm still waiting on improvements in education and health care, we absolutely did. Careful who you call tyrannical.
Although I'm still waiting on improvements in education and health care, we absolutely did. Careful who you call tyrannical.
4
As a Canadian, we've been able to travel to different places in Cuba over the past 20 years. I am always annoyed that articles about Cuba, its people, its economy, and its politics always seem to come exclusively from Havana. Life elsewhere is very different. For most Cubans, travel to the province of Havana is now restricted. Once Cubans trust you, they'll tell you what's really going on. Over the years, the tarjetas -- a monthly supply of food to last a month -- have become increasingly limited and usually last 3 weeks. The supply of rice is often littered with pebbles. Beef is unavailable to most. Chicken is also hard to find. Poaching in state forests is common. Waters are overfished but one can always see Chinese trawlers around. Health care (as such) may technically be free but doctors will often resort to recommending herbal remedies since prescription pharmaceuticals are widely unavailable. We always travelled with an entire stock of medical supplies and OTC medications. Bandages, cotton balls, topical antiseptics, and acetaminophen were not available -- even for a tourist. Bribery and black markets are solidly entrenched. The realities of pricing and currency differences (CUC vs Cuban Peso). Due to frequent drought water is severely rationed in parts of the country. The Castros have had huge Swiss accounts, and have been out of touch for decades. In most of Cuba, unless one has a source hard cash, connections, and a lot of luck, life is miserable.
23
As a Canadian I too have been to Cuba many times and have heard a lot of support for the revolution and for Castro, and a lot of pride in their country AND leaders I might add, meaning Castro and his brother. - I also felt that this was genuine because as you say, Cubans like to talk when they trust you. Much of Cuba's misery seems to have derived from the punitive actions against if of its powerful neighbour the US.
6
Fidel Castro did not sip latte. Just look at the list of Latin American rulers in 1960 and 2016 to see his influence.
2
Why the love for autocratic dictators? Castro was an evil, mass-murdering tyrant.
17
The United States, not Castro, brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere.
10
Hope he suffered first
6
As Cuba moves out of totalitarism we are on the move in.
Amazing how the world goes.
Amazing how the world goes.
5
Like all the dictators of Cuba who proceeded him, Fidel Cast failed his people and his country because of his vanity and lust for power.
8
It was Fidel Castro who contacted and then implored Nikita Khrushchev/USSR to bring nuclear bombs to Cuba and then attack the United States from only 90 miles away. It was Fidel Castro who ordered the firing squads and who slaughtered anyone who spoke against him. It was Fidel Castro who then kept that small island in perpetual poverty and deprivation, prompting more than 1 million Cubans to risk and often lose their life fleeing Castro and Cuba. Good riddance to a megalomanic hideous man, 70 years late.
10
"Mr. Castro … briefly pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war"? No, it was Kennedy, and what's more you already knew it. I forget who it was in Kennedy's circle of advisors who gave the odds of a nuclear war as the result of Kennedy's diktat to Kruschev as one in three. Way to go, Jack! Enough of your protecting the reputation of this president, who was responsible for violence not just in Cuba but elsewhere in Latin America and in Southeast Asia. The Bay of Pigs, the Alliance for Progress, the School of the Americas, Vietnam, Laos. You owe it to your readers, not to mention to your own self-regard, to publish a correction.
8
Queen Elizabeth II is not a "leader". It's absurd to put her in the same category as Fidel Castro.
6
Yes, because Castro was a mass murderer. The Queen isn't.
1
Fidel Castro's success as a revolutionary was due in no small part to the popular support that he received from the United States. Instrumental garnering this support was the series of glowing, highly romanticized reports by Herbert Matthews that appeared on the front page of the New York Times in February 1957, when Fidel & Co. were still in the Sierra Maestra. Not long after Castro's M26/7 rebels rolled into Havana, a cartoonist parodied a then-current NYTimes promotional slogan for its employment classifieds, showing a picture of Fidel saying, "I got my job through the New York Times". When news of Castro's brutality, miscarriages of justice, and suppression of liberty became inescapable, Matthews finally admitted that he had been duped. Unfortunately, it seems that the New York Times has yet to admit its decades-long mistake.
6
In Cuba, mighty proud of their schools and medical clinics and bicycles, they shout, "Thank God for Venezuela!"
4
While the second and third and fourth generation IMMIGRANT (they can call themselves refugees all they want) descendants are dancing in the streets of Miami, never forget they are where they are because their grandparents' or great grandparents' dictator lost. He was dictating so well, he was overthrown.
And yes, Batista WAS a dictator along the lines of Samoza, Trujillo, PapaDoc and Baby Doc Duvalier et al.
Trading one dictator for another is never ideal. But Castro changed the game and held on. Had he not, large swaths of Cuba would have become another corporate hotel and tourism all-included by now, with the majority of Cubans living like they did more than half a century ago under Batista.
asi, ¡Viva la revolución!
Now, Cubans in Cuba better have a plan, a good one, and stick to it. Let's hope there is a smooth transition without interference from those who fled and of course will demand that their former property is returned to them. Otherwise the tsunami of money, power and corruption that is barely 90 miles away might be too much.
And yes, Batista WAS a dictator along the lines of Samoza, Trujillo, PapaDoc and Baby Doc Duvalier et al.
Trading one dictator for another is never ideal. But Castro changed the game and held on. Had he not, large swaths of Cuba would have become another corporate hotel and tourism all-included by now, with the majority of Cubans living like they did more than half a century ago under Batista.
asi, ¡Viva la revolución!
Now, Cubans in Cuba better have a plan, a good one, and stick to it. Let's hope there is a smooth transition without interference from those who fled and of course will demand that their former property is returned to them. Otherwise the tsunami of money, power and corruption that is barely 90 miles away might be too much.
7
Cuba loses its dictator and come January 20th the USA gets its very own.
13
What a relief to see someone other than the president-elect as your headline.
I was wondering if there was another world out there.
I was wondering if there was another world out there.
5
He ran Cuba like it was his private slave camp. If he had ever issued passports, the whole island would have left within ten minutes.
13
All you silly romantic leftists, educate yourself about the suffering of Sonia Garro, who was festering in prison when an American pop princess famously visited Cuba and walked the streets to the satisfaction of Sonia's persecutors. Sonia was deprived of her diploma and her career first because she is black and later because she speaks truth about the suffering of political prisoners. Then she became one herself. Read the writing of Henry Louis Gates Jr. on being black in Cuba and then come back here and extol the virtues of this racist despot. Don't try to equivocate with Americans unjustly imprisoned. I can speak out about injustice in the US without being imprisoned for it.
12
We all can cite horrendous torture of people of color in America as well.
All governments are guilty of gross violations. No anecdote is sufficient to define Castro's legacy.
All governments are guilty of gross violations. No anecdote is sufficient to define Castro's legacy.
4
@MrsDoc - "I can speak out about injustice in the US without being imprisoned for it."
Unless you're in North Dakota.
Unless you're in North Dakota.
4
The mercurial president tweets about Castro.
His tweet is an indication of problems to come. Trump has no idea how to not immerse himself where he does not belong.
Castro was a dictator, hard to imagine such a dictator existing today.
We now have our own dictator, and he tweets.
His tweet is an indication of problems to come. Trump has no idea how to not immerse himself where he does not belong.
Castro was a dictator, hard to imagine such a dictator existing today.
We now have our own dictator, and he tweets.
9
Trump is a con man. Regard anything he says or does as the distraction from the thing he does not want you to see or pay attention too.
4
From 2000-2002, while I was a 25-year-old kid trying to master the Spanish language in Columbus, Ohio, I lucked out in that my next-door neighbor was an 80-year-old woman from Cuba, who had been a Spanish teacher for half of her life. We started having coffee every day together, an hour or two passing in each setting. When I think of Fidel or Raul, the only things that come to mind are the very real, very personal stories of what this dear friend of mine lost. Murdered friends and family. A dad who she never got to see again. Herself, fleeing for her life as a little girl to Spain, eventually ending up in the US. Perhaps for Obama, the story is a lifetime ago old. But the atrocities for this woman, and now for me, are only a memory away. They really happened, the ends do not justify the means, and those same people are still in power, and now gaining rewards for their patience.
9
For those who now celebrate Fidel as a hero and revolutionary, don't forget that during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, he tried to encourage Moscow to stand up to America and run the high risk of a world wide nuclear war in which millions, here and in Russia and Europe, would have died.
Fidel was openly willing to sacrifice his nation and the world in the confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba. Though he created a world leader in his own image, he was, in those moments, just the dictator of a small island. Those who held the ultimate responsibilities in Moscow and Washington thankfully found a way to back down from confrontation. Had it been up to Fidel, the United States would likely have invaded Cuba, setting off a world war with nuclear bombs exploding over New York, Washington, Moscow and who knows how many other cities here, in Russia and Europe. This was not a hero, it was a moment of revolutionary inspired madness.
Castro made himself into an icon using American power as his foil. In turn, America's leadership, spurred on by the raving opposition of the Cuban exiles in Miami, was unable to stand down from appearing as the oppressor to a small island 90 miles off our coast. It is likely that we, our nation, helped Castro survive through this futile opposition. The story is a tragedy on both sides and Castro was its main player. Let the world move on and forget his crimes, rebuilding on the vitality and joys of Cuban life and culture. Let the future begin, now.
Fidel was openly willing to sacrifice his nation and the world in the confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba. Though he created a world leader in his own image, he was, in those moments, just the dictator of a small island. Those who held the ultimate responsibilities in Moscow and Washington thankfully found a way to back down from confrontation. Had it been up to Fidel, the United States would likely have invaded Cuba, setting off a world war with nuclear bombs exploding over New York, Washington, Moscow and who knows how many other cities here, in Russia and Europe. This was not a hero, it was a moment of revolutionary inspired madness.
Castro made himself into an icon using American power as his foil. In turn, America's leadership, spurred on by the raving opposition of the Cuban exiles in Miami, was unable to stand down from appearing as the oppressor to a small island 90 miles off our coast. It is likely that we, our nation, helped Castro survive through this futile opposition. The story is a tragedy on both sides and Castro was its main player. Let the world move on and forget his crimes, rebuilding on the vitality and joys of Cuban life and culture. Let the future begin, now.
3
Castro, the dictator who ruled Cuba as a personal fiefdom for decades, insisted he wasn't a dictator. And The New York Times believes him, because it absolutely refuses to describe him as such. The Times will live with the shame of its moral choices forever.
12
Yes Castro is a dictator. Having said that the West has created enormous disorder in the world which has resulted in mass migration. And then the US elects a dictator who blames the migrants. It is time to take responsibilities for bad judgement and bad policies.
2
What is wrong with you guys?My dad spent almost two years as a political prisoner in Cuba for doing missionary work and you faux journalists and your sycophant supporters are lionizing this tyrant? This man and Che tortued, maimed, and killed many people, including people that liberals claim to champion. I have personally talked to Cuban refugees who personally knew these evil men and talked about how they lost relatives to them.
16
If their is a God he will have much to answer for, if their is no god he will have done well for himself.
1
I do not want to open the American "paper of record" and see headlines in Spanish. English is the official language of this country. Deal with it.
8
"English is the official language of this country."
In a few thousand years, English will probably be the Galactic Standard language but it will be as different from the English of today as the English of today is from the English of Henry VIII.
In a few thousand years, English will probably be the Galactic Standard language but it will be as different from the English of today as the English of today is from the English of Henry VIII.
1
Great! Well, when you make your time travel excursions into the future, I hope you enjoy reading the news in whatever form English has taken. In the meantime, regular American English in the US isn't too much to ask for. Signed, BB 14-Year Professional Spanish Interpreter
The United States does not have an official language. If it did, then Spanish would be appropriate since it was the FIRST European language spoken in the Americas-including Florida, California, Texas etc.
2
I just comprehend how the NYT and other liberal media outlets seem to wane between Castro the despot and Castro the revolutionary, but are uniform in the condemnation of Trump. Truly incomprehensible.
13
You can't comprehend different opinions?
1
Castro is everything every Hillary voting American liberal aspires too. Failed socialist rationed healthcare, property confiscation, job losses, and locking up climate dissenters.
Hillary would have brought America all that Fidel brought his own people.
Hillary would have brought America all that Fidel brought his own people.
14
You are fact-deprived and delusional. There is 0 evidence for anything you have written. As far as healthcare--"rationed" you say? You prefer our system where only the rich receive healthcare without risk of financial ruin? The healthcare system in Cuba is not "failed"--even if you say it over and over. Our system, however, is failed.
2
You failed to mention the most important point.... their failed policies and laws do not effect them. They are above that. Remember, socialism is for the people....not the socialist.
1
Should we wonder what the younger brother Castro is going to do?
As is done routinely when the king dies in the UK and the succession is quickly accepetd:
"Castro is dead, long live Castro!"
As is done routinely when the king dies in the UK and the succession is quickly accepetd:
"Castro is dead, long live Castro!"
2
Did Castro bring the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere?
This seemingly simple statement betrays a monumental confusion between cause and effect; it is almost like saying that the sun rising on the horizon brings about the rotation of the Earth. How about some fact checking, dear NYT?
This seemingly simple statement betrays a monumental confusion between cause and effect; it is almost like saying that the sun rising on the horizon brings about the rotation of the Earth. How about some fact checking, dear NYT?
11
Considering who this country just elected president, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Fidel Castro.
9
So you're ok with a brutal dictator who killed and jailed thousands, and kept his people in poverty for generations, because you're unhappy with the results of one American election? Man...circle back to reality and rethink that silence, if only for the sake of all those who have suffered, and still suffer, in Cuba.
4
Never understood why Cuba never rebounded after the collapse of the Soviet Union and thrived, relatively speaking, as a trading partner with its fellow commies in China. Would not China have paid, handsomely, for Cuban sugar and tobacco?
3
Wasn't it US who brought cold war to Cuba when it invaded to try and restore the Mafia dictatorship of Batista which required Cuba to seek Russian help?
8
Does this mean that US politics will no longer be held hostage by the bitter Cuban exiles who think they can bring back the 1950s?
9
Wait till we get the "Make Cuba great again" slogan raining in our ears. The good 'ole days when the poor knew their place.
1
Actually, Castro looked first, to the USA, for assistance, and Eisenhower told him to f off. THAT is where all the problems began.
So, he turned to the USSR, who was more than willing to have a foothold in the Western hemisphere.
So, he turned to the USSR, who was more than willing to have a foothold in the Western hemisphere.
1
Too bad he wasn't a rightwing, repressive, murdering dictator. He could have been one of our stooges instead of the kremlins.
6
If only he had chosen the Norwegian model.
Norway is a capitalist country with a welfare state.
The delusion of the progressive left is that the Scandinavian Model is successful BECAUSE of its generous government programs rather than despite them. The reason big-govt works in Scandinavia is because the countries are full of Scandinavians - people with strong work-ethic and cultural discipline - and because they all have a relatively unfettered market-economy. Scandinavia enjoys far less corporate / business regulation than the US, and progressives would never tolerate their business-friendly attitudes in govt.
The delusion of the progressive left is that the Scandinavian Model is successful BECAUSE of its generous government programs rather than despite them. The reason big-govt works in Scandinavia is because the countries are full of Scandinavians - people with strong work-ethic and cultural discipline - and because they all have a relatively unfettered market-economy. Scandinavia enjoys far less corporate / business regulation than the US, and progressives would never tolerate their business-friendly attitudes in govt.
2
If you look at the development of South Florida, from Orlando to Miami, and the Space Coast, it throws into relief the utter failure of Cuba to participate in the region's economic prosperity. All those millions of Cuban expats in South Florida could have made Cuba as viable as Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands, or a resort area like Cancun/Cozumel, were it not for the ossified Soviet mentality the Castro brothers bought into.
7
Cuba was a farm economy that mostly grew sugar/tobacco but also food. The poverty is due to leaders who seek to interfere in the people's lives and what they think and talk about rather than regulate social order and how they due business.
Making a resort is no more a solution for them than building and NFL stadium is for any city which has been conned into doing so on the public dime.
Making a resort is no more a solution for them than building and NFL stadium is for any city which has been conned into doing so on the public dime.
2
"those millions of Cuban expats in South Florida could have made Cuba as viable as Puerto Rico"
From what I have read lately, PuErto Rico is not very economically viable.
From what I have read lately, PuErto Rico is not very economically viable.
3
BTW Castro did have them build a resort with all the modernity of the places you name and Cubans were not allowed to go there only foreigners.
1
I'm struck by the stark difference in tone between Obama and Trump. The latter is harsh and condemning, whereas Obama seems wistful, even mournful.
4
Reading through these comments I have come to the conclusion that "progressive" dogma blinds the true "progressive" believers to truth and reality. Marxism leads to misery, has always led to misery, always will lead to misery. It is a failed experiment in government.
9
This terrible man lived a life of war against the people of Cuba who had just wanted the previous strongman to leave them alive. To him, communism was the frightened despot's best answer - a lifelong tenure as the nation's jailer.
His greatest and final insult to America is that as he enters eternal punishment, the U.S. has a teary-eyed president who will greatly miss him.
His greatest and final insult to America is that as he enters eternal punishment, the U.S. has a teary-eyed president who will greatly miss him.
6
Castro may have made mistakes, but always in the hopes of protecting the People's Revolution and warding off fierce attacks from the US. Even his sequestration of HIV patients was a heavy-handed way to prevent an AIDS epidemic in Cuba--which was successful. His MDs have served many poor countries; his pharmaceutical research (not driven for profit) has yielded significant medications.
He never acted to enrich himself- making him one of the very few truly honest world leaders.
He did talk too long.
He never acted to enrich himself- making him one of the very few truly honest world leaders.
He did talk too long.
4
As I realized the enormity of Castro's death, the story of Animal Farm comes to mind. As some of you may recall, all of the animals in the story were equal but some of them were "more equal" than the rest. And so was with Castro and his entourage.
10
as a youth in the 1950's, i was impressed by radio bloviators that condemned Fidel and predicted his imminent downfall.
Guess he had the last word, and by standing up to we Yankees, deserved a place of respect, by tweaking Wall Street and DC, something those of us in most of the USA secretly cheer.
Guess he had the last word, and by standing up to we Yankees, deserved a place of respect, by tweaking Wall Street and DC, something those of us in most of the USA secretly cheer.
4
He was a larger than life visionary with an iron will and authoritarian streak. A more understanding and benevolent US foreign policy could have helped Cuba steer a very different course. Unfortunately, the Cuban Revolution was framed by Cold War dichotomies- you are with us or against us. It would have been impossible to address the gross inequalities that defined Batista's Cuba without radical reform. US elites- including US corporations and the Mafia- and their Cuban elite allies would not have tolerated real reforms. Had the Cuban Revolution steered a course of reform in an 'open society,' Fidel and other leaders would likely have been assassinated. There are multiple examples to draw from in US foreign policy toward Latin America and the world. RIP -- Descansa em Paz.
7
I wish I could be celebrating the death of Fidel Castro with the Cubans and Cuban-Americans in Miami. He inflicted so much pain and torture upon the wonderful Cuban people that I have no pity whatsoever for him. He was a brutal man who showed no remorse for the evil he inflicted upon his people. They probably thought this day would never come but it did.
6
I really hate to think what Cuba could become if unfettered capitalism makes its ugly way there. I wish a better way forward could be found for the long suffering souls of Cuba. They've spent generations as victims of superpower egos and hubris yet they so often seem like extraordinary survivors who maintain high spirits in the face of state caused hardships. My best wishes to them all.
4
"if unfettered capitalism makes its ugly way there." Well, they might eat three meals a day.
3
I think that the caption about Castro snubbing the US in the death announcement describes little about the reign of Castro. I do believe he provided a better alternative than Batista to the Cuban people. The lesser evil of two dictators. I find it interesting that most of the comments praising Castro's rule come from US citizens who never lived in Cuba or persons who have escaped Cuba to live in the US.
1
Thor Halvorssen at the Human Rights Foundation says it all very well. Do not mourn the death of a brutal dictator. Fidel Castro was one of the 20th century's many monsters and I lament only that he had so long to inflict misery on Cuba and beyond. Don't rationalize or apologize for Castro's decades of brutal repression, torture, and murder. He didn't fight for freedom; he destroyed it. Don't tell me, of all people, about a "Communist paradise" or "good health care". Many prisons have good health care and education but they are still prisons. There is no moral geometry to excuse dictatorship. A paradise doesn't need barbed wire to keep people in.
6
Back in the fall of 2002 I had the opporutnity to meet Fidel as the only American chef to serve this man. It was covered by your paper but you fail to report this story about American /Cuban interest to feed hungry Cubans in this story. It was a powerful example how something as simple as food can create commuinty of respect. Fidel gave us a speech in private about his super cow and his favorite drink; sasparilla. For a moment he was very human and it was easy to overlook his faults. Later, after a meal, I exhanged a pen for his autograph of a skechted picture I made during his speech. I noticed his demenaor and retoric to be simple and focused on one thing. Feeding his people and creating an agricutlural system in his broken country. It was American companies that sent many items to Cuba, and it was Cuba that paid these companies first for their support. There is much about Fidel and Cuba that remains hidden. I am honored to have had the privilage to meet him.
4
Are you just closing your eyes to the horrible atrocities he committed ? This is how dictators rule . A true narcissist .
2
Castro urges the Soviets to consider attacking the Americans if the U.S. invades Cuba.
Letter from Fidel Castro to Nikita Khrushchev
October 26, 1962
Dear Comrade Khrushchev:
Given the analysis of the situation and the reports which have reached us, [I] consider an attack to be almost imminent -- within the next 24 to 72 hours. There are two possible variants: the first and most probable one is an air attack against certain objectives with the limited aim of destroying them; the second, and though less probable, still possible, is a full invasion. This would require a large force and is the most repugnant form of aggression, which might restrain them.
You can be sure that we will resist with determination, whatever the case. The Cuban people's morale is extremely high and the people will confront aggression heroically.
I would like to briefly express my own personal opinion.
If the second variant takes place and the imperialists invade Cuba with the aim of occupying it, the dangers of their aggressive policy are so great that after such an invasion the Soviet Union must never allow circumstances in which the imperialists could carry out a nuclear first strike against it.
However harsh and terrible the solution, there would be no other...
Fraternally,
Fidel Castro
Letter from Fidel Castro to Nikita Khrushchev
October 26, 1962
Dear Comrade Khrushchev:
Given the analysis of the situation and the reports which have reached us, [I] consider an attack to be almost imminent -- within the next 24 to 72 hours. There are two possible variants: the first and most probable one is an air attack against certain objectives with the limited aim of destroying them; the second, and though less probable, still possible, is a full invasion. This would require a large force and is the most repugnant form of aggression, which might restrain them.
You can be sure that we will resist with determination, whatever the case. The Cuban people's morale is extremely high and the people will confront aggression heroically.
I would like to briefly express my own personal opinion.
If the second variant takes place and the imperialists invade Cuba with the aim of occupying it, the dangers of their aggressive policy are so great that after such an invasion the Soviet Union must never allow circumstances in which the imperialists could carry out a nuclear first strike against it.
However harsh and terrible the solution, there would be no other...
Fraternally,
Fidel Castro
2
Good riddence to the communist pig. The only good commie is a dead commie. I wonder if Red Jane is in morning today.
7
So dull, so dull
2
You might want to look up the real story behind the photo of her on the gun.
Did you know Ho Chi Minh asked us for help to get independence from the French? We were amenable until Churchill intervened to stop it. He did not want us to set a precedent as he hoped to recapture & maintain the racist British Empire. The US idea for how to deal with all the territory the Japanese had been driven out of was to give them independence and democracy. Churchil and the British agents they had in the US put an end to that which lead us directly into VietNam.
You might want to look up how hard the British fought against independence in every one of their colonies as they rebelled. Right up until 1979 they were every bit as brutal and vile as they were when we drove them out.
Only when we refused to help did Ho Chi Minh accept communist help. The inspiration for their fight for independence was our own fight for independence from the British.
Did you know Ho Chi Minh asked us for help to get independence from the French? We were amenable until Churchill intervened to stop it. He did not want us to set a precedent as he hoped to recapture & maintain the racist British Empire. The US idea for how to deal with all the territory the Japanese had been driven out of was to give them independence and democracy. Churchil and the British agents they had in the US put an end to that which lead us directly into VietNam.
You might want to look up how hard the British fought against independence in every one of their colonies as they rebelled. Right up until 1979 they were every bit as brutal and vile as they were when we drove them out.
Only when we refused to help did Ho Chi Minh accept communist help. The inspiration for their fight for independence was our own fight for independence from the British.
2
Fidel Castro was worse than a dictator, he was the epitome of a real despot, I bet anything that our glorious leader will attend his funeral.
4
The dead and the dispossessed don't care about literacy rates or health care.
5
I see so many comments about how wonderful Castro was and how he stood up to the US and was good for the Cuban people. So how do you explain 1.5 million Cubans, many who risked their lives to get here, leaving (escaping). Are these just people that didn't know what was good for them? How many US citizens are risking their lives to live in Cuba?
3
Very easily explained. These people were in the pockets of the American businessmen who made Cuba the gambling, whoring, and drinking capital of the continent. And they pulled millions out of the country just as Batista himself did.
3
This was just at first. After the rich left, hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens risked their lives trying to escape Cuba. Thousand died at sea. These were people who feared Castro enough to die for relief.
3
The moral relativism argument which holds that a benevolent tyrant is preferable to a debauched one is sinister in it's implications, as though Castro's repressive regime is redeemed for having eradicated the previous despot.
1
"Mr. Castro brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere."
The propaganda continues. You mean Fidel Castro dared to seek an alternative society for Cubans in the United States' so-called sphere of influence.
The propaganda continues. You mean Fidel Castro dared to seek an alternative society for Cubans in the United States' so-called sphere of influence.
5
Typical post by someone who has never actually studied how Castro took over the island.
3
Yes Fidel Castro is dead. He was a brutal menacing and loving at the same time. The Cuban people is stil under dictatorship with his brother Raul.
Fidel provided free health care and education. Beats the Health Care system in America. Oh and education Free. The streets are cleaner than New York City.
Not a fan of Mr. Castro simply acknowledging the positive achievements.
All said he still murdered his people anyone who spoke openly against him soon was dead or disappeared.
What will the historians write abt Mr. Castro? He'll receive sympathy. He's dead..there are thousands who don't know what happeaned to their love ones.
Fidel provided free health care and education. Beats the Health Care system in America. Oh and education Free. The streets are cleaner than New York City.
Not a fan of Mr. Castro simply acknowledging the positive achievements.
All said he still murdered his people anyone who spoke openly against him soon was dead or disappeared.
What will the historians write abt Mr. Castro? He'll receive sympathy. He's dead..there are thousands who don't know what happeaned to their love ones.
2
Trumps tweets are disgraceful , obviously he intends to start, as he means to go on with Cuba and he did vow that he will reverse all of President Barack Obama's executive actions normalizing relations with the Castro regime unless the oppressive government in Havana dramatically changes its approach to human rights and political freedom., I take it then he will be saying that to China and Russia , North Korea and all the other usual suspects around the planet who are the same ?
2
Telling the truth about a brutal dictator who killed hundreds of thousands of his countrymen is somehow disgraceful?
1
Fidel Castro's survival showed that not even Dwight Eisenhower could get his way every single time in the so-called "developing world." The grandfatherly Eisenhower happily gave a green light to the overthrowing of legitimate governments in Iran and Guatemala in 1953 and 1954, respectively. On the very day that Eisenhower gave his farewell address that warned about the power of the military-industrial complex--it was January 17, 1961--Congolese politician and anti-imperialist Patrice Lumumba was brutally killed with American complicity. His death paved the way for the awful dictatorship of Mobutu starting four years later.
Had Castro been deposed and killed in the early 1960s as Lumumba was, would the outcome in Cuba also have been a Mobutu-like anti-communist dictatorship that evolved into an outright kleptocracy of staggering proportions? Who knows, but certainly Cuba would have ended up looking a lot more like Haiti under the Duvaliers. The bottom line is that sixty years after Cuba had gone from being a Spanish colony to a nominally independent plaything of American elites and corporations, the island was ripe for demagoguery of one kind or the other.
If Fidel Castro is now in hell, as his most virulent detractors here now insist must be the case, perhaps he is burying the hatchet with Jesse Helms. No way is the latter man in heaven or even purgatory. Neither Castro nor Helms or their supporters ever truly had the best interests of Cuba's people at heart.
Had Castro been deposed and killed in the early 1960s as Lumumba was, would the outcome in Cuba also have been a Mobutu-like anti-communist dictatorship that evolved into an outright kleptocracy of staggering proportions? Who knows, but certainly Cuba would have ended up looking a lot more like Haiti under the Duvaliers. The bottom line is that sixty years after Cuba had gone from being a Spanish colony to a nominally independent plaything of American elites and corporations, the island was ripe for demagoguery of one kind or the other.
If Fidel Castro is now in hell, as his most virulent detractors here now insist must be the case, perhaps he is burying the hatchet with Jesse Helms. No way is the latter man in heaven or even purgatory. Neither Castro nor Helms or their supporters ever truly had the best interests of Cuba's people at heart.
2
So well said. Trump is, as no surprise to any intellectually-sound-minded person, deplorable and the epitome of ignorance. I bet you he has no concept of the history of Cuba. Na da! He calls Fidel a thief. Trump's vocabulary is less than that of an eighth-grader, he lacks the words--even negative ones to describe Fidel.
That said, Fidel is a revolutionary and has done much for Cuba --free education, health--better than the capitalist USA, equality of its citizen, etc. He refused to allow Cuba to be a colony of the USA or of Spain, or even Russia for that matter. History shows that it was the USA --Eisenhower who pushed Cuba to Russia and hence communism/ now socialism. As a pragmatist, I have been wondering how much suffering goes on here in the USA compared with Cuba. Democracy? See where we are after an electoral system puts a cretin in the White House. Brutality follows every revolution...We also know that the majority of those who exploited their fellow citizens and gained from the brutal and corrupt Batista era, are the current residence of Little Havana, here in Miami. I like to think of of the great things Fidel did for Cuba. I also deeply sympathize with families who were wrongly victimized by the revolution. BUT don't' tell me that you are ALL innocent victims. Cuba can only make progress from now and I bet that is Fidel's wishes!
That said, Fidel is a revolutionary and has done much for Cuba --free education, health--better than the capitalist USA, equality of its citizen, etc. He refused to allow Cuba to be a colony of the USA or of Spain, or even Russia for that matter. History shows that it was the USA --Eisenhower who pushed Cuba to Russia and hence communism/ now socialism. As a pragmatist, I have been wondering how much suffering goes on here in the USA compared with Cuba. Democracy? See where we are after an electoral system puts a cretin in the White House. Brutality follows every revolution...We also know that the majority of those who exploited their fellow citizens and gained from the brutal and corrupt Batista era, are the current residence of Little Havana, here in Miami. I like to think of of the great things Fidel did for Cuba. I also deeply sympathize with families who were wrongly victimized by the revolution. BUT don't' tell me that you are ALL innocent victims. Cuba can only make progress from now and I bet that is Fidel's wishes!
2
November 26, 2016
It took the Kennedy's to tame the bull that threw out his attested Russia led nuclear missiles, thus keeping our Good Neighbors tolerating endless chatter second only to Qaddafi, Lenin and Stalin - all is now right with the world social historical narratives - an much more quite.
Let's hope the people of Cuba will continue the recent gains led by Raul Castro and we embrace good will on earth in our shard social economic philosophies learning to apply the best cooperatively and will successes in diversities' developments needed by the world in health and education.
JJA Manhattan, N.; Y.
It took the Kennedy's to tame the bull that threw out his attested Russia led nuclear missiles, thus keeping our Good Neighbors tolerating endless chatter second only to Qaddafi, Lenin and Stalin - all is now right with the world social historical narratives - an much more quite.
Let's hope the people of Cuba will continue the recent gains led by Raul Castro and we embrace good will on earth in our shard social economic philosophies learning to apply the best cooperatively and will successes in diversities' developments needed by the world in health and education.
JJA Manhattan, N.; Y.
2
How about a more accurate title that tells how the US nearly caused a thermonuclear war in its anger over Cuba's sanctions against American business interests there? It was always about the US - Russian relations. Only the US had nuclear weapons, so Castro could hardly be held accountable for the fiasco in the 50's & 60's & the Bay of Pigs.
Castro was an extraordinary revolutionary who stood up against American powers in the West. Deal with it.
Castro was an extraordinary revolutionary who stood up against American powers in the West. Deal with it.
5
And he succeeded. Seriously ... USA deal with it!
1
"Only the US had nuclear weapons"
Say what ?????????????????
So those missles that Russia was installing in Cuba were only loaded with dynamite?
Good lord, how ignorant can you get.
Say what ?????????????????
So those missles that Russia was installing in Cuba were only loaded with dynamite?
Good lord, how ignorant can you get.
2
The Castro era is now over and there is nothing left for anyone to "deal with". Whatever the Cuban revolution was at it's beginning, it has now become little more than a murderous and repressive charade on a suffocating, demoralised island. It would take more than a Freudian or Lacanian psychoanalyst to explain why non-Cuban Castroists accept the demythification of Communist leaders of Eastern Europe and China but remain mesmerized by El Commandante.
1
A corrupt dictator hanging on to power by force is dead. Leftists seek power but end up being dictators themselves ruling their people with an iron fist. No wonder so many Cubans risked their lives to flee his dictatorship because of Castro failed Communist policies. Communism fails everywhere it is tried. Good riddance Castro.
8
Really good riddance God, by natural cause at 90, after defied 11 I mean 11 US presidents. In this case , it's The US that failed its people . Let's get real !
1
"...denied the long-suffering Cuban people a chance to control their own lives.
Unlike long suffering Americans--deluded by free from government mythology--celebrating nuclear families in isolation from thriving communities, afraid to drink the water in Flint and Appalachia.
Cuba has "a lower child mortality rate than ours. Their life expectancy is now greater than ours."
— Senator Tom Harkin on Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 in a press conference
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jan/31/tom-harki...
Unlike long suffering Americans--deluded by free from government mythology--celebrating nuclear families in isolation from thriving communities, afraid to drink the water in Flint and Appalachia.
Cuba has "a lower child mortality rate than ours. Their life expectancy is now greater than ours."
— Senator Tom Harkin on Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 in a press conference
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jan/31/tom-harki...
1
Got to love that use of statistical information with no context as to why the difference.
1
Paternalistic like nobody's business, blessed with the certitude that he held the Cuban people's interests as paramount, corrupted only by the conceit of his own indispensability, Castro goes down as perhaps the most perfect leader of all time. His greatest gift and legacy for Cuba will be the solid fact that Cuba is nobody's puppet, never broken, never defeated, never betrayed, never sold to the highest bidder. Good luck to all that try to fill the void.
¡Viva Cuba!
¡Viva Cuba!
3
Remember, Cubans have not been able to have a say in their lives or able to vote in over 50 years. So yes....they were conquered and defeated by one of their own.
I can see something now of why the Times Editors found/finds it so hard to put Trump in his place.
Take this “Over many years Mr. Castro gave hundreds of interviews and retained the ability to twist the most compromising question to his favor.”
The two examples that followed are so clearly the responses of a dishonest untrustworthy man seeking to sidestep the glaring truth it is to me beyond reason that Mr DePalma actually uses them as examples of his premise. An Editor should have caught that.
Someone, I’ll Credit Letterman, coined the term “Avoision” to describe adults using childish arguments or segue’s to sidestep something. It’s a good word but perhaps it too is an avoision of the correct way to describe the thing “childish avoidance”.
Castro was only as clever as his interlocutor allowed him to be. Perhaps fear prevented the right response to confront and reject his responses as a childish attempt to avoid answering. Castro certainly was not twisting anything in his favor in what is shown here, he showed himself to be a typical cowardly liar perhaps confidant in the fear his interlocutor had of him to prevent confrontation of those silly childish, responses and nothing else.
What it seems to me Castro and all other commies aspired to, is what FDR created here for us until the GOP destroyed it. A well regulated economy that gave workers rights and consumers protections from the bad behaviors some people will get up to.
Take this “Over many years Mr. Castro gave hundreds of interviews and retained the ability to twist the most compromising question to his favor.”
The two examples that followed are so clearly the responses of a dishonest untrustworthy man seeking to sidestep the glaring truth it is to me beyond reason that Mr DePalma actually uses them as examples of his premise. An Editor should have caught that.
Someone, I’ll Credit Letterman, coined the term “Avoision” to describe adults using childish arguments or segue’s to sidestep something. It’s a good word but perhaps it too is an avoision of the correct way to describe the thing “childish avoidance”.
Castro was only as clever as his interlocutor allowed him to be. Perhaps fear prevented the right response to confront and reject his responses as a childish attempt to avoid answering. Castro certainly was not twisting anything in his favor in what is shown here, he showed himself to be a typical cowardly liar perhaps confidant in the fear his interlocutor had of him to prevent confrontation of those silly childish, responses and nothing else.
What it seems to me Castro and all other commies aspired to, is what FDR created here for us until the GOP destroyed it. A well regulated economy that gave workers rights and consumers protections from the bad behaviors some people will get up to.
4
Cubans who come to the U.S. can immediately qualify for refugee status, entitling them to welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid. Impoverished seniors and disabled younger people may also qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a monthly cash benefit. All of this government aide is to help people who have had to flee an oppressive government to settle in our country.
According to a 9/30/15 article in the L.A. Times, titled “U.S. Welfare Flows to Cuba” by Kestin, O’Matz, and Maines with Eaton reporting from Cuba, earlier waves of Cuban refugees have been alerting U.S authorities that some of the newest Cuban refugees are using their government aide to live in Cuba.
Most of the earlier refugees used government aide for only a limited time. Some refused to take any. These earlier refugees report that some of the newest refugees are signing up for aide, and then returning to live on this money in Cuba. For example, some of the newcomers pretend that they suffer from psychological problems from living in Cuba or from making the hazardous trip to the U.S. which entitles them for monthly checks from SSI until they die. These newcomers then return to Cuba where they live quite well on their U.S. government aide.
Our government is 20 trillion dollars in debt, yet I have not read anything about it seriously looking into this problem.
According to a 9/30/15 article in the L.A. Times, titled “U.S. Welfare Flows to Cuba” by Kestin, O’Matz, and Maines with Eaton reporting from Cuba, earlier waves of Cuban refugees have been alerting U.S authorities that some of the newest Cuban refugees are using their government aide to live in Cuba.
Most of the earlier refugees used government aide for only a limited time. Some refused to take any. These earlier refugees report that some of the newest refugees are signing up for aide, and then returning to live on this money in Cuba. For example, some of the newcomers pretend that they suffer from psychological problems from living in Cuba or from making the hazardous trip to the U.S. which entitles them for monthly checks from SSI until they die. These newcomers then return to Cuba where they live quite well on their U.S. government aide.
Our government is 20 trillion dollars in debt, yet I have not read anything about it seriously looking into this problem.
4
There is a simple formulae for much of the central question here and it comes from John Stuart Mill, the British jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer who talked about obtaining the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens. Was it the previous dictator, Fulgencio Batista, or Castro?
Sure, the middle class, landowners, sugar plantation owners, and American-owned corporations like the American Fruit Company, etc., were displaced and lost out. But in 1953, the average Cuban family only had an income of $6.00 a week, 20% of the labor force was chronically unemployed, and only a third of the homes had running water.
In socialism, as in capitalism, there are winners and losers. But which system proved to have provided the most good to the greatest number of people? Think of the literacy rate, the free health care and education systems, the infant mortality rate, etc., brought by the Castro regime, progress that never would have come without some sort of political revolution.
If the US had made some sort of accommodation with Castro when he first came to power, when he sought such friendship, an overture which was spurned, he never would have been forced to look to the Soviet Union.
Sure, the middle class, landowners, sugar plantation owners, and American-owned corporations like the American Fruit Company, etc., were displaced and lost out. But in 1953, the average Cuban family only had an income of $6.00 a week, 20% of the labor force was chronically unemployed, and only a third of the homes had running water.
In socialism, as in capitalism, there are winners and losers. But which system proved to have provided the most good to the greatest number of people? Think of the literacy rate, the free health care and education systems, the infant mortality rate, etc., brought by the Castro regime, progress that never would have come without some sort of political revolution.
If the US had made some sort of accommodation with Castro when he first came to power, when he sought such friendship, an overture which was spurned, he never would have been forced to look to the Soviet Union.
9
Havana, Cuba, July 2016. Fidel Castro's portrait adorns the wall of a local market. The island's Herculean leader extends his hand, and his fist, to those who enter...
On this day, I am reminded of Jalal Toufic's video "Saving Face", (2003), of the posters of smiling Lebanese politicians that effaced Beriut's city walls during the 2000 parliamentary elections. The video begins slowly, still shots of the myriad of political faces appear in multitude, suspended throughout the space of the city. The posters start to splinter and fray, the hollow eyes of one politician blend into the greasy smile of another. The body politic aggregates and fragments to the point where contestation is enveloped into a frightening mass. What the image promises it leaves unattained, its failure fades into a repetitious pattern that leaves the city and its people wanting.
The streets of Havana are not covered with the faces of many, and the few whose likeness appears painted and plastered throughout the city remain in tact. In this place, the body of one dissipates into the body of masses. Here, the image's regime of ideals cuts across time and space, its immaterial underpinning carrying it wholly and resiliently into a world which it does not know, and would not like to understand. Now, as the paint inevitably begins to chip away and the image falters under the weight of the world, I wonder, who will be the ones to do the scratching?
On this day, I am reminded of Jalal Toufic's video "Saving Face", (2003), of the posters of smiling Lebanese politicians that effaced Beriut's city walls during the 2000 parliamentary elections. The video begins slowly, still shots of the myriad of political faces appear in multitude, suspended throughout the space of the city. The posters start to splinter and fray, the hollow eyes of one politician blend into the greasy smile of another. The body politic aggregates and fragments to the point where contestation is enveloped into a frightening mass. What the image promises it leaves unattained, its failure fades into a repetitious pattern that leaves the city and its people wanting.
The streets of Havana are not covered with the faces of many, and the few whose likeness appears painted and plastered throughout the city remain in tact. In this place, the body of one dissipates into the body of masses. Here, the image's regime of ideals cuts across time and space, its immaterial underpinning carrying it wholly and resiliently into a world which it does not know, and would not like to understand. Now, as the paint inevitably begins to chip away and the image falters under the weight of the world, I wonder, who will be the ones to do the scratching?
"Defied, defied," you say? How about "stood up to." or better still, "challenged." For those are the terms that best describe the legendary Latin American leader's dignified positions in the face of the United States' imperial and arrogant aggression against the Cuban Revolution and other progressive political movements south of the border. Frankly, given the NY Times' petulant and never-changing coverage of Latin America the best thing one can do is to ignore your openly biased and highly subjective "reporting."
4
This essay gives the impression that Che Guevara went to the jungles of Bolivia on his own after a conflict with Fidel, but it was Fidel who sent him there.
1
Fidel Castro had held on to power longest in modern time because Queen Elizabeth II has no power. Obama was smart to establish relation with Cuba. Now the politics of Cuba will be changing rapidly . Raul Castro is not Fidel and he is very old.
2
Castro, bring the Cold War to the Americas? No, the US did that. In fact the US created that bete noire to justify the arms race and the enrichment of arms manufacturers and dealers, their lobbyists, and the members of Congress who were needed to commit the US to a huge military buildup around the world. Castro is perhaps the only world leader who had the guts to stand up to the US to defy our goal of world hegemony for the sake of personal enrichment of its establishment elites.
5
You state that as if it were fact. Very few people were in on the manipulation of the system for profit most people believed what they were told and were fearful of the Soviets because of what Stalin did at the end of the war.
The systemic abuse of things where hundreds of thousands of people at all levels intentionally lied to create more spending did not happen until after the Missile Crisis which Castro instigated by inviting the Soviets to install them there. Take a look at this http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-man-who-saved-the-world-watch-the-fu...
There is also a movie from 2014 by the same name.
The systemic abuse of things where hundreds of thousands of people at all levels intentionally lied to create more spending did not happen until after the Missile Crisis which Castro instigated by inviting the Soviets to install them there. Take a look at this http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-man-who-saved-the-world-watch-the-fu...
There is also a movie from 2014 by the same name.
Yes, because the USSR was such a benign power.
I do understand that the Batista regime was worse than Castro. Both killed, but at least Castro brought health care and literacy to ordinary Cubans. I have no love for either, including the Batista loving refugees here,and our mistakes drove Castro to the Soviets. However, once he aligned with them, he became, as far as this liberal Cold War era Marine is concerned, the enemy.
That said, I look forward to better relation with Cuba in the future.
I do understand that the Batista regime was worse than Castro. Both killed, but at least Castro brought health care and literacy to ordinary Cubans. I have no love for either, including the Batista loving refugees here,and our mistakes drove Castro to the Soviets. However, once he aligned with them, he became, as far as this liberal Cold War era Marine is concerned, the enemy.
That said, I look forward to better relation with Cuba in the future.
Cuba was one of the US' biggest foreign policy mistakes. We should have liberated it decades ago and strung Castro and his brother up from the nearest tree. Only 90 miles from the US and the people suffered beyond belief living for decades under such a tyrant.
8
A picture is worth a thousand words. Google life in Cuba. See pictures of the average tiny, crowded homes; the crumbling buildings; the paltry food offerings in local stores. Then read about gov't food rations doled out monthly; locals smelling the meat, that they cannot buy, cooking in high end tourist restaurants; doctors who work a second job just to get by. The U.S. embargo exempted food & medicine. Canada and many other countries never embargoed anything. Capitalism anyone?
7
But surely the shortages were the result of the American led embargo.
Or have I gotten this wrong?
Or have I gotten this wrong?
1
Rob McTavish,
You have got it wrong. Castro's megalomania and paranoia caused the shortages. He was just as irrationally hateful of the US as were the US hardliners who hated him. His meddling in everything prevented the people from rising up naturally as such smart people would in such a fertile land. To him and his government (and all other commie nations) any sign of self improvement was tantamount to treason. So even if a person could improve their own situation or the situation of their community the system was set up to discourage it as such normal behavior was penalized.
You have got it wrong. Castro's megalomania and paranoia caused the shortages. He was just as irrationally hateful of the US as were the US hardliners who hated him. His meddling in everything prevented the people from rising up naturally as such smart people would in such a fertile land. To him and his government (and all other commie nations) any sign of self improvement was tantamount to treason. So even if a person could improve their own situation or the situation of their community the system was set up to discourage it as such normal behavior was penalized.
2
I would not argue that the U.S. embargo has no impact. But many other wealthy countries never instituted an embargo so one would think that commerce with those countries would have largely negated U.S. restrictions since really anything wanted and needed is produced in many countries besides the U.S. While Castro quite successfully blamed the U.S. embargo as the reason for Cuban's deprivations, the reality is a centrally planned & controlled economy has never resulted in broad prosperity. The fall of the Soviet Union (primary financial supporter) and now the mess in Venezuela (primary energy provider) are, hopefully, forcing Cuba to consider more significant market reforms.
3
Whether they liked him or not, other world leaders responded with a dignified statement regarding the death of Fidel Castro. Our 5-year old president "tweeted." "Fidel Castro is dead!"
2
They are dancing in the streets as they celebrate the death of this son of a well to do land owner with a Jesuit education, who conned the media as well as his own people to put him into power as he partnered with the Soviet Union and changed his govt to all white. In the end the people realized too late that this was a deranged dictator and they risked life and limb to leave. Good riddance.
4
Fidel Castro 1980: “I have flushed the toilets of Cuba on the United States.” Some say he was a great man, I say at least he had the ability to tell the truth about what he was doing.
3
So curious how some figures gain nobility, strength, an embarrassment of virtues and brilliant accomplishments, just by being dead.
Castro was a cruel, ruthless, power junkie. Quintessential politician, too, I suppose. And now, to read some of the comments here, he seems to have been a heroic figure, second only to maybe Jesus.
It's one thing to be a leftie. It's another to check your brain and sense at the door of the funeral home.
Castro was a cruel, ruthless, power junkie. Quintessential politician, too, I suppose. And now, to read some of the comments here, he seems to have been a heroic figure, second only to maybe Jesus.
It's one thing to be a leftie. It's another to check your brain and sense at the door of the funeral home.
7
The Fidel mythos was that he was the Simon Bolivar of Cuba. Comparisons of Fidel to Marshal Tito were not dissuaded among the Revolutionary Chic cohorts in US universities in the 1970s. Lee Harvey Oswald was suitably impressed! But in reality megalomaniac Castro was most like Nicolae Ceausescu, and the time-warped dystopia of Romania. A slogan-spouting toady, Fidel, who sold the Revolution for rubles, and kept the campesinos enslaved for decades as the world passed it by.
7
Clearly none of the commenters I have read here has ever tried to survive in a communist dictatorship such as the one Castro established in Cuba.
6
"He dominated his country with strength and symbolism from the day he triumphantly entered Havana on Jan. 8, 1959, and completed his overthrow of Fulgencio Batista"
Fidel Castro, Che Guevera, and the revolutionary force which removed Batista from control of Cuba were patriots . Batista allowed uncontrolled vices and U.S. $$$ to corrupt the country and cause a two level society...the very rich and the very poor. Those Cuban-Americans who left Cuba, and who condemn this revolution, are those of the first group mentioned ( the very rich ) . Fidel nor Che promoted the revolution for personal gain...both were living comfortably under the Batista reign. We, in the U.S. have been somewhat brainwashed as to what was accomplished by this revolution, and rarely are the conditions of Cuba pre-revolution mentioned. I heard it from my mother's lips...she having been there in 1930 on her honeymoon. " There were dirty little kids running in the streets begging." That was the impression she brought back after visiting Cuba. Hopefully, someday, Fidel Castro and his revolution will be given the honor it deserves.
Fidel Castro, Che Guevera, and the revolutionary force which removed Batista from control of Cuba were patriots . Batista allowed uncontrolled vices and U.S. $$$ to corrupt the country and cause a two level society...the very rich and the very poor. Those Cuban-Americans who left Cuba, and who condemn this revolution, are those of the first group mentioned ( the very rich ) . Fidel nor Che promoted the revolution for personal gain...both were living comfortably under the Batista reign. We, in the U.S. have been somewhat brainwashed as to what was accomplished by this revolution, and rarely are the conditions of Cuba pre-revolution mentioned. I heard it from my mother's lips...she having been there in 1930 on her honeymoon. " There were dirty little kids running in the streets begging." That was the impression she brought back after visiting Cuba. Hopefully, someday, Fidel Castro and his revolution will be given the honor it deserves.
6
I will not celebrate the life of an oppressive, murderous dictator. I will celebrate the fact that the American leftist academics are in mourning.
13
We have our own "strongman" about to be in power. it will be more theocratic and not "socialist" so there will be zero benefits to the people- only power to corporations and clerics.
2
If you're honest, you will also note that Batista was a killer on equal terms, and that at least Castro brought a few things to Cuba that Batista had no intention of bringing, namely literacy and health care. But, despite Castro's positive accomplishments, I do not mourn his death.
It is fascinating how misplaced nostalgia and the need to generate debate for the purpose of selling more commercials has a way of rewriting history. Many are writing about a land void of poverty and with access to health care. Let's remember that prisons offer the same benefits.
6
Fidel was an absolute colossus, recognizable by his first name alone. Those of us determined to continue our rapprochement with Cuba need to push harder as of January when the Trump era begins.
2
Cher is recognized by her first name, too.
1
Listening to all those Cuban American's cheering the death of Fidel I can only think their parents threw their support behind Batista all those years ago and came out on the losing side. Google 'Batista Cuba' and try and find the differences between him and Fidel. The obvious one is Batista was pro American and therefore pro mafia. Aside from that they were like peas in a pod.
4
My grandparents went to Cuba on vacation a few times in the 1950s, from NY. Fidel, his crew, and the Mafia (Santos Trafficante) could have turned it in to the scepter'd isle, a teeming womb of coffee, rum & cigars, and Jamaica-style beach resorts, if the Castro Brothers had not betrayed the Revolution at home, while subverting South American governments with terrorism from romantic desperado Che Guevara. Like Capt. America said to Billy near the end of "Easy Rider": "We blew it."
3
What are you talking about?
I was there a year ago, sitting at the bar at the Hotel Nacional. To my right, construction workers, from Havana, enjoying a mojito ($5) at the end of the day. To my left, European internacionals, from the sound of it, enjoying that same mojito.
That's betraying the socialist revolution??
I was there a year ago, sitting at the bar at the Hotel Nacional. To my right, construction workers, from Havana, enjoying a mojito ($5) at the end of the day. To my left, European internacionals, from the sound of it, enjoying that same mojito.
That's betraying the socialist revolution??
3
The most obvious parallel is Qadaffi in Libya. Getting rid of the vile King Idris in an almost bloodless coup and bringing wealth, education, healthcare and freedoms unknown in the rest of the oil-rich Arab world was his triumph.
But he stayed too long; and he and Castro are poster boys for Lord Acton's remark about absolute power.
But he stayed too long; and he and Castro are poster boys for Lord Acton's remark about absolute power.
1
And trump as well, its not so much that absolute power corrupts as that the corrupt seek absolute power.
1
This is one of the best articles I have read in The Times. Kudos to the author for giving a detailed sketch of Fidel's life.
I do not think but for the erstwhile USSR, Fidel would have ruled Cuba for so long. Cuban economy would have crumbled a long time back and Fidel would have faced the same fate of Batista. Russians gave Fidel everything, from money, weapons, education and courage. I think Fidel's antagonism towards the Americans pushed him to any extreme, including making his people to suffer. His flip flop on democracy, legalizing US dollars etc. show him in poor light.
No doubt, Fidel Castro has still earned a name for himself in world history as a man who stood against Americans for nearly half a century.
I do not think but for the erstwhile USSR, Fidel would have ruled Cuba for so long. Cuban economy would have crumbled a long time back and Fidel would have faced the same fate of Batista. Russians gave Fidel everything, from money, weapons, education and courage. I think Fidel's antagonism towards the Americans pushed him to any extreme, including making his people to suffer. His flip flop on democracy, legalizing US dollars etc. show him in poor light.
No doubt, Fidel Castro has still earned a name for himself in world history as a man who stood against Americans for nearly half a century.
1
Very well said T.A.R.!
I see many comments here praising Castro and praising socialism.
Let's cut through all the non-sense and ask one question: If life was so great for the Cuban people why did Castro have to forbid them from leaving?
Let's cut through all the non-sense and ask one question: If life was so great for the Cuban people why did Castro have to forbid them from leaving?
3
Comparing Castro's tenure to Queen Elizabeth's is at the very least, strange. Other than that,a dictator has died. This was the man who, with the Soviets, set up nuclear ballistic missiles on his island with the objective of obliterating North America. Enough said.
5
...after the Americans put missiles in Turkey with the objective of obliterating the neighboring USSR. Why people always forget or ignore that part?
I was shocked when I heard the news this morning but I wasn't surprised. Mr. Castro was an old man who had been ill for a long time. I hope he died peacefully, surrounded by friends and family.
Being Canadian, I'm free to travel anywhere I want. I've been to Cuba and found it fascinating. There was so much poverty but the spirit of the people was amazing. The Cubans I met were proud and strong. None of them mourned the absence of Americans.
The people celebrating in Miami are mistaken if they think they can storm back into Cuba and throw their weight around. Celebrating the death of an old man shows the world what kind of people they are. Cuba has moved beyond them.
Fidel Castro freed Cuba from the American-backed tyranny of the Bautista regime, which turned Cuba into a Mafia-run whorehouse. Fidel gave Cubans pride and dignity. Cuba outlasted the fall of the Soviet Union and the US embargo.
Rest in peace, Fidel Castro.
Being Canadian, I'm free to travel anywhere I want. I've been to Cuba and found it fascinating. There was so much poverty but the spirit of the people was amazing. The Cubans I met were proud and strong. None of them mourned the absence of Americans.
The people celebrating in Miami are mistaken if they think they can storm back into Cuba and throw their weight around. Celebrating the death of an old man shows the world what kind of people they are. Cuba has moved beyond them.
Fidel Castro freed Cuba from the American-backed tyranny of the Bautista regime, which turned Cuba into a Mafia-run whorehouse. Fidel gave Cubans pride and dignity. Cuba outlasted the fall of the Soviet Union and the US embargo.
Rest in peace, Fidel Castro.
11
A cousin to my father's side of the family was a divorcee with good look that were accompanied by a sunny but somewhat dizzy personality that left the listener often waiting for the conclusion of her nearly every statement. She inhabited in reality a role that Judy Holliday might have played in one of her Hollywood or Broadway roles, as the wife of a colorful 2nd husband who came from the gang that sired Meyer Lansky on the Lower East Side. L- was a small, wiry and steely tough exemplar of the George Raft generation. George, in fact, was the 'good dancer' and ladies man of their gang. When Lansky branched out to Cuba, Meyer dutifully followed down as a head 'floor man' meaning he would step in as croupier when someone was enjoying a little too much luck at a roulette wheel, and generally keep an eye out for 'trouble.'
L- never met Castro, but he considered him a troublemaker. L- was working when the revolutionaries visited the casino and machine gunned the patrons. L-was shot in the chest and carried out on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance, which whisked him to an airport. He said that hidden under his stretcher was several million dollars in cash, "for the Mendoza family in Miami." That is what is known as "blood money."
Cub was considered paradise for the mob. It was paradise for the conservative mid-western types who liked to sin on vacation. Trump's kind of people. Let's hope Cuba can avoid a repeat.
L- never met Castro, but he considered him a troublemaker. L- was working when the revolutionaries visited the casino and machine gunned the patrons. L-was shot in the chest and carried out on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance, which whisked him to an airport. He said that hidden under his stretcher was several million dollars in cash, "for the Mendoza family in Miami." That is what is known as "blood money."
Cub was considered paradise for the mob. It was paradise for the conservative mid-western types who liked to sin on vacation. Trump's kind of people. Let's hope Cuba can avoid a repeat.
4
The American invasion that Mr. Castro defied for decades will come, not in the form of troops or sailors, but in the form of Starbucks and Chipolte.
5
The Revolution brought some real benefits to Cuba and ended a corrupt dictatorship, but Fidel was in power too long. He was a polymath and had a hand in every department of the government, which at times was a disaster. Anyone who would give a speech that lasted up to eight hours is not to be trusted. I admired the fighting spirit of the rebel army, and I thought Che gave the most eloquent speeches, but I remember what Hemingway said about the communists in Spain, "I love 'em when they're fighters, I hate 'em when they're priests."
2
A wonderful read. I like Fidel for his colorful personality. Like the country for its people and culture. Rum and cigars. And cars over 50 years old.
1
Is there no one else on the planet with a 'colorful' personality you can 'like' who perhaps hasn't tortured, imprisoned and murdered his own people?
1
You forget WHY those cars still serve the poor Cubans: the country only exists to support the high and mighty. Every Cuban has lived in a prison-state since this angry man seized power.
The people and their belongings are the property of a far worse man than you could dream Mr. Trump could become.
If you REALLY liked him, turn your lights off every night at dark because it is a rare day that Cuba keeps the electricity on. Better yet, go on a tour to some prison-state.
The people and their belongings are the property of a far worse man than you could dream Mr. Trump could become.
If you REALLY liked him, turn your lights off every night at dark because it is a rare day that Cuba keeps the electricity on. Better yet, go on a tour to some prison-state.
2
Yes. Trump comes to mind. :)
I was 16, a high school senior from Long Island and a regular reader of Newsday and the the NYT, vacationing with my parents in Havana over the 1958-59 XMAS/New Years Holidays when Fidel's people came down from the mountains and entered the city. We were glad to see a successful and relatively bloodless revolution! On January 3d we returned to Miami on Cubana without incident. I didn't know much about Fidel Castro but I knew that Fulgencio Batista was little more than a politically powerful criminal and thought that Cuba would be better off without him. He had bragged that public education was "free" and during our stay I had seen brightly uniformed students students going to and from school I also saw kids working in shops and cane fields during the school day! I asked a police officer about this (he was smartly uniformed but his holster was empty) He explained that they were from poor homes that needed their income. I asked him why his holster was empty; he smiled and said "things are changing." It's 59 years later, he was right ... and they are changing again! Say what you like about Castro; under him, all the kids went to school and health care was available to all.
2
I am proud to remember Fidel Castro for his standing tall with the Africans of Angola while we fostered 27 years of terrorism on an already thoroughly brutalized people.
He sent his soldiers, Doctors, nurses and engineers to help the Africans. We sent guns, mercenaries and the white thugs of Apartheid South Africa to murder those blacks of Angola.
Castro's doctors tended the sick of those wretched people. Castro's soldiers provided the vanguard force against evil. For that I am eternally grateful to Fidel Castro.
He sent his soldiers, Doctors, nurses and engineers to help the Africans. We sent guns, mercenaries and the white thugs of Apartheid South Africa to murder those blacks of Angola.
Castro's doctors tended the sick of those wretched people. Castro's soldiers provided the vanguard force against evil. For that I am eternally grateful to Fidel Castro.
4
Are you really happy here? Many places would seem to fit you better....
Life is too short to hate the place you're in.
Life is too short to hate the place you're in.
1
Charismatic and very successful revolutionary leader that walked a tightrope between the so called Superpowers, but survived them. Defeated corrupt and brutal dictator, Batista; of course, backed by interventionist America, who's been incredibly unsuccessful post WW II, with their meddling. In many ways a great leader, for example, look at literacy and medicine. I cannot cheer or applaud those spoiled descendants in Florida who were part of the families that exploited their countrymen for the Americano dollars, then lost to Castro. Vive Castro!
3
Recently I really have trouble understanding the choices of the editorial staff of the Times: Was really Fidel Castro, the leader of a minuscule country that lived on charity by the Soviet Union, the one who brought the Cold war to the Western Hemisphere and pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war ? Or were the USA and the Soviet Union engaged into the Cold War well before the nuke crisis of 1962 ? And then: No doubt he held on to power with dictatorial means for a long time, but is it really Queen Elizabeth "holding on" to power ? And why is the title of the main article in English (a "Revolutionary who defied U.S.") different from the one in Spanish (a "Leader of the Cuban Revolution and a symbol of the left") ? Two languages, two ethnic segments of the society and two different interpretation of the news ?
4
Because English, our official language, was specifically designed to contradict and to obscure the truth. What other language has so many possible definitions for the same word? We can't even agree on what is is. That sums it up in a nutshell.
They are liberals. it's an illness.
2
If you believe in manifest destiny, a doctrine that spouses the supremacy of the USA over any other country, and serves as justification for its imperialistic aspirations, then you will never understand or even acknowledge the legacy of Comandante Fidel Castro. Fidel was and continues to be the embodiment and symbol of Latin America’s struggle against centuries of colonialism and neocolonialism at the hands of Eurocentric empires and their local puppets. Since the advent of the revolution, Cuba has only wanted one, and only one thing: equal treatment by all of the world’s nations; and that is something that the USA has never been willing to grant. After years of exploiting Cuba’s natural resources, including its people, the US decided to crush the revolution by imposing one of the cruelest blockades in history, invading a sovereign nation, attempting to assassinate its leader (over 600 times), and supporting terrorist incursions, both violent and propagandistic. In spite of all this, Fidel always remained a friend of the American people, and by that I mean the beautiful Americans, not the ugly ones… like the ones who are now celebrating the death of a true giant.
4
Castro, Che Guevera and Ho Chi Minh were the icons of national liberation mvts of 60-70s. Castro always seemed to be one step ahead of the US in Angola and Central America. The US lumbered on in their support of nasty "freedom fighters" as Cuba sent doctors to Angola the US aligned with South Africa and its appartied gov't. Castro was a dictator and the glory days are long past.
3
Castro's example of "A Third Way" fails to come through in this otherwise decent obituary.
It is probably unfair to expect this from writers who start out their story with words like "brought cold war to the western hemisphere". If the U.S. was able to and willing to allow Cuba to chart its own course, there would have been no cold war in this hemisphere, and no Cuban missile crisis. Since the doctrine of containment was predicated on capitalism's refusal to allow a second way, to say nothing of the century-old Monroe Doctrine, the course chosen here was all but inevitable.
Today, the U.S. at best is able to give Fidel grudging respect. I look forward to the day when the U.S. can look at Fidel's record with a far greater degree of objectivity, and even kindness.
It is probably unfair to expect this from writers who start out their story with words like "brought cold war to the western hemisphere". If the U.S. was able to and willing to allow Cuba to chart its own course, there would have been no cold war in this hemisphere, and no Cuban missile crisis. Since the doctrine of containment was predicated on capitalism's refusal to allow a second way, to say nothing of the century-old Monroe Doctrine, the course chosen here was all but inevitable.
Today, the U.S. at best is able to give Fidel grudging respect. I look forward to the day when the U.S. can look at Fidel's record with a far greater degree of objectivity, and even kindness.
23
One wonders if his ~100000 murder victims would look so kindly upon him?
So when Cubans were suffering under the rule of the Batista, many of them came to embrace a charismatic strongman who promised them a better life. In some ways, their lives got better, in other ways, not so much. Here at home, we have just elected a charismatic con man who openly admires dictators and promises Americans who feel left behind a better life. It would be a stretch to say there are too many parallels between Castro and Trump, but I find the temptation to support a *strong* leader who believes that *only he can fix things* both fascinating and dangerous.
5
Unmentioned was that Cuba very much welcomed international fugitives, including cop killers from the U.S. that today's Black Lives Matter group quote/worship at almost every gathering.
10
The name Robert Vesco jumps to mind.
Will the new government send back Joanne Chesimard, a.k.a. Assata Shakur, fugitive convicted in the killing of a NJ State Trooper in addition to other murders and robberies? She proclaims herself a freedom fighter, but she's a common criminal.
I think that anyone who spouts off about how great life is in Cuba should explain to me why there are no rafts or inner tubes floating in that direction from any other land form. I don't understand how people, especially those who left and did not return, can praise Fidel Castro and his regime when there are men, women and children risking their lives to escape. Maybe I am missing something but I don't see anyone abandoning their home and family and swimming in that direction.
8
Fidel Castro was the most challenging leader of a third world country and ironically, while we made peace with Russia and China( two of strongest communist countries) we could not give up the embargo against a small, poor Cuba.
America lost the right to dictate to other countries when we supported numerous fascist regimes that overthrew democratically elected officials, the most repugnant, Chile in the 1970's. Look at our election just now; a rich man with no experience in government and from all the evidence, a charlatan and con man. What will be his legacy four years from now.
In Cuba, they have a superior health care system and their doctors travel the world working and teaching in other countries. They have the semblance of racial equality. Hopefully, we will not intervene in their country and we will allow the people to chose their own leaders now and in the near future.
America lost the right to dictate to other countries when we supported numerous fascist regimes that overthrew democratically elected officials, the most repugnant, Chile in the 1970's. Look at our election just now; a rich man with no experience in government and from all the evidence, a charlatan and con man. What will be his legacy four years from now.
In Cuba, they have a superior health care system and their doctors travel the world working and teaching in other countries. They have the semblance of racial equality. Hopefully, we will not intervene in their country and we will allow the people to chose their own leaders now and in the near future.
9
America lost the right to dictate to other countries when we supported numerous fascist regimes that overthrew democratically elected officials,
--------------------
We regained the right when we sent fleets of ships and aircraft carrying medicine, food, earth-moving equipment, doctors, clothing, etc. to regions ravaged by earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, civil war, epidemics, the Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Wall.
--------------------
We regained the right when we sent fleets of ships and aircraft carrying medicine, food, earth-moving equipment, doctors, clothing, etc. to regions ravaged by earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, civil war, epidemics, the Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Wall.
It's odd that this article should so extol--and even glorify in lush pictures--Castro's cigar smoking, while refusing to mention that Castro pointedly quit cigars.
In 1985, he said, “I reached the conclusion long ago that the one last sacrifice I must make for public health is to stop smoking. I haven't really missed it that much.”
In 1985, he said, “I reached the conclusion long ago that the one last sacrifice I must make for public health is to stop smoking. I haven't really missed it that much.”
1
The cigar was iconic. Pretty much everyone's image of Castro includes a cigar. Just as the iconic image of Churchill does, and as FDR always has his cigarette holder in an aggressively jaunty angle (albeit recent images have tried to photoshop it out so as not to set a bad example for the kiddies).
2
Good Lord. THAT'S what you find to comment on???
1
One can only hope that the passing of Fidel will allow some continued progress for the Cuban people in terms of personal and economic freedom. Mr. Castro may have been a nationalist (as well as a Communist), but foremost he was an egomaniac who saw Cuba as his personal fiefdom. Like all other dictators, he probably did a little good, but the atrocities he and his regime committed out way any of these. Cuba is still poor and civil liberties nearly non-existent. The economy is in shambles. The Cuban people have suffered under dictators for generations - one can only hope that at last they will have the opportunity to move toward self determination and a better life.
6
Castro: a classic example of so many despots, who rise from a foundation of thoughtful, often sensible, ideals, only to fall after the ensuing narcissism has warped and tainted them.
13
American policy has played a significant role in the tragedy that Cubans have experienced since the revolution. Castro and the Communists filled the gap when the American government created a vacuum by isolating Cuba from contacts with democracies especially the United States. Nothing good came of decades of American policy regarding Cuba.
My hope is that Cubans are able to create their own freedoms and socioeconomic system that is independent of the obstacles and pressures that have been placed on them.
My hope is that Cubans are able to create their own freedoms and socioeconomic system that is independent of the obstacles and pressures that have been placed on them.
5
It was always striking how so many progressives who were strongly in favor of gay rights and First Amendment rights ignored Castro's persecution of gays and repression of opposition or a free press.
12
We did? I hadn't known. Noticed the persecutions in Kenya that were aided and abetted by K Street right-wing, "Christian," arepublicans, too.
1
What's even more striking is people like you that post comments like yours without stating a source. You're another one who apparently doesn't know the difference between a fact and an opinion.
2
Did you see any references to the persecution of gays or repression of opposition in Michael Moore's film about Cuba? Steven Soderbergh's film about Che? Which progressive icons can you name who spoke out against the treatment of gays or dissidents?
And holding progressives to no higher a moral standard than right wing Republicans is as dishonest as justifying Reagan's support for the repression in El Salvador on the basis of the left's tolerance of Castro.
And holding progressives to no higher a moral standard than right wing Republicans is as dishonest as justifying Reagan's support for the repression in El Salvador on the basis of the left's tolerance of Castro.
A more accurate heading would be: Fidel Castro, the tyrant of Cuba for 57 years, dies at 90 in Cuba.
The U.S. should send no representative to the funeral of a tyrant who murdered tens of thousands of Cuban citizens, wrecked the Cuban social and economic system and also murdered citizens of the U.S most notably the Brothers to the Rescue air crew.
The U.S. should send no representative to the funeral of a tyrant who murdered tens of thousands of Cuban citizens, wrecked the Cuban social and economic system and also murdered citizens of the U.S most notably the Brothers to the Rescue air crew.
9
And lest we forget: In 1961, a quarter million Cubans, mostly women, mostly young (a boy as young as eight), joined Castro's "literacy brigades," and traversed the island teaching rural Cubans to read and write. By day living, and working, with those families, by night teaching (using lanterns donated by China), volunteers stayed a year, surviving continued civil war, and a Bay of Pigs invasion.
Today Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world -- higher than the US -- and its volunteers have gone throughout Latin America to teach the program.
Today Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world -- higher than the US -- and its volunteers have gone throughout Latin America to teach the program.
16
It is time to stop quarreling. I hope that we can have a good relationship with Cuba from now on. I also hope in doing so that we don't ruin Cuba by turning it into a U. S. dominated tourist attraction. We would do well to learn some things from our island neighbor. Their literacy rate is higher than ours. They have public education through college. Everyone has free access to medical care. They have more doctors per capita than we do. They have done some things right!
13
A Cuban's most ecstatic dream would be to become America's tourist attraction if that meant they could live free of a giant oligarchy that owns them.
2
I neglected to mention that the infant mortality rate in Cuba is 4.63 per 1,000 live births. In U. S. it is 5.87. These are 2015 figures. Cuba also has excellent medical schools. I'm not denying the problems with Cuba. Yes, rafts keep coming, although fewer than in the past. And perhaps there are Cubans that would love to have Havana be what it was in the good old Batista days. I hope it doesn't.
Cuba is an independent nation and will not be turned into anything they dont want to be turned into....that is the legacy of Fidel Castro.
As a teacher of history who has taught courses on the cold war my conclusions are that Castro was a disaster for the Cuban peoples. When he helped in the overthrow of Batista that was a good thing but it has been down hill ever since.
He helped keep Cuba under a system of government, Communism, that has essentially failed where ever it took root condemning its citizens to live under oppression with little chance to help themselves.
During the Cuban missile crisis Castro was prepared to ignite World War III to hold on to power and even Khruschev realized this when he agreed to pull these missiles out.
He helped keep Cuba under a system of government, Communism, that has essentially failed where ever it took root condemning its citizens to live under oppression with little chance to help themselves.
During the Cuban missile crisis Castro was prepared to ignite World War III to hold on to power and even Khruschev realized this when he agreed to pull these missiles out.
14
Excellent comment. I am mystified at the apologies for and even supporters of Castro I'm seeing in these comments. Most of them I suspect are written by liberals with no education in history, and eager for any chance to slam this country that gives them the freedom to express such viewpoints without fear of persecution.
2
Thank you. At least one sane reader of the NYTimes remains.
1
So now they get Trump. The good news is that a tourism/sugar/tobaco economy is a heck of a lot easier to recover and build than the diverse economy that we have the US. And there is a robust Cuban-American population that just itching to go back to the 'old ways'.
This is obviously 'Trump's' first carrier-flight-deck-victory-photo opportunity; one where he can leverage Obama's move to recognize Cuba, build Trump tourist castles to and provide subsistence level jobs to the disenfranchised Cuban people while promoting and leveraging the interests of the pre-Castro status quo of Cuba's former dictator class, the "compassionate conservatives". Meyer Lanski would be proud.
The age of Fidel Castro is over. Hopefully the people of Cuba will not have to cycle through a redo of the forces and conditions that brought him to power in the first place.
This is obviously 'Trump's' first carrier-flight-deck-victory-photo opportunity; one where he can leverage Obama's move to recognize Cuba, build Trump tourist castles to and provide subsistence level jobs to the disenfranchised Cuban people while promoting and leveraging the interests of the pre-Castro status quo of Cuba's former dictator class, the "compassionate conservatives". Meyer Lanski would be proud.
The age of Fidel Castro is over. Hopefully the people of Cuba will not have to cycle through a redo of the forces and conditions that brought him to power in the first place.
3
Trump? Trump? Really? Good grief...get over it pal.
2
What will be our excuse to continue the blockade and embargo now that Castro is gone…
Castro was the convenient bugaboo, the "thorn in our side", the "evil dictator" 90 miles south of Florida, the "spreader of communism" who would "infect" all of South America (not unlike the false meme of the Vietnam era domino theory), and leader of fierce, swarthy fighters who would flood the Texas border through the Mexican frontier, or sail in rubber rafts across the Gulf to Miami and invade our country…if we didn't keep them "contained" in Cuba - or some such other nonsense.
Castro provided our neo-con military industrial complex a great (and backyard)
"enemy" that justified their astronomical defense spending, invasions of other populist-led countries in South America, assassination of their leaders, and exploitation and appropriation of their natural resources and commodities.
It's no wonder then, that all our attempts to assassinate Fidel failed. Without him, there was little to no reason for our foreign policy in our own hemisphere to begin with. With him surviving, there was that pesky cigar-smoking revolutionary who would be a major threat to peace, democracy and the American way.
Castro served us very well for the past 60 years. We have always needed an enemy who is a strong, populist personality, who thumbs their nose at our "democratic" leaders, who is a threat that we can blame and one at whom we can point our missiles.
We should thank Castro, not condemn him.
Castro was the convenient bugaboo, the "thorn in our side", the "evil dictator" 90 miles south of Florida, the "spreader of communism" who would "infect" all of South America (not unlike the false meme of the Vietnam era domino theory), and leader of fierce, swarthy fighters who would flood the Texas border through the Mexican frontier, or sail in rubber rafts across the Gulf to Miami and invade our country…if we didn't keep them "contained" in Cuba - or some such other nonsense.
Castro provided our neo-con military industrial complex a great (and backyard)
"enemy" that justified their astronomical defense spending, invasions of other populist-led countries in South America, assassination of their leaders, and exploitation and appropriation of their natural resources and commodities.
It's no wonder then, that all our attempts to assassinate Fidel failed. Without him, there was little to no reason for our foreign policy in our own hemisphere to begin with. With him surviving, there was that pesky cigar-smoking revolutionary who would be a major threat to peace, democracy and the American way.
Castro served us very well for the past 60 years. We have always needed an enemy who is a strong, populist personality, who thumbs their nose at our "democratic" leaders, who is a threat that we can blame and one at whom we can point our missiles.
We should thank Castro, not condemn him.
6
For your POV as described here to be real the US government would have to be prescient and infallible as well as blind and incompetent. It also belittles all other American Nations including Castro as at the mercy if whatever this impossible US government you seem to think exists.
Castro was a rich well educated English speaking Harvard Student (I may have the wrong Ivy here) when he became a "revolutionary". He was smart and good at what he did. The irrationality we saw in him was part (25%ish) intentional to make others fear him for seeming to be unpredictable in a crazy dangerous way and the rest was real paranoia induced by him living an isolated life never quite able to trust his closest confidants. That insecurity came from inside himself because he knew the truth like no one else did, that he was exactly the same as Batista in spite of his programs and all the good they did in literacy and medicine.
Castro was a rich well educated English speaking Harvard Student (I may have the wrong Ivy here) when he became a "revolutionary". He was smart and good at what he did. The irrationality we saw in him was part (25%ish) intentional to make others fear him for seeming to be unpredictable in a crazy dangerous way and the rest was real paranoia induced by him living an isolated life never quite able to trust his closest confidants. That insecurity came from inside himself because he knew the truth like no one else did, that he was exactly the same as Batista in spite of his programs and all the good they did in literacy and medicine.
1
It would take more than a Freudian or Lacanian psychoanalyst to explain why non-Cuban Castroists accept the demythification of the Communist leaders of Eastern Europe and China but remain mesmerized by El Commandante. My mother who was Cuban born grew tired very early on of the Left's regressive anti-Americanism which she described as progressivism for imbeciles.
1
Is that a response or just more info?
A fair amount of selective history in these comments.
No mention of what, or who, Castro replaced. Or of the Platt Amendment, or TR's Executive Order 518, or of the long-term occupation of Cuba by US troops "legalized" by these orders No mention of the exploitation of the Cuban people by American corporations, the Mob, and Batista, our man in Havana. No mention of Castro's attempts to reach out to Eisenhower in 1959 and of Ike's snub (he played golf). No mention of the fact that Castro's land reform policies were not unlike those pursued, with US blessing, in other parts of the world, with large landholders reimbursed for their property. And of course, no mention of the ruthless hostility toward the Cuban Revolution on the part of the Dulles' brothers, engineers of successful coups in Iran and Guatemala and the imposition of a dictatorship in the latter country, that made Castro's brand of caudillismo, which included literacy campaigns and health care, seem mild.
My Cuban-American colleagues are jubilant, and i can't argue with the pain of their memories--nor will I...nor am I blind to Castro's crimes, but I wonder if Fidel Castro wasn't yet another in a long line of autocrats--Trujillo, Castillo Armas, Pinochet, Marcos, Suharto, Khomeini--created by the arrogance, and ignorance, of our power, and by the ruthless self-interest of our foreign policy.
No mention of what, or who, Castro replaced. Or of the Platt Amendment, or TR's Executive Order 518, or of the long-term occupation of Cuba by US troops "legalized" by these orders No mention of the exploitation of the Cuban people by American corporations, the Mob, and Batista, our man in Havana. No mention of Castro's attempts to reach out to Eisenhower in 1959 and of Ike's snub (he played golf). No mention of the fact that Castro's land reform policies were not unlike those pursued, with US blessing, in other parts of the world, with large landholders reimbursed for their property. And of course, no mention of the ruthless hostility toward the Cuban Revolution on the part of the Dulles' brothers, engineers of successful coups in Iran and Guatemala and the imposition of a dictatorship in the latter country, that made Castro's brand of caudillismo, which included literacy campaigns and health care, seem mild.
My Cuban-American colleagues are jubilant, and i can't argue with the pain of their memories--nor will I...nor am I blind to Castro's crimes, but I wonder if Fidel Castro wasn't yet another in a long line of autocrats--Trujillo, Castillo Armas, Pinochet, Marcos, Suharto, Khomeini--created by the arrogance, and ignorance, of our power, and by the ruthless self-interest of our foreign policy.
5
As a Cuban born in 1988, freedom of speech was not a right. As a population we owed it all to the government, our scarce access to food, our dwindling infrastructure, our right to protest against imperialism, to serve in a depleted military, our old rusty cars, a free education that would entitle us to a diploma that meant very little if you did not have the right connections or supported the communist regime, the right to vote for no one.
Now, living in the US, as a US citizen, I am able to enjoy those freedoms that were not handed to me by the accident of birth.
Fidel Castro Ruz might not have been the ruthless dictator that countries like China, Romania, Cambodia experimented with, but one who suppressed individuality and critical thinking, who denied the possibility of being free.
Now, living in the US, as a US citizen, I am able to enjoy those freedoms that were not handed to me by the accident of birth.
Fidel Castro Ruz might not have been the ruthless dictator that countries like China, Romania, Cambodia experimented with, but one who suppressed individuality and critical thinking, who denied the possibility of being free.
10
I recently got back from Havana - I was down there to do research of the lives of gay men for an upcoming article I'm writing - and find many of these observations about Cuba not being so bad incredible. Free food? Free medicine? According to the locals I spoke with nothing could be further from the truth. Many of them are dirt poor and struggle from meal to meal. I asked many of them if healthcare is free and the responses were shocking: Yes, you still have to pay for doctor's visits and medicine of which there is an appalling lack of. Many of the farmacias were barely stocked and had nominal supplies. Prostitution is rampant because, for many, there is simply no other way to live. Sadly, many of them are underage and do it because it is the only means of supporting their families.
Despite their desperate situation, Cubans, by and large, are some of the most upbeat, affectionate and good-humored people I've ever met. They love America and Americans - especially President Obama - and cannot wait until American companies come down there to provide a source of decent-paying jobs. That they remain so optimistic in the face of such repression makes me want to fall in love with los Habaneros all over again.
Despite their desperate situation, Cubans, by and large, are some of the most upbeat, affectionate and good-humored people I've ever met. They love America and Americans - especially President Obama - and cannot wait until American companies come down there to provide a source of decent-paying jobs. That they remain so optimistic in the face of such repression makes me want to fall in love with los Habaneros all over again.
10
The problem with Obama's normalization of relations with Cuba and his tendency to forgive and forget in the name of moving forward (i.e., he said today that we should put the past behind us and focus on our common shared values and future), is that it paves the way for us to normalize nationalism. If we only focus on the positives like Cuba's high literacy rates, low health care, banishment of poverty etc., is that it ignores what is missing from this society and others, such as China and Russia i.e.: the conditions of freedom which give rise to the full release of human potential. Don't give me periodic examples of artists, writers, scientists and so forth who have made a difference to our shared world from Cuba. The volume of American's and others in the developed west who are able to contribute in such careers far outpaces any communist country - it is why America must defend (messily) freedoms throughout the world. Without American or European "exceptionalism" which we are all so comfortable dismissing in an era of Trump, there would be no free world and it is unlikely we would survive as a species for long. In a world led by morally bankrupt superpowers such as Russia, those of us "free thinkers" (i.e. anyone reading this) we would soon die out in nuclear flames or in a Cuban inspired firing squad.
There were parties throughout the UK when Thatcher died also, why must we celebrate his life, he was a brutal dictator, I am glad I was not born Cuban in his time.
There were parties throughout the UK when Thatcher died also, why must we celebrate his life, he was a brutal dictator, I am glad I was not born Cuban in his time.
3
While reading some American history earlier this year, I learned that Thomas Jefferson was eager to obtain Cuba to be part of the United States. How different history would have been, but who knows how it would have all turned out.
I was seven when the Cuban Missile Crisis happened. I'm glad I was too young to understand what was going on. It is frightening to read about even today.
I was seven when the Cuban Missile Crisis happened. I'm glad I was too young to understand what was going on. It is frightening to read about even today.
4
My father was a stoic, less talkative than Gary Cooper in "High Noon." But one Saturday afternoon in October 1962 he came rushing into the den, turned on the TV, and said, "There's going to be a war!" That sure got my attention, age 11.
In later years our Jersey Shore newspaper sometimes showed a photo of a Russian nuclear bomber that had flown over the North Pole, down the US east coast to Cuba, probing the USAF defenses along the way, in our sector escorted by F-106's from the NJ Air Guard base nearby, which carried a Genie nuclear missile. The F-106 still holds the single-engine speed record of 1400 mph approx., it was "purpose built" to attack incoming Soviet bomber fleets, as seen in the film "Dr. Strangelove."
In later years our Jersey Shore newspaper sometimes showed a photo of a Russian nuclear bomber that had flown over the North Pole, down the US east coast to Cuba, probing the USAF defenses along the way, in our sector escorted by F-106's from the NJ Air Guard base nearby, which carried a Genie nuclear missile. The F-106 still holds the single-engine speed record of 1400 mph approx., it was "purpose built" to attack incoming Soviet bomber fleets, as seen in the film "Dr. Strangelove."
A truly great man has died. Now the Fidel Legend takes over. Fidel will be remembered for centuries to come, provided so-called civilization survives rapidly accelerating Climate Change. The Fidel Legend has just begun.
15
Clearly you have not endured the difficulties and tragedy of Cuban families in the space of 50 years. The outcome of the Cuban revolution is poverty, separation and lack of freedom. Nothing to celebrate.
3
Agreed - a great murdering dictator who used his secret service goons to arrest, torture and kill anyone who did not want to live under Communism.
Yes, a great murderer and torturer
Yes, a great murderer and torturer
4
There are not many Americans who would agree with you, but I do. I believe he is a great hero. The Cubans have universal health care, education, child care, one of the cleanest environments in the world with 20% of the land put aside for conservation. So many Cubans have led a decent life because of his policies.
Fidel dying means nothing because Cuba is still under Communist rule and will be for at least another 20/30 years with his brother Raul in power, unless, a Cuban "Patriot" can get to him and end the suffering of the Cuban people!!!
9
Trump has enough incentive and resources to get him or buy him. The Cuban people are desperate and tired, and Raul is not Fidel.
1
The U.S. and displaced Cubans never forgave Castro because he threw the mafia out of Cuba. While the U.S. spent decades manipulating politics in Latin and South America, helped to overthrow democratically elected governments, supported death squads, and assassinated those it didn't like, it tried to both assassinate and discredit Castro. That he survived was why he was so well liked.
15
And, he served as a useful enemy - we could point our fingers (and guns) at him and perpetuate the false meme of his threat to democracy and our way of life…and then go take over Honduras, Haiti, and any other country who didn't jump when we said jump.
The mafia essentially owned Havana before the revolution. Batista was as corrupt as they come. I have even read a story told by an American gangster of a young JFK cavorting with two prostitutes in Havana before he was elected as president. He watched him through a two way mirror.
Trump might signal to his casino buddies that Havana will be open for business again.
Trump might signal to his casino buddies that Havana will be open for business again.
3
There is no need for 'a signal'. Trump's international advertising campaign promoting and announcing "free market corruption" has already penetrated the scheming minds of every despot and crook and the world.
Those that can't compete will simply offer tribute.
Those that can't compete will simply offer tribute.
1
Maybe something will be gained by his passing, like opening up the country, burying the Hatchet carried by so many who had plenty of bones to pick with him
One man's Revolutionary is another man's savior....Castro wore it like a glove...
Maybe the US Mafia can contribute to cover losses suffered by normal citizens prior to 1959, just a thought....
One man's Revolutionary is another man's savior....Castro wore it like a glove...
Maybe the US Mafia can contribute to cover losses suffered by normal citizens prior to 1959, just a thought....
2
Since the Mafia has always worked with the military (Italy 1945), perhaps both the military and the mafia can compensate those whose property and assets were taken by Castro. In return, we'll let them get back their casino's and build back their costs and expenses with the drugs, prostitution, influence peddling and exploitation of the Cuban people they enjoyed under the Batista regime.
I don't know about contributing, but there's very good odds that they'll strive to make up for lost time, and perhaps even recover THEIR losses since 1959 in the process.
As for the Cuban people, their lives hang on the whims of the "compassion" that comes along with their new (or soon to be new) US influenced conservative government. In the end, perhaps, serfdom is a step up from abject poverty.
As for the Cuban people, their lives hang on the whims of the "compassion" that comes along with their new (or soon to be new) US influenced conservative government. In the end, perhaps, serfdom is a step up from abject poverty.
He wore it like an iron glove hammering down on the Cuban People. Castro was even worst than President Batista was to the Cuban people.
1
My mother was raised in Cuba. She suffered poverty and malnutrition, and was taken out of school at an early age and put to work in a factory. When Castro came to power, she said that she didn't believe in Communism (she was very much against Stalin) but that now Cuban children would have enough to eat, and a decent education. She was right.
13
Not very impressive, food and schooling. Cuba could have been 1000 times better had the USSR not purchased it.
Really, Charles? Schooling is free through college for all Cubans. Compare that to the U.S., where you have to mortgage the rest of your life to pay for college. Considering how that island nation has suffered under the embargo, they've done miracles.
1
I went to state college, costs were nominal, Martha. Wife is a Penn grad '75, Santa Clara U master's 2012, and daughter Berkeley 2008 grad and master's SF State 2011.
None of the costs were bankrupting, or onerous, not even close.
None of the costs were bankrupting, or onerous, not even close.
All flesh is grass.
1
Good riddance to an old tyrant. He could have done his country a bigger favor had he died earlier.
14
In southern Africa, in the fields of Angola, lie the remains of hundreds of Cuban soldiers, sent to fight on behalf of Castro's Soviet puppet masters in a war of national liberation (sound familiar?) against Angola's Portuguese colonizers in the 1970s. The Kremlin said, "Jump, fidelistas!", and boy did they jump! Of course in return for Protection & Welfare the Russians got the best coffee and rum and cigars from their tropical vacation land, Cuba.
9
As did the rest of Europe and South America - who saw opportunity there, not a threat.
Actually, the Soviets were against Cubans being in Angola. There is a historian named Piero Gleijeses that read thousands of documents and shows a very different side. Worth the read.
1
I am a reader who believes Castro did far more harm to Cuba than benefit. Until Cuba gets rid of it's current ruling autocracy, there is small hope for improving the lot of it's people.
15
As a "reader" you need to "read more" and better understand the role Castro played for the US - providing us with an "evil-doer" whose presence was used as an excuse for our hegemonic foreign policy that continues to this day in South America.
All Cubans are poor but most have a lot better than US citizens who worry about food, healthcare, education, and childcare. Think how happy most Americans would be if all those worries were eliminated from their lives.
Cuba will be better once the US lifts it's brutal embargo.
The power of the NYT in the making of Fidel was surprising to me. I can't help to compare it to the current megalomaniac soon to be in office and his interaction w the media and the NYT.
4
Communist Dictator Dies. He finally managed to do what he could never succeed in accomplishing in life....becoming a good Communist.
6
Armando Valladares, political prisoner of the Castro regime, describes his incarceration in his book, "Against All Odds":
"For me, it meant 8,000 days of hunger, of systematic beatings, of hard labor, of solitary confinement and solitude, 8,000 days of struggling to prove that I was a human being, 8,000 days of proving that my spirit could triumph over exhaustion and pain, 8,000 days of testing my religious convictions, my faith, of fighting the hate my atheist jailers were trying to instill in me with each bayonet thrust, fighting so that hate would not flourish in my heart, 8,000 days of struggling so that I would not become like them."
Describing his thoughts on Che Guevara:
""He was a man full of hatred ... Che Guevara executed dozens and dozens of people who never once stood trial and were never declared guilty … In his own words, he said the following: 'At the smallest of doubt we must execute.' And that's what he did at the Sierra Maestra and the prison of Las Cabanas."
-- Wikipedia
"For me, it meant 8,000 days of hunger, of systematic beatings, of hard labor, of solitary confinement and solitude, 8,000 days of struggling to prove that I was a human being, 8,000 days of proving that my spirit could triumph over exhaustion and pain, 8,000 days of testing my religious convictions, my faith, of fighting the hate my atheist jailers were trying to instill in me with each bayonet thrust, fighting so that hate would not flourish in my heart, 8,000 days of struggling so that I would not become like them."
Describing his thoughts on Che Guevara:
""He was a man full of hatred ... Che Guevara executed dozens and dozens of people who never once stood trial and were never declared guilty … In his own words, he said the following: 'At the smallest of doubt we must execute.' And that's what he did at the Sierra Maestra and the prison of Las Cabanas."
-- Wikipedia
11
Yes…terrible. And we have Guantanamo, CIA extradition prisons located across the globe, overthrown dozens of leaders and countries that "opposed" us, killed and bombed a few million innocent victims of our illegal and unjust wars, displaced millions of men, women and children in the Middle East, waged wars against countries whose natural resources (oil and gas) we coveted and expropriated…but we did it, so it's okay, right?
1
extradition prisons located across the globe, overthrown dozens of leaders and countries that "opposed" us
--------------------------
Please list just one dozen (12) examples, with dates. Be specific.
--------------------------
Please list just one dozen (12) examples, with dates. Be specific.
Good riddance! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pa62EEsR6E
7
Cuba's long time Dictator is dead and who knows how many people were tortured and died in his prisons during those 90 years. Of all the media only Fox News, in the headline, of their article, mentioned the basic fact that he was a dictator
15
A huge piece of land in Cuba remained and remains, "American", Guantanamo Naval Base. "The United States assumed territorial control over the southern portion of Guantánamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban–American Treaty. The United States exercises complete jurisdiction and control over this territory, while recognizing that Cuba retains ultimate sovereignty." Wikipedia. Why no mention of the base or of Fidel Castro's attitude towards the base given his antipathy for the U.S.?
4
Why no mention of the base? Because of the hypocrisy of our foreign policy toward Cuba, and the useful nature of Castro's government - one which we have used as an excuse to continue our militarism in our own hemisphere to this very day.
At the very least, Cuba's example should make us reflect on our own path. A system where wealth and exclusion, not citizens, are given more attention, is a system that has led us to a point where a clueless, untrained megalomaniac is positioned to lead the "free" world. No system is perfect but it is worth learning from one that placed high value on its citizens' education and health and on sustainable development. Why can we not come up with a hybrid system where the wealth from the free market subsidizes education and healthcare? Human greed is sickening and the 1% who cling to their billions would do well to remember that it's all the same in a hundred years... no one will remember them and no one will care about them. However, if they help fund education and healthcare, their names will be etched in history along with the great leaders of our times. Are any of the 1% up to the challenge?
8
Or the 99%'ers whose blindness to The Hillary Brands® iniquity and greed would have continued the downward path and spiral that has affected us.
Cuba, despite the failings of the few in power, certainly helped the millions who needed better education and healthcare. And you are right - that alone makes the country worthy of emulation.
Cuba, despite the failings of the few in power, certainly helped the millions who needed better education and healthcare. And you are right - that alone makes the country worthy of emulation.
1
I think he's just proven that dictators can live a very long life. Donald should take heart. The rest of us should not.
5
Thank you for this insightful summary of a legendary figure. Castro's legacy will be debated for centuries. Replacing the despotism of Batista with the despotism of Fidel was on balance positive, but still difficult to accept. Jeffersonian democracy remains the standard for enlightened government and Cuba has yet to achieve that.
1
Castro did not " .. bring the cold war to the western hemisphere...". That was the U.S.'s doing. By refusing to recognize, then attempting to thwart a badly-needed revolution in a country mired in a U.S.- controlled playground for the rich and decadent, the U.S. made an enemy of Castro and the whole Cuban people, driving them into the arms of the Soviet Union and Communism. One of the most atrocious mistakes of U.S. foreign policy ever, on par with Vietnam and Iraq 2002.
18
Not true. Castro was already a communist at least as far back as his undergrad days at the University of Havana. (In 1948, he even traveled to Bolivia-- on the USSR's dime-- to help orchestrate the supposedly spontaneous riots that were planned to follow the assassination of Pres. Gaitain, an event now known as the "Bogotazo".) The US government DID recognize the need for change in Cuba and shifted its begrudging support (which mainly consisted of recognizing Batista's regime and allowing it to buy US-made arms at full retail prices) to Fidel. At the time, Fidel was saying all of the right things. He was claiming that he would restore democracy, institute honest government, and respect property rights. He didn't mean a word of it, but the CIA, which should have known better, gave him $50K and some small arms anyway. Fidel's friends in the Cuban socialist (actually communist) party gave him $800K. Please stop parroting pro-Castro propaganda.
3
Prior to 1959, tell us where the Cold War was active in this hemisphere. Be specific. Good luck.
Spot on, Rude Man! We are doing that now with Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, Iraq, and a host of other nations. We have tasted hegemonic power and it has corrupted us utterly.
1
I suppose the CIA can end it's plot to kill Fidel Castro.
And now the final Communist domino has fallen in our favor!!
And now the final Communist domino has fallen in our favor!!
Mr. Castro, like Che, remains the poster child for the cult of the personality. Always a figure of near mythical proportions, we in America should remind ourselves every day of the danger of fawning all over the bravado and hyperbole of Trump, just as many in the world did over Fidel.
May Cuba realize her full potential, hopefully aided by her 90-miles-away neighbor now facing the exact same kind of leader.
May Cuba realize her full potential, hopefully aided by her 90-miles-away neighbor now facing the exact same kind of leader.
2
Fidel gave Latin America and many other countries, what self-righteous Yanks will never understand: Self-Respect.
After being oppressed, colonized, and humiliated by American Imperialism for over a century, Latin America, thanks to Fidel and the Cuban revolution, understood that no matter how small and poor their country may be, it was possible for them to stand up straight and proud and refuse to live under the boot of American political and economic oppression.
It is easy to pass judgement with the tunnel vision that comes from being the oppressors, the empire.
Castro was not perfect. However, the US has always propped up, armed and backed brutal military dictators (Including Cuba's own Fulgencio Batista), as long as they did the bidding to US political and economic interests. Castro did not, and therefore the full might of the American propaganda and clandestine operations were unleashed against him for over fifty years.
Castro died proud and in peace, knowing that Cuba still belong to Cubans.
After being oppressed, colonized, and humiliated by American Imperialism for over a century, Latin America, thanks to Fidel and the Cuban revolution, understood that no matter how small and poor their country may be, it was possible for them to stand up straight and proud and refuse to live under the boot of American political and economic oppression.
It is easy to pass judgement with the tunnel vision that comes from being the oppressors, the empire.
Castro was not perfect. However, the US has always propped up, armed and backed brutal military dictators (Including Cuba's own Fulgencio Batista), as long as they did the bidding to US political and economic interests. Castro did not, and therefore the full might of the American propaganda and clandestine operations were unleashed against him for over fifty years.
Castro died proud and in peace, knowing that Cuba still belong to Cubans.
26
Well said, Xaume!
People are forgetting the human rights abuses in cuba where freedom of association, expression, travel abroad dont exist. 1.5 million exiles prove that economic polices failed even if education and health factors did well.
Thousands of political prisoners were executed and jailed and dissent of ant kind was met with oppression. Cuba remains a failure of communism even if if certain health factors are better than the US.
Thousands of political prisoners were executed and jailed and dissent of ant kind was met with oppression. Cuba remains a failure of communism even if if certain health factors are better than the US.
14
The supreme irony of it all. A lifetime fighting against capitalism and then he dies on Black Friday. Exquisite.
16
Castro held on to power longer than Queen Elizabeth II. She is holding on to power? Well, I guess according to DePalma and the New York Times. His death comes as no surprise for me, I knew smoking those cigars would get to him. Like smoking is endangering my health at 85, having daily smoked two to three packs of cigarette for the past 65 years.
3
Man, first Trump beats Clinton, now Castro dies -- truly a month of Thanksgiving.
6
We can both agree on the Castro bit. Your tune is likely to change about the first part.
2
Revolutionary? More like good riddance despot.
6
Yesterday I read that England has had a huge spike in hospitalizations from malnutrition. Apparently, the government has cut out all kinds of supports for older people and they are basically starving to death. I vividly remember the Cuban missile crisis. I have no love for Fidel. But Cuba, before Fidel, was a den of iniquity, poverty, and illiteracy, and we had a lot to do with it. A few made out great, and the majority of people didn't. Their revolution is completely understandable. Now Trump is bashing Fidel but thinks Putin is great. The guy should try for a minimal amount of consistency about dictators.
2
Of course we can't unwind history and see what the future of Cuba would have been without the constant US pressure, pressure, pressure the invasion, the boycott, the economic sabotage, (the assasination attempts) which made it so easy to slide from defense of the revolution to mistrusting internal critics, and turned the Cubans inexorably toward dependency on the Soviets and their economic model.
Caught between the wrath of the American enemy and the ministrations of the Soviet "friends like these..." the Cubans struggled to find their way, often adding their own "unforced errors." Castro's outsize personality was probably both necessary and a necessary evil. Yet it was also always encouraging to see a nation and a leader willing to stand up to the United States in a principled way, to take the blows with a certain pride, to have at least the aspiration to reduce inequality, to symbolize the possibllity of different models of society and development.
Caught between the wrath of the American enemy and the ministrations of the Soviet "friends like these..." the Cubans struggled to find their way, often adding their own "unforced errors." Castro's outsize personality was probably both necessary and a necessary evil. Yet it was also always encouraging to see a nation and a leader willing to stand up to the United States in a principled way, to take the blows with a certain pride, to have at least the aspiration to reduce inequality, to symbolize the possibllity of different models of society and development.
5
I'm glad Castro has passed on, but I fear we may now have a version of Castro of our own. What is most upsetting in our situation is to see how quickly republicans who seemed to show character and principle in denouncing Trump, have quickly lit up with the possibility of advancement and line up for their anticipated rewards. Castro and Trump; two master Machiavellians.
3
Obviously, his legacy is a mixed bag. The positives including defeating the corrupt and murderous Batista regime and significantly improving health care and education. The negatives including a failed economic policy and a repressive regime. Neither of these are easy to ignore.
However, I do take some issue with the "if only he had gone a different route after the revolution" arguments. Let's not forget that Castro initially was open to the US, but that Eisenhower and the Cuban exiles decided they should do everything they could to oust him from power - driving him directly into the arms of the USSR. Doesn't excuse all his actions, but certainly helps understand them.
However, I do take some issue with the "if only he had gone a different route after the revolution" arguments. Let's not forget that Castro initially was open to the US, but that Eisenhower and the Cuban exiles decided they should do everything they could to oust him from power - driving him directly into the arms of the USSR. Doesn't excuse all his actions, but certainly helps understand them.
5
If there's one thing we should have learned from the last couple of years in the USA, it's that you should never paint any politician or any issue with broad strokes. I urge everybody on both sides of the love/hate Castro and Cuba issue to read more and pay attention.
3
There are people on this comment board who are praising Fidel Castro and I find that astonishing. They have not had to live under this Communist regime and suffer the indignities and worse bestowed upon his people.
It is very easy to admire an oppressive government when you live in a Democracy like the United States and experience the lap of luxury. Castro was an evil man who had freedoms which were not given to his citizens. He was a brutal man and should not be given one ounce of admiration. He was ruthkess and a murderer and not a legacy in which to be proud. He will be judged accordingly.
It is very easy to admire an oppressive government when you live in a Democracy like the United States and experience the lap of luxury. Castro was an evil man who had freedoms which were not given to his citizens. He was a brutal man and should not be given one ounce of admiration. He was ruthkess and a murderer and not a legacy in which to be proud. He will be judged accordingly.
17
I went to college in Florida in the early 1970s and had teachers whose families had to flee the brutal and evil Castro regime. I remember Mrs. Delgado, a wonderful teacher, used to make hilarious jokes about Mr. Fidel Castro and would have us in stitches. Her parents and many others like them came here with just the clothes on their backs. They were not allowed to take one cent out of the country. I also knew Cuban students whose parents left and they told me horrendous stories of his cruelty towards his own people. These were some of the nicest and kindest people I had ever encountered and I immediately felt almost hatred for this evil man.
Castro killed many of his countrymen and was one of the worst repressors of human rights in the world. I cannot say I am sad to see him pass away. I cannot judge him as I will allow God to do that.
Castro killed many of his countrymen and was one of the worst repressors of human rights in the world. I cannot say I am sad to see him pass away. I cannot judge him as I will allow God to do that.
11
Beautifully done obit, thanks. I visited Cuba in 2001 for a sustainability conference hosted by the government; the economy with three currencies seemed very unsustainable. The "special period" since the end of Soviet support in 1994 had caused an average Cuban to lose 10 pounds from lack of food. Hordes of hitchhikers because public transit between cities so bad. People living in their garage or one room so as to earn $25/night lodging tourists (like AirBNB) when government professionals allegedly got less pay for an entire month. I never understood why socialist leaders like Fidel determined they had to be undemocratic dictators. Kudos to Presidents Clinton and Obama for trying to normalize instead of antagonize; Cubans have surely suffered enough.
1
The Toronto Star's headline today represents a perspective that is common in Canada: "Cuba's Fidel Castro, who defied U.S. for 50 years, has died". It is important not to forget the role that the U.S. played in Central and South America (and elsewhere, and up to the present day).
6
A murderer plain and simple. Thousands of innocent Cubans executed on his orders because they held a different political opinion. Castro urged--yes urged the Soviets to fire their ICBMs onto the American mainland in 1962 which would have killed millions of our countrymen. Even the Soviets thought he was a menace to stability. Good riddance.
7
Good riddance. Take a look at Venezuela. Another great accomplishment of socialism.
10
I am no supporter of Castro but this article is deeply flawed. The reporter presents a one-sided and American-centric view, with no discussion of the historic conditions that the U.S. fomented to bring Cuba to a position where Castro could thrive.
There are parallels between the corrupt governments that the U.S. enabled prior to Castro and the conditions in the Middle East, both of which gave rise to home-grown revolutions that spun out of control. But this article ignores that history. I expect better of the New York Times.
There are parallels between the corrupt governments that the U.S. enabled prior to Castro and the conditions in the Middle East, both of which gave rise to home-grown revolutions that spun out of control. But this article ignores that history. I expect better of the New York Times.
8
That's because the middle east was out of control before Columbus landed in the Bahamas.
1
That's because this is an obituary.
This article claims that Castro 'held on to power' longer than any living national leader except from Queen Elizabeth II of England. The comparison is misleading; The Queen has never 'led' England in the way Castro led Cuba, has never made decisions about British government policy (internal or external); Since her role is ceremonial, not executive, she doesn't have any power to 'hold on to.' I wonder if anyone on the NYT editorial staff understands this.
9
And Castro never had to worry about pesky things like elections.
6
Good: a megalomaniacal, petty, odious, and duplicitous tin pot despot has finally been expunged.
Now if only some others would follow suit quickly!
Now if only some others would follow suit quickly!
6
I can hardly have anticipated finding myself composing something related to Castro. But here I am attempting to do just that. I can take a holiday from Trump watching and analyzing, day after day to the point of absolute and enervating exhaustion. And, so the great man has finally passed over into better climes, perhaps even to heaven.
Waxing cynical will hardly bring me any comfort, and, yet, there is some consolation in realizing that President Carter had once hoped to intervene and confront the generalized and hysterical paranoia which is the real stuff that underpins almost all American thinking. Carter always deserved a better press, for among American presidents there is a kind special innocence in that man and, I believe, that many Americans have, actually, come to a similar conclusion. Of course, he once seemed almost silly“lusting in his heart” But your article points out that even the Pope himself had ideas on America-Cuba. And, Obama, in his last days, is at least sensing that, after all, something was, indeed, “rotten in the state of Denmark” and, thus, the problem of Cuba vs. America needed a fresh re-evaluation. Unfortunately, for all his innate decency, he is also not a strong personality—even to those who had, once upon a time, admired him greatly.
Peace be unto you, Castro and, wherever your eternal dwelling place might turn out to be, enjoy the rest which every human being deserves.
Waxing cynical will hardly bring me any comfort, and, yet, there is some consolation in realizing that President Carter had once hoped to intervene and confront the generalized and hysterical paranoia which is the real stuff that underpins almost all American thinking. Carter always deserved a better press, for among American presidents there is a kind special innocence in that man and, I believe, that many Americans have, actually, come to a similar conclusion. Of course, he once seemed almost silly“lusting in his heart” But your article points out that even the Pope himself had ideas on America-Cuba. And, Obama, in his last days, is at least sensing that, after all, something was, indeed, “rotten in the state of Denmark” and, thus, the problem of Cuba vs. America needed a fresh re-evaluation. Unfortunately, for all his innate decency, he is also not a strong personality—even to those who had, once upon a time, admired him greatly.
Peace be unto you, Castro and, wherever your eternal dwelling place might turn out to be, enjoy the rest which every human being deserves.
1
Another one of the long list of dictators that oppressed Latin America, he should have been dead long ago, but God has mysterious ways..
3
In Cuba, as in Vietnam, the US, instead of helping a native leader's movement to right a wrong, did the opposite, and the suffering of millions for decades is our collective responsibility.
While Castro, unlike Ho Chi Minh (who asked the US to lean on France to cease its colonial rule on Vietnam), did not directly approach US authorities for help in removing the dictator Batista, he would not have spurned such assistance, whether offered openly or clandestinely. But, no, Batista was top dog, and mean, too, and was in power thanks to US help, provided at the urging of US companies in business and in cahoots with Batista. Follow the money.
With Fidel dead and Raoul not getting any younger, will Trump, in his and the Republicans' desire to strip out every stitch in the fabric of Obama's foreign policy moves, back out of the rapprochement Obama initiated with Cuba and then double down by implementing an even stricter embargo on than before? Or will this be one of those rare areas where the House and Senate Republicans refuse to roll over if Trump decides there is money to be poured into the Trump brand by opening full diplomatic relations with Havana? Oh, the irony of a human good deriving from a politically unethical act of greed.
While Castro, unlike Ho Chi Minh (who asked the US to lean on France to cease its colonial rule on Vietnam), did not directly approach US authorities for help in removing the dictator Batista, he would not have spurned such assistance, whether offered openly or clandestinely. But, no, Batista was top dog, and mean, too, and was in power thanks to US help, provided at the urging of US companies in business and in cahoots with Batista. Follow the money.
With Fidel dead and Raoul not getting any younger, will Trump, in his and the Republicans' desire to strip out every stitch in the fabric of Obama's foreign policy moves, back out of the rapprochement Obama initiated with Cuba and then double down by implementing an even stricter embargo on than before? Or will this be one of those rare areas where the House and Senate Republicans refuse to roll over if Trump decides there is money to be poured into the Trump brand by opening full diplomatic relations with Havana? Oh, the irony of a human good deriving from a politically unethical act of greed.
1
I see a lot of simple minded comments on here. The history of Cuba and Fidel are not simple.
It defies expectation that Fidel outlived so many US Presidents. The history of Castro is a long and sordid one. He obviously is very polarizing. Yet for many poor and non-white countries outside of Cuba he was seen my many as a hero (see Nelson Mandela and his communications). He was able to lead a revolution because Cuba itself was very corrupt and had very steep economic imbalances - of which the majority were not happy. Unfortunately he became a communist and became repressive himself and killed many opposed to him. At the same time - he did make sure Cubans have access to education and healthcare - and helped other poor nations with those things. The question is what will happen to Cuba in the future. Will it return to a racially and economically imbalanced society with the lighter skinned being prosperous and the brown and black living in poverty and squalor? Or will it became narcotics trafficking and street gang infested like many other nations in the US's backyard? Time will tell. Let's hope the Cuban people can decide for themselves without too much outside agitation and too much internal spooking.
It defies expectation that Fidel outlived so many US Presidents. The history of Castro is a long and sordid one. He obviously is very polarizing. Yet for many poor and non-white countries outside of Cuba he was seen my many as a hero (see Nelson Mandela and his communications). He was able to lead a revolution because Cuba itself was very corrupt and had very steep economic imbalances - of which the majority were not happy. Unfortunately he became a communist and became repressive himself and killed many opposed to him. At the same time - he did make sure Cubans have access to education and healthcare - and helped other poor nations with those things. The question is what will happen to Cuba in the future. Will it return to a racially and economically imbalanced society with the lighter skinned being prosperous and the brown and black living in poverty and squalor? Or will it became narcotics trafficking and street gang infested like many other nations in the US's backyard? Time will tell. Let's hope the Cuban people can decide for themselves without too much outside agitation and too much internal spooking.
2
How does it defy expectations? We've had presidents live into their nineties.
The big difference is that we, in the US, have presidential elections every four years. Castro never had to worry about details like that.
Think about it like this. Vanity Fair had an article a few years ago and listed him, a communist, as the wealthiest non-royal head of state in the world. In one of the world's poorest countries.
The big difference is that we, in the US, have presidential elections every four years. Castro never had to worry about details like that.
Think about it like this. Vanity Fair had an article a few years ago and listed him, a communist, as the wealthiest non-royal head of state in the world. In one of the world's poorest countries.
4
How does it defy expectation?? Ummmm - maybe because he was 90 miles away from the most powerful country in the world who tried to assassinate him numerous times and backed an invasion against him...
And what do elections have to do with it? Many dictators never live that long. As to his wealth... Vanity Fair? Oh boy.
And what do elections have to do with it? Many dictators never live that long. As to his wealth... Vanity Fair? Oh boy.
I am appalled by all the praise being showered on this Caribbean Hitler by both Times readers and the paper of record itself. Millions of people suffered and died at the blood-drenched hands of this self-obsessed tyrant. Praising Cuba's educational and healthcare system under Castro is on a par with praising the creation of the Volkswagen under the Nazis as a national achievement. Yeah, the medical system worked just fine, especially if you were a political prisoner in need of mind-fixing electroshock therapy straight out of Orwell's 1984.
Castro was a ruthless dictator in every sense of the word who sought to spread his brand of fascist Communism from Nicarague to Angola aborad while suppressing freedom and torturning and murdering political oponents at home. He risked nuclear war with America bringing ICBMs in Cuba and devastated south Florida with the Marielito boatlift. For starters.
Comparing Castro benignly next to Donald Trump is, as seems epidemic here, is not a reflection on Donald Trump, but a reflection of just how fevered and mad the collective left-wing mind is today, or whatever is left of it after Trump's election. Yes, keep calling Trump supporters Nazis while you praise murderous bloodthirsty tyrants like Castro. Like John Lennon said, "when you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow." Food for thought.
Castro was a ruthless dictator in every sense of the word who sought to spread his brand of fascist Communism from Nicarague to Angola aborad while suppressing freedom and torturning and murdering political oponents at home. He risked nuclear war with America bringing ICBMs in Cuba and devastated south Florida with the Marielito boatlift. For starters.
Comparing Castro benignly next to Donald Trump is, as seems epidemic here, is not a reflection on Donald Trump, but a reflection of just how fevered and mad the collective left-wing mind is today, or whatever is left of it after Trump's election. Yes, keep calling Trump supporters Nazis while you praise murderous bloodthirsty tyrants like Castro. Like John Lennon said, "when you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow." Food for thought.
25
A long overdue Goodbye to one of the biggest thieves in history, a crook who was behind the theft, (polite word = expropriation), of billions of dollars of property and funds owned by Cubans, Americans, and others in Cuba.
18
Perhaps Cuban commenters might provide some necessary insight apparently lacking among the rather innocent sentiments expressed on these pages. Against All Hope by Valladares is a good initial read. Otherwise, Cuba indeed displays many positive attributes, but those are more a product of the people and their intelligence and ambition, than anything ever done by the Castro, or any other, regime.
4
It would take more than a Freudian or Lacanian psychoanalyst to explain why non-Cuban Castroists accept the demythification of the Communist leaders of Eastern Europe and China but remain mesmerized by El Commandante.
9
The comparison with Queen Elizabeth is thought-proking. An isolated nation with a reputation for good food and music, natural beauty, and rusted automobiles. The other, a 21st century nation with world class universities, cultural achievements, immigration problems, class warfare. One is a nation of free people, the other a nation of fearful and misguided (your call a to which is which). But If someone asked me which one to go to tomorrow, it would be Cuba, hands down. Cuba might be one of the last “living” 20th century cultures, perhaps a last chance to revisit simpler yet still modern lives.
As for Castro, he just makes me wary of the charismatic. He and Che got way too much positive attention for killing those who disagreed with them. Can’t say I admire him overall, considering the actual arrogance it takes to keep an entire nation prisoner of your own ideology.
As for Castro, he just makes me wary of the charismatic. He and Che got way too much positive attention for killing those who disagreed with them. Can’t say I admire him overall, considering the actual arrogance it takes to keep an entire nation prisoner of your own ideology.
10
My family woke me up. They were jubilant. I felt like crying. What made it possible for a tyrant, an ego maniac, to rule a nation for fifty seven years? A failure of a man and a ruler. In 1959, our island nation had a strong middle class, great infrastructure, but, Cuba had suffered from a series of corrupt politicians. Since then, Cuba has survived but crumbled, among the ruins of mismanagement and no incentives to produce, the Cuban working force has lost its sense of purpose and have stopped planning for the future. What came out of this dream revolution? Nothing but failure. Families separated, their traditions forgotten. How could it happened? First, our geographical position as an island. Second, the flight of two million Cubans leaving to the United States of America and waiting for a miracle to happen ninety miles to the south. And then, the help we send our love ones who remained in the island. I am thinking of what we lost. I think of my paternal grandfather, Pablo Garcia Roch, a stowaway from The Canary Islands. Poor but hard working, intelligent, and determined, he was able to give his ten children and their descendants land and wealth. I think of Cuba, my family, my friends and I feel like crying.
14
I apologize for writing fifty seven years. My mistake, it was forty seven years.
2
Many American will undoubtedly dump on Mr. Castro and Communism, but let's just look at one important aspect of Cuba compared with the United States/Cuba has an infant mortality rate of 4.83 deaths per 1000 live births compared with the USA at 6.1 deaths per 1000. And if you include the less well off states such as Alabama then some states are even higher. Alabama has an infant mortality rate of 8.17 deaths per 1000 live births, which is even behind Lebanon.
Every Cuban has access to a doctor free of charge (not the for profit medical system in the USA), and there is no hierarchal levels as in the USA (the rich have better access to the medical system than do the less well-off).
Cuba has less unemployment that in the USA:
(citation: http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/1-18/United-States-vs-Cuba)
Cuba has a higher literacy rate (99% versus 86% in the USA):
Citation: http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/1-18/United-States-vs-Cuba
Of course, the country is communist and there is only a small amount of free enterprise comported to the USA, but when you look at the "basics", one got to wonder how the USA lags behind Cuba in some of the more-important areas!
Every Cuban has access to a doctor free of charge (not the for profit medical system in the USA), and there is no hierarchal levels as in the USA (the rich have better access to the medical system than do the less well-off).
Cuba has less unemployment that in the USA:
(citation: http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/1-18/United-States-vs-Cuba)
Cuba has a higher literacy rate (99% versus 86% in the USA):
Citation: http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/1-18/United-States-vs-Cuba
Of course, the country is communist and there is only a small amount of free enterprise comported to the USA, but when you look at the "basics", one got to wonder how the USA lags behind Cuba in some of the more-important areas!
19
are you in a prison cell in Montreal? if not pack your bags and move there! you can have your two chickens and 5 pounds of rice per month to live on. I would take Alabama over Cuba any day! i was there and did not see anything to cause me to move!
6
Castro was just about on the same par as Mao. They both started out as conscientious reformers of a unjust and more or less financially foreign occupied countries. They both espoused Communism as the system to use in reforms. Castro was always more violent than Mao in his approach with Che Guevara at his side in the beginning. Che was in many ways the real impetus behind the Cuban revolution . Castro managed to get rid of him as well. Then based on their relative political successes both Mao and Castro became drunk with power, unrealistic in their expectations, egotistical beyond even the extraordinary we are used to in our celebrities here in the USA. They ignored all proprieties, all necessary restrictions, became abusive, lacking any sympathy to anyone who even mildly criticized them. They became what they were once fighting against: the arrogant, extremely dangerous, coddled, despot who can take whatever he wants, whenever he wants and use it to his satisfaction.
72
Majortrout--Interesting comparison of "infant mortality." Your apparent agenda, with this comment, is suspicious.
2
The the biggest difference between Fidel Castro and Pablo Escobar? Context.
4
I think you could say that about almost any Northamerican leader. To paraphrase a line from The Godfather, if you don't think "legitimate" politicians engage in dark and deadly activity, you're the one who's being naive.
2
Fidel Castro. Hugo Chavez. Salvador Allende. Manuel Noriega. Viktor Yanukovych. Vladimir Putin. No one escapes defying American exceptionalism.
Except Fidel.
And maybe Vlad.
Except Fidel.
And maybe Vlad.
5
OK, I do think it is fair to point that the opening sentence for the NY Times obituary of Augusto Pinochet--Margaret Thatcher's favorite--was quite different. Pinochet died almost 10 years ago in December 2006. First sentence from this newspaper's obit: "Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, the brutal dictator who repressed and reshaped Chile for nearly two decades and became a notorious symbol of human rights abuse and corruption, died yesterday at the Military Hospital of Santiago."
I'll concede that the anti-Castro fanatics have a point in wondering why the opening sentence for this obituary today is so different. And by the way, every time a king of Saudi Arabia dies I fully EXPECT the obit writers here to make explicit reference to the crazed, fanatical, intolerant ideology of Wahhabism that has wrecked societies around the world and has been fully backed by Saudi money and the Saudi royal family.
Every time a Saudi royal dies, New York Times. Every time.
I'll concede that the anti-Castro fanatics have a point in wondering why the opening sentence for this obituary today is so different. And by the way, every time a king of Saudi Arabia dies I fully EXPECT the obit writers here to make explicit reference to the crazed, fanatical, intolerant ideology of Wahhabism that has wrecked societies around the world and has been fully backed by Saudi money and the Saudi royal family.
Every time a Saudi royal dies, New York Times. Every time.
14
Glad you're keeping an eye on it.
This will make it easier for Trump to negotiate a casino deal in exchange for in infusion of American taxpayer money. And I'm counting on Trump ordering the IRS to make expenses at Trump properties tax deductible! Let's party like it's 1958!
2
The history of Matos parallels Trostky, if you differed with the leader, you are done, in communists circles is called revisionism, the cult of the personality have left 100 million dead. Is it advantageous for Cuba to have a famous but undemocratic leader, while the country is held back economically in the 60's?
3
Who were the Cubans that fled Cuba? Batista’s cronies and friends? Had they stayed, Cuba might not have become Castro’s land. But taking away their toys was too much for many of them, they left and then decried everything that was Castro. Read about Cuba not from interested parties but from distinguished writers who will give a realistic point of view!
17
Read Castro's Autobiography. Years ago, it was finally located in our Orange Public Library - in the basement. A friend who read it said it was very worth reading.
1
You know very little about this matter. I dated a Cuban girl whose prosperous family fled in 1960. That is, all but her uncle who was a highly respected doctor who chose to stay so that he could dedicate his life and work to the benefit of the people. To be brief, Castro had him locked up in prison where he rotted for 20 years. After his release, that uncle came to the USA where, once again, became a free man.
Not all wealthy people were cronies and friends of Batista. And those who chose to stay, who thought Castro would make Cuba a democracy, were duped and punished for just be part of the middle and upper classes. Castro lied. He was a tyrant who savaged Cuba.
Not all wealthy people were cronies and friends of Batista. And those who chose to stay, who thought Castro would make Cuba a democracy, were duped and punished for just be part of the middle and upper classes. Castro lied. He was a tyrant who savaged Cuba.
2
It is funny how western media continues to think that the missile crisis was some kind of win for the US. Before the crisis, the US bombed Cuban ships and factories, napalmed sugar cane fields, and applied military pressure like there was no tomorrow. The Soviets face nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy. When the crisis ended, the US removed the missiles in Turkey and Italy, they stopped bombing, stopped overflights (one US spy plane was shot down during the crisis with pilot killed), and in the end, promised not to invade Cuba. The Soviets only had to stop the installation of the missiles in Cuba, which before the crisis werent on the island but for a few months. The Cubans gave up nothing and they got security from the US aggression and the promise that there would be no further attaemps at invasion. I would say that the Russians and Cubans completely out foxed the Kennedys and that it was the US the gave up the most in the crisis. We should have expected this since Castro, a lawyer, and Che a medical doctor, both had IQ's that dwarfed those among decision makers in DC
8
S Nillissen--I doubt that any informed reader thinks the Cuban Missile crisis was a "win" for the United States. I think of it as an horrific near miss, and blame it on Kennedy.
Farewell to the man who made it necessary for my 4th grade teacher to train us to hide under our desks in preparation for a nuke attack.
13
That began long before Castro.
2
Surely the irony cannot escape us that a tyrant dies in America while another rises to power.
14
Would that such a remark might pass for an insight if not for grotesque false equivalency of (A) one with checks and balances, term limits as opposed to (B) the other's President for life's set of octogenarian caudillo rulers, Cuba is not a country that has an army but an army that has a country.
2
The view from Copenhagen may be somewhat dimmed by distance. What checks and balances: the cabinet?, congress?, the supreme court?
"Fidel" would be the blockbuster of the year if only Hollywood were brave enough and depict his story fairly, with the good and the bad that came with Castro and the revolution.
(or the TV drama of the year, or the theatre play of the year,..)
(or the TV drama of the year, or the theatre play of the year,..)
10
What good came from Castro revolution? It replaced one dictator with a worse one. Do you think people left on flimsy boats at the risk of themselves and their family's lives because the "revolution" freed them? One can see that the US media and Mr. Obama and friends think it is only "fair" that we follow his perverted dreams in this country. May God have pity on poor Fidel's soul. Not likely, as he didn't believe in God and only used the Church as a political tool.
2
I noticed, in particular< Castro's liberal use of the word "fatherland". The same word used by the nazis and adored by American liberals, clearly.
8
One of your odder comments, Walter, and that's no small thing to say.
6
I've never heard it uttered in Liberal circles. Your Republican conceptual bias
needs reflection.
needs reflection.
2
Why not say in the title of the article "dictator who tortured people"?
14
That would be like the pot calling the kettle black.
5
how convenient of you to forget our detention center in Guantanamo bay?
4
Did you have something to do with that? Are you a dictator? Probably not.
1
Here's a eulogy for you...16,000 political prisoners executed during peace time, 25,000 gays and other "deviants" sent to concentration camps, 26-year prison sentences for union leaders; inhumane prison conditions.. google: peacetime in the communist states .... Scroll down.
Excuse me if I shed no tears.
Excuse me if I shed no tears.
44
This sorta sounds familiar..."Mr. Castro, he was above all an old-style Spanish caudillo, one of a long line of Latin American strongmen who endeared themselves to people searching for leaders." Sorta sounds a lot like the GOP base, and those who voted for the "ONLY man with the skills to fix America"
Americans love strongmen, in the organized crime-sense. Love these archetypes, its a wonder Castro wasnt more liked in the US. Especially among the anti-government types in the right wing sects. He defied the US govt at every turn, with hardly much resources to do it with, never backed down and for decades and several administrations managed to drive every president a little nutty. Till finally Obama ended the silliness.
If there was ever an example of machismo run amok it was the relations between Castro and the US Congress.
The fate of Cuba now is going to be interesting to watch. With Fidel gone Raul has full control of the reigns. Will he keep normalizing relations, or suddenly pull back, and regroup? Personally, I hope Raul recognizes how the Cuban peoples sit on an environmental jewel, and keep the western developers under control and preserve the uniqueness of the Cuban eco-systems. It would be a shame to see such a unique eco-system ruined by western developers andtheir bribes and greed to build where they please, without care taken to do so in a truly green fashion. Cuba could be the Caribbean's best, and last real efforts at Green technology in action.
Americans love strongmen, in the organized crime-sense. Love these archetypes, its a wonder Castro wasnt more liked in the US. Especially among the anti-government types in the right wing sects. He defied the US govt at every turn, with hardly much resources to do it with, never backed down and for decades and several administrations managed to drive every president a little nutty. Till finally Obama ended the silliness.
If there was ever an example of machismo run amok it was the relations between Castro and the US Congress.
The fate of Cuba now is going to be interesting to watch. With Fidel gone Raul has full control of the reigns. Will he keep normalizing relations, or suddenly pull back, and regroup? Personally, I hope Raul recognizes how the Cuban peoples sit on an environmental jewel, and keep the western developers under control and preserve the uniqueness of the Cuban eco-systems. It would be a shame to see such a unique eco-system ruined by western developers andtheir bribes and greed to build where they please, without care taken to do so in a truly green fashion. Cuba could be the Caribbean's best, and last real efforts at Green technology in action.
12
Being at odds with the U.S. government did not make him "anti-government", lol. He WAS a government...a totalitarian one, which is about as far away from "anti-government" as it is possible to be.
That's why the "anti government types in the right wing sects" opposed Castro's never-ending "revolution", along with the never-ending retrograde "progress" being strong-armed by the left in the U.S.: because it's tyranny.
That's why the "anti government types in the right wing sects" opposed Castro's never-ending "revolution", along with the never-ending retrograde "progress" being strong-armed by the left in the U.S.: because it's tyranny.
1
Really. The most notable thing about this man is that he "defied US"?!?! Hitler did, too, but I doubt he would have received that sort of headline.
How about: "Fidel Castro, Murderous Tyrant Who Enslaved Tens of Millions, No Longer Wastes Earth's Oxygen"?
How about: "Fidel Castro, Murderous Tyrant Who Enslaved Tens of Millions, No Longer Wastes Earth's Oxygen"?
31
Wait, you're claiming that Germany prior to Hitler was comparable to Cuba before Castro in terms of being a lackey of American economic interests? I didn't know Germany once had a climate conducive to sugar cane cultivation. Was global warming really that bad in the 1920s?
3
Sorry for the irrelevant comment, but I'm just happy to wake up to an article on the front page of the NYT that isn't about Trump. Thank you, Fidel.
19
No surprise that the majority of recommended comments are from romantic leftists - the United States is evil, communist dictators are cool. They can never get enough of Castro, Stalin, Mao,Chavez, - buy a tee shirt. Castro was an evil dictator who imprisoned innocent people who had the temerity to disagree with him. There are thousands of poor souls at the bottom of the ocean; men women and children who tried to flee in rickety rafts from Castro's paradise. Chavez aligned himself with his hero Castro, now the poor people in Venezuela are suffering in their own Cuban paradise.
26
How about Guantanamo for starters,the dozens of countries that the USA had it's hand in the downfall of mostly-elected presidents and officials. How about the number of people in jail in the USA compared with Cuba today? As far as Venezuela goes, there are more factors to consider than just Venezuela having aligned itself with Cuba. Just look at the other South American countries for example. How about McCarthyism in the USA in the 1950's and the witch-hunt for communists in the USA. America certainly has it's dark side!
2
It is hard to find politicians today who are so committed to their political ideology and are genuinely 'of the people' the way Castro was. He is a throwback to an era when politics mattered. There are no tall leaders left in the world today. No one is as immensely popular - or widely respected, or selfless the way Castro was. The man was a voracious reader, had abundant energy, he lived his life simply, and at least in the beginning, he enjoyed genuine support of the masses. Today this is derided as 'populism'. But the 'populist' response to established elites in a democracy like the USA led in 2016 to Donald Trump. Now compare the two.
There was a time when ideas, however divisive, mattered. The world is today suffering from the greatest poverty of genuine leadership, and a genuine poverty of ideas as to human problems, perhaps the gravest such situation since democracy began.
There is literally no one the masses can look up to. Castro, for all his divisiveness, was a man of the people, and we are sadly in a world where leaders genuinely loved by the people, and who genuinely love the people in turn, simply do not exist.
Truly, a leader like Fidel is missed.
There was a time when ideas, however divisive, mattered. The world is today suffering from the greatest poverty of genuine leadership, and a genuine poverty of ideas as to human problems, perhaps the gravest such situation since democracy began.
There is literally no one the masses can look up to. Castro, for all his divisiveness, was a man of the people, and we are sadly in a world where leaders genuinely loved by the people, and who genuinely love the people in turn, simply do not exist.
Truly, a leader like Fidel is missed.
7
Amazing! Explain why Cubans rush our borders if Castro was so great!
14
Because thanks to our boycott we made life miserable for Cubans, that's why.
3
In reading this thoughtful and well-written obituary, I hope we haven't elected our own Castro.
6
If we did it wasn't a majority of the voters!
7
Castro was an elitist Liberal, a Communist who socialized medicine, education and the food supply in his country. He redistruted the wealth and real estate in Cuba in order to promote equality. He also was at odds with traditional religion. Sounds more like Bernie Sanders and Zephyr Teachout than Donald Trump to me .
1
We haven't. Castro was a much better man then Trump.
3
Once Castro came to power and established a No-Catholics-allowed Communist Party, he closed down that prestigious school, declared Cuba to be an atheist state, expelled many priests and nuns, sent Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega to a work camp and canceled Christmas
He was a monster. As horrible as Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao and celebrated by the American leftists. Just more prove of their disdain for HOW and WHY this country was formed.
Enjoy your time in Hell Fidel you earned it.
He was a monster. As horrible as Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao and celebrated by the American leftists. Just more prove of their disdain for HOW and WHY this country was formed.
Enjoy your time in Hell Fidel you earned it.
18
While 400 years of Catholicism killed off the native population, brought in slaves that made up 79% of the population and held on to slavery until 1893. All in the name of Jesus and his holiness the pope.
15
And yet American politicians spent decades trying to kill him and anyone else who got in their way. The Bay of Pigs, had it succeeded, might have killed thousands of innocent Cubans. Not to mention the government's support of the Contras in the 1980s and other terrorist groups throughout Latin America. Evil cuts both ways. The Times left out one weird assassination plot--giving Castro an exploding cigar.
1
Don't forget the inquisition.
1
Americans were poisoned about Castro and Cuba since I was a little girl. I remember several decades ago that the U.S. government announced that Fidel Castro had inoperable cancer. DECADES ago! Perhaps we should be studying Cuba's health care research and treatment plans.
9
Jack Kennedy called Khrushchev's bluff, made
Castro look like a fool, and redefined the concept of national security - all at once. In other words, he acted presidentially.
I'm trying to remember if he was the last American leader to behave so correctly, decisively, and with such dramatic and positive effect.
Yes, I believe he was.
Castro look like a fool, and redefined the concept of national security - all at once. In other words, he acted presidentially.
I'm trying to remember if he was the last American leader to behave so correctly, decisively, and with such dramatic and positive effect.
Yes, I believe he was.
5
See my post above, Castro's intellect towered over that of the Kennedy brothers. And the US gave up all of their shenanigans against Cuba during the crisis. One American died, and our invasion fleet would have been sunk before it reached the mid point of the Florida straits. You clearly dont know the history of the crisis. The Soviets had tactical mid range nukes and longer range SS18's at the ready on Cuban launch pads. The also had nuclear subs in the Strait as well. We gave up missiles in Turkey and Italy, and we stopped bombing Cuban ships, sugar factories and promised no more spy overflights and no invasion. Castro? He gvae up NOTHING more than the missile empalcemnts that he had in his country for just a few months. The brilliance in solving the crisis was among the Soviets and Cubans. It was the US that made the concessions. The Cubans just wanted to be left alone without US interference.
4
Yeah, and if JFK was alive today, he'd be a Republican.
Decent, informative article Anthony! The NYT still has the ability to pen well written stories when they are not consumed with pushing their over the top, biased agenda with liberal, sleaze rag propaganda!
1
Stupid comment about prostitution -- world's oldest profession.. This is good journalism? inflammatory headline? BTW tourists to Cuba unlike SE Asia are warned on websites NOT to engage in sex with apparently willing locals. Perhaps, this should be legalized worldwide??? another discussion.
1
Castro brought the cold war to the Western hemisphere?? He pushed the world to the brink of war??? Not a word about the reasons for Castro's revolution, like Cuban extreme poverty under Batista, the 90% illiteracy, etc.? Not a word about America's decades-long embargo pushing Castro to the Soviet sphere?
Castro was not a democrat. But this article is like fake news from the cold war era (and worse). Ao after destroying Hillary Clinton, the Times is launching a revisionist view of history. Bravo, NYT. D.Trump will be proud of you.
Castro was not a democrat. But this article is like fake news from the cold war era (and worse). Ao after destroying Hillary Clinton, the Times is launching a revisionist view of history. Bravo, NYT. D.Trump will be proud of you.
24
I disagree with your comment about the NYTimes "destroying Hillary Clinton". From day 1 of the POTUS Campaign, Mrs. Clinton was given special status for [positive articles on a day-to-day basis in the NYTimes. Mr Sanders was hardly mentioned and Mr. Trump was discussed in a negative manner (deservedly so) every day.
Please, talking about revisionist history!
Please, talking about revisionist history!
1
This comment is a good example of "fake news" actually being news the writer does not agree with. And the NYT destroyed Hillary Clinton how? Forcing her to install her own private server in her bathroom? Forcing her to delete emails? Forcing her to use the foundation to benefit donors? But I guess all those facts don't meet the truthiness test and are therefore "fake".
1
Thanks for the baloney. Cubans are so desperate under Castro they risk their lives to get to the U.S. on rafts.
4
What a cold-war throwback of a angle with whiich to write of Castro's demise. And to think you are now an international newspaper. As if Fidel Castro was just someone the US government didn't like - did he not have any other importance in the world and for his country?
Rest assured, the rest of the world loses no time in noticing which dictators the US prefers. HInt: it's unpatriotic scoundrels like Bautista rather than people like Castro, who made real efforts to improve the lot of his people in the face of relentless American opposition.
It's ironic, really, that America considers itself a beacon of democracy, when in reality its electoral districts are gerrymandered, the reliability of the voting procedures depends on the machines used, politicians are bankrolled by corporations....and a clear winner of the popular vote may well lose the election.
Rest assured, the rest of the world loses no time in noticing which dictators the US prefers. HInt: it's unpatriotic scoundrels like Bautista rather than people like Castro, who made real efforts to improve the lot of his people in the face of relentless American opposition.
It's ironic, really, that America considers itself a beacon of democracy, when in reality its electoral districts are gerrymandered, the reliability of the voting procedures depends on the machines used, politicians are bankrolled by corporations....and a clear winner of the popular vote may well lose the election.
17
Excellent - One man, one vote - is not on the Republican agenda - ever.
1
Many Americans can say what they wish about Castro, but they cannot deny the fact that the man has accomplished intangible things we could only dream of. 99% of Cuban people are literate, they are proud of their African roots, and they are healthy. On the other hand, we are scrambling to produce barely literate citizens; our school system is stratified. The alt-right have emerged from a barely hidden dungeon with their racist, xenophobic anti-Semitic, misogynistic messages, and our 'great' country has elected the person who rode the wave of their ideology straight to the White House. In addition, many of our citizens may lose the only form of health insurance they have ever known. Privatization, anyone?
We need to work on our moral compass before we point fingers.
We need to work on our moral compass before we point fingers.
25
You forgot to add "he made the trains run on time".
8
African roots? What are you talking about? Do your research on the history of Cuba. And literacy is a wonderful thing, however under Castro, there isn't much they are allowed to read.
3
When Castro came to power, he declared that all Cubans had some African blood, thus averting blatant racial division.
1
He probably died with a smirk on his face, thinking about the U.S. election of Donald Trump. Oh, how things come full circle.
6
If Cuba ultimately jettisons its ideological and revolutionary purity in order to create a freer and more prosperous society, where will Michael Moore go for quality medical care?
7
"He had held on to power longer than any other living national leader except Queen Elizabeth II of Britain." Certainly a different definition of power, grounded in a different morality. QEIII onto last vestiges of colonialism, Fidel true on true rebellion against colonialism.
Based upon the praise that this individual has received in the comments section what is said about the state of American education must be true. This man was as great as Mao, Pol Pot and Stalin just ask anyone living in Cuba during the 60's and 70's.
19
Since you are the third person so far who has mentioned the evil trio, these must be talking points from some conservative outlet, no?
kathleen cairns - "...these must be talking points from some conservative outlet, no?"
No, read a history book especially one detailing the firing squads in Havana led by Ernesto Che Guevara right after and continuing through Fidel's reign. Why do you think people were risking their lives trying to get to the USA? Everything real is not part of the "great right-wing conspiracy" shame on you for thinking that way.
No, read a history book especially one detailing the firing squads in Havana led by Ernesto Che Guevara right after and continuing through Fidel's reign. Why do you think people were risking their lives trying to get to the USA? Everything real is not part of the "great right-wing conspiracy" shame on you for thinking that way.
2
Good riddance to this murderous dictator. He is responsible for all the poverty and suffering, in Cuba, for the last 70 odd years. I hope President Obama's insightful outreach will be responsible for Cuba's ascent to prosperity and freedom.
16
A red salute to one of the great leaders known all over the world. Fidel Castro will have his own page(s) in history books.
4
The three articles, which began in The Times on Sunday, Feb. 24, 1957, presented a Castro that Americans could root for. “The personality of the man is overpowering,” Mr. Matthews wrote. “Here was an educated, dedicated fanatic, a man of ideals, of courage and of remarkable qualities of leadership.”
Did y'all just recycle that column in 2008?
Did y'all just recycle that column in 2008?
4
Barack Obama moved us gently toward the correct track with respect to Cuba. Now we will see if Donald Trump is up to the challenge.
6
Fat chance Trump will be good for Cuba. He's probably salivating at the chance to colonize the place. Raul Castro and whoever follows him should be worried about Trump and his ilk.
6
Trump will attempt a Meyer Lansky return to Cuba as a U.S. toilet of vice for profit.
1
Cuba did more on education and medecine for its population than America will ever do for its own. Also, if Castro had not overthrown Batista and the mafia, what would Cuba look like today? Another Republican strong hold with a Trump like dictator.
28
It would bear more of a resemblance to never-been-communist Haiti and the Dominican Republic--two unfortunate countries on Hispaniola that nobody should wish to see their own country resemble (in terms of socio-economic structure and levels of poverty).
5
Once Castro came to power and established a No-Catholics-allowed Communist Party, he closed down that prestigious school, declared Cuba to be an atheist state, expelled many priests and nuns, sent Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega to a work camp and canceled Christmas.
And hundreds of thousands died.
Your mind is a sad place
And hundreds of thousands died.
Your mind is a sad place
4
So you go to Cuba and visit a couple of beach resorts and turn a blind eye to the thousands of political executions, repression of religion, gay rights, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, the communist infrastructure built to monitor and punish anti-government activity. Anything would be better.
4
Whether or not Castro was a good or bad man who led his country in a decades old struggle against America, I'm not going to say. What I WILL say is that the recent election cycle has laid BRUTALLY BARE for anyone with an ounce of decency that America is in NO WAY in a position to dictate how countries should be governed especially if it is the will of the people residing in foreign lands to opt for a system that is in conflict with our own. The fact is that we have AS A POINT OF POLICY supported neo-Fascists against Marxist-inspired movements in every case in Central and South America and the islands of the Caribbean. The worst example of unpardonable interference is probably Chile and the overthrow of the DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED Salvatore Allende and the recognition of Augusto Pinochet and his neo-Fascist supporters. In any event for an embargo to have lasted until these past few months is absolutely a disgrace and cannot be justified by any rational study of the events that led to the ouster of the hated Battista government with that of Castro. I do not support most of the values that Castro imposed on Cuba but considering that I've seen 2 of the last 5 elections for president in this country tainted in the most vile and flagrant ways, culminating with the "winner" about to assume office, we have NO RIGHT to suggest that our leaders are any better than those of countries which we disapprove of. "No" to Castro in Cuba and "Yes" to murderous Saudi monarchs?
49
Here here! Bravo to Castro and tiny Cuba for staving off U.S. intervention!! Nelson Mandela credited Castro for the srength of the fight that ended apartheid in South Africa. Sure the Miami Cubans are mad, but the big picture of Fidel Castro is so much bigger than Miami and what the U.S. wants us to think of Castro. I would like to be in Cuba this month and support the mourning that I am certain is authentic and widespread!
6
WOW! Just another hissy fight from a far leftists.
Castro was a human monster and you can't bring yourself to realize it, yet Americans sick of the corrupt democrats are viled by you.
You and reality are in different planes.
Castro was a human monster and you can't bring yourself to realize it, yet Americans sick of the corrupt democrats are viled by you.
You and reality are in different planes.
10
Yes, the US supports thugs and dictators--in order to keep the peace in that country and to hopefully foster a pro-West government.
In the Old West, towns were overrun by bandits and thieves. Their solution was to pick the fastest gun to be sheriff, even if it was one of those same bandits and thieves. They usually restored law and order, although sometimes a town was then looking for a way to get rid of their sheriff if he continued his thieving ways. That is our foreign policy, which generally works pretty well. Put it another way: Do you really think the Iraqi's would accept a Mitt Romney for their leader? They don't have the concept of representative government that we do, so we gave them Saddam Hussein, who kept law and order AND was pro-West.
Sometimes the only choice the US has is to pick the strongest, least-corrupt, and most pro-West out of a bunch of bandits and thieves.
In the Old West, towns were overrun by bandits and thieves. Their solution was to pick the fastest gun to be sheriff, even if it was one of those same bandits and thieves. They usually restored law and order, although sometimes a town was then looking for a way to get rid of their sheriff if he continued his thieving ways. That is our foreign policy, which generally works pretty well. Put it another way: Do you really think the Iraqi's would accept a Mitt Romney for their leader? They don't have the concept of representative government that we do, so we gave them Saddam Hussein, who kept law and order AND was pro-West.
Sometimes the only choice the US has is to pick the strongest, least-corrupt, and most pro-West out of a bunch of bandits and thieves.
2
"Fidel Castro had held on to power longer than any other living national leader except Queen Elizabeth II." Not quite true. When Mr. Castro ceded power in 2008, Bhumibol Adulyadej had been King of Thailand since 1946; Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1953. King Bhumibol passed away in October. In addition, the King of Thailand is actually the Head of State, while the Queen of England is more a figurehead, with no real legislative power.
4
Meanwhile, the jury is still out on the American Revolution.
4
Well it is with certainty that I state the left of this country certainly is apposed to it.
Today those that believe in the ideals of the Founding Fathers are called radicals and those that want to fundamentally change this country are "normal".
ALL thanks to a left wing intolerant propaganda media, which is the mouth piece of the democrats
Today those that believe in the ideals of the Founding Fathers are called radicals and those that want to fundamentally change this country are "normal".
ALL thanks to a left wing intolerant propaganda media, which is the mouth piece of the democrats
2
As a quick mental exercise, I like to name, in order, the U.S. presidents who served while Castro was alive, all of them in my lifetime. At the same time I ponder the futility of the punitive embargo (and in general of the U.S. fight against communism, with often tragic results). Just a year ago, I went to Cuba. Gray concrete relics of the Soviet Union's presence remain. And guess who is there now. The Chinese. Building roads, resorts, etc., as they are in other countries. I have occasionally wondered if the growing involvement of China, 90 miles from Florida shores, was part of Obama's resetting of the U.S. relationship with Cuba. I also wonder if the flood of tourists will help the many Cuban people at the bottom of the economic ladder. A fascinating country with wonderful people--and a complicated history.
7
Tourists have been going to Cuba for years. Just from other countries. I have relatives from other countries in the Caribbean and Europe who have been there as tourists in the past 20 years. They all enjoyed the Cuban people and put politics aside.
5
"(and in general of the U.S. fight against communism, with often tragic results)"
I know many folks from Eastern Europe who would disagree with you.
I know many folks from Eastern Europe who would disagree with you.
Poor guy, probably died of shock when he heard Humpty Trumpty was elected President*
5
He died laughing at us. He did indeed get the last laugh.
1
You are so right Amanda123!
The comparison with Elizabeth 2 is not apples with apples ! - She is the powerless figurehead of the state, used as an instrument in a totally different political and social structure, if she ever dared to even voice an opinion ever way, let alone actually wield any power, she would be in deep doo doo ! - This is a situation that most Americans do not grasp.
2
When Fidel first came into Havana and put the revolution to the real work of building pride and dignity, I wasn't even 10 years old. The US didn't hate him at first, and I fell in love. I never wavered (and I visited Cuba in 1995). Today, this month, at these uncertain times we would do well to listen to Fidel:
"I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action."
"I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action."
12
A complex man not easily understood by less complex observers.
As a high school student in the late 50s he grabbed my attention. Compared to Batista he appeared to be a saint.
As he consolidated his power post 1959 & before the Bay of Pigs U.S. debacle, he was driven, as much as he led the Cuban nation into the welcoming arms of the Soviets. He was driven by us, the USA, through the influence of the big money that had lost their Batista sugar daddy the day Castro won. The fact that he went hard hard communist left is as much our fault as it was his desire. Bay of Pigs sealed the deal and the rest is history.
In a sense, we created the whole 70 year nightmare of a soured relationship that could have, should have been saved. Obama was the only U.S. President, with the possible exception of Carter, who made any move to fix this failure of diplomacy in our own back yard. Now, I fear, given Trump's heavy handed one sentence exclamation of joy, that we will just go back to the same old failed 70 year failed policy. Failed in terms of both the American and Cuban people going forward.
Like Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, we refused to recognize Castro for what he was, a man of his people. Instead we feared them both for what they were not; dominos of the Communists out to get us.
Thank you very much Joe McCarthy for all of fear and stupidity you created that still haunts us today.
As a high school student in the late 50s he grabbed my attention. Compared to Batista he appeared to be a saint.
As he consolidated his power post 1959 & before the Bay of Pigs U.S. debacle, he was driven, as much as he led the Cuban nation into the welcoming arms of the Soviets. He was driven by us, the USA, through the influence of the big money that had lost their Batista sugar daddy the day Castro won. The fact that he went hard hard communist left is as much our fault as it was his desire. Bay of Pigs sealed the deal and the rest is history.
In a sense, we created the whole 70 year nightmare of a soured relationship that could have, should have been saved. Obama was the only U.S. President, with the possible exception of Carter, who made any move to fix this failure of diplomacy in our own back yard. Now, I fear, given Trump's heavy handed one sentence exclamation of joy, that we will just go back to the same old failed 70 year failed policy. Failed in terms of both the American and Cuban people going forward.
Like Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, we refused to recognize Castro for what he was, a man of his people. Instead we feared them both for what they were not; dominos of the Communists out to get us.
Thank you very much Joe McCarthy for all of fear and stupidity you created that still haunts us today.
29
I just posted a similar comment. Yes - in effect WE created Castro by backing a corrup dictator in Cuba before the revolution - and then shunning Castro when he sought our help. Interesting we trade with Vietnam and China the past couple of decades - but not Cuba. It defies logic.
4
You have to be one of the privileged few versus one of the oppressed masses to have that point of view. Only the well connected thrive, everyone else suffers.
4
We agree almost 100% with what you state here Mr. Olson. Glad to see you're not part of that vast herd of sheep which William Lederer warned us about in his excellent 1960's eye-opening book, "A Nation of Sheep." Happy holidays to you, Sir!
1
Castro may be dead, but the Democrats will march on promoting Socialism/Communism.
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist and 6-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. In a 1944 speech he stated, "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.
He went on to say, "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist and 6-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. In a 1944 speech he stated, "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.
He went on to say, "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."
11
When it is no longer expanding into new territory, a country must become either more authoritarian, more socialist, or more likely a combination of both. This is as inevitable as the tide. A few people are going to own everything that you or the rest of us need to live. Do you prefer to let them control everything, or do you want the government to mitigate their control? That's the range of choices for the future of a stable-state society, which we will become.
Pick your poison; the frontier made America what it was, and it is gone.
Pick your poison; the frontier made America what it was, and it is gone.
2
Glad I lived long enough to read of his death.
10
Bravo to Castro and tiny Cuba for staving off U.S. intervention!! Nelson Mandela credited Castro for the srength of the fight that ended apartheid in South Africa. Sure the Miami Cubans are mad, but the big picture of Fidel Castro is so much bigger than Miami and what the U.S. wants us to think of Castro. I would like to be in Cuba this month and support the mourning that I am certain is authentic and widespread!
5
He was charming, charismatic, well-spoken and well-loved by many people. Not unlike most Communist leaders. They all seem to have great leadership qualities but are highly misguided. What a great world it could have been if Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Castro, Tito, Ho Chi Minh, and Kim Il-Sung had believed in the right things?
2
You gotta be a Democrat. You left Saddam Hussein and khomani
2
The headline "Brought Cold War to Western Hemisphere" is unfair. It was the United States who bought the cold war to the Western Hemisphere because we would not stop harassing and threatening Cuba after they had finally overcome Battista's oppression. Castro was seeking such humanitarian goals as an educated people, and access to health care for everyone, but the United States just couldn't leave them alone, and allow them their chance to thrive. With the invasion, the constant radio propaganda, the embargo, and the assassination attempts, why would they not accept help from the Soviets? Can't the U.S. ever admit responsibility for anything?
299
Why don't you move there?
A black in former apartheid South Africa was far better off than a present day Cuban living under communism.
A black in former apartheid South Africa was far better off than a present day Cuban living under communism.
2
Thanks for that. The same thought went through my head.
Jack Kennedy was the only American who was in any way Castro's equal. since then we've had a string of guys who, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, would look like schoolboys next to Castro, and that specter, as much as anything, kept the two countries apart. Our Presidents are accountants, executives, placeholders for the kind of leader that we may deserve, but will never have, so long as banks a real estate moguls are running the country.
Castro took Havana away from the Mob, and gave it back to the people, and the only ones sour about that are the ones he took it from.
Jack Kennedy was the only American who was in any way Castro's equal. since then we've had a string of guys who, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, would look like schoolboys next to Castro, and that specter, as much as anything, kept the two countries apart. Our Presidents are accountants, executives, placeholders for the kind of leader that we may deserve, but will never have, so long as banks a real estate moguls are running the country.
Castro took Havana away from the Mob, and gave it back to the people, and the only ones sour about that are the ones he took it from.
1
@Jim Wiedman
Forgive, but I must say that comments like yours are tiresome.
You want an answer to your question? Well, let's try, citizen. Let's say the United States takes responsibility for the reconstruction of Europe through the MarshallPlan, for a starter. Or maybe rebuilding Japan, leading that nation into prosperity and freedom. Then there's South Korea. And how about being
the creator and bulwark of NATO? And there's lots more. No country is without flaws, but at least we as a people -- with some notable exceptions -- can say we've tried...
Forgive, but I must say that comments like yours are tiresome.
You want an answer to your question? Well, let's try, citizen. Let's say the United States takes responsibility for the reconstruction of Europe through the MarshallPlan, for a starter. Or maybe rebuilding Japan, leading that nation into prosperity and freedom. Then there's South Korea. And how about being
the creator and bulwark of NATO? And there's lots more. No country is without flaws, but at least we as a people -- with some notable exceptions -- can say we've tried...
1
Well this certainly shows the correctness of our over 50 year policy to get rid of Castro. It only took 11 presidents.
And now Cuba can return to what it was before Castro took over: a Mafia controlled military dictatorship. Or in the eyes of all those anti-Castro Cubans who fled the country:paradise.
And now Cuba can return to what it was before Castro took over: a Mafia controlled military dictatorship. Or in the eyes of all those anti-Castro Cubans who fled the country:paradise.
18
That's totally idiotic.
1
I find it hard to feel a great deal of sympathy for the Miami Cubans now celebrating Castro's death. I'm under no illusion as to what Castro was, but the Batista lackeys and right wing fringe of the South Florida Cuban community are among the very worst of the immigrant diasporas in the U.S. Things were no better for Cubans under the previous regime, in many cases ways much worse. Remember, they also played a very big role in the Bush election fiasco of 2000. I wish all the best going forward for the PEOPLE OF CUBA, but to the folks on Calle Ocho I say -- Castro died peacefully at 90, and you still haven't recovered your ill-gotten gains. He won, you lost.
23
Very well said.
The people in Little Havana have spent decades longing for the day when they could return Cuba back to the 1950s. They want to bring back the corruption and racism of the Bautista days, gifts they brought to their new country.
Little Havana should know that the people of Cuba are watching while they celebrate the death of an old man. If any of them return to Cuba, they're going to find a country that is unwilling to go back to the 'good old days' that Little Havana holds so dear.
You are absolutely correct. Fidel AND Cuba won; Little Havana lost.
The people in Little Havana have spent decades longing for the day when they could return Cuba back to the 1950s. They want to bring back the corruption and racism of the Bautista days, gifts they brought to their new country.
Little Havana should know that the people of Cuba are watching while they celebrate the death of an old man. If any of them return to Cuba, they're going to find a country that is unwilling to go back to the 'good old days' that Little Havana holds so dear.
You are absolutely correct. Fidel AND Cuba won; Little Havana lost.
1
I take it that none of your family was imprisoned or murdered under Castro and too bad for those that were. I'm also led to believe that you were totally oppressed under GOP Presidents. You should move to Cuba before Inauguration day.
3
Castro was originally pro-US, a country he admired. However, when he got word early on that the US "Big Sugar" interests were influencing US politicians to bring back Batista who had fled to the Dominican Republic after Castro's success, he saw US politics for what it was. Ultimately, he never actually was a "communist", but his own brand of socialism - Fidelista.
24
There really is something admirable about defying the US for decades. We are not all that.
18
"Messiah" is not a word I would use to describe Castro. His lies, executions, societal repression and multi-million dollar fortune are not reflected enough in this obituary. He was a tyrant, not a hero. You let me know how it is to have a government take everything away from your family. My decades long subscription to the Times may expire after this article.
5
Those who were stripped of assets had their opportunity to challenge in courts at the time. If you made a fortune during the murderous Batista era, at the expense of the peasants, you were going to pay much of it back. Sounds like justice to me.
3
"Challenge in court?" What court? There was no way to even claim your property once it was taken. My uncle ran a farm in Cuba. When Castro took over, a worker said to him, "Now it's our turn.". Years later, that worker found my uncle and told him, "You were the best boss. Now, we have nothing.". Imagine not being able to own your own livestock or crops to feed your family because the government took it.
Admire him for taking control of his country away from a despot 57 years ago.
Despise him for becoming the same despot he professed to replace.
A man who promised democratic elections, yet ran his country like a mafia thug, providing help to the poor while destroying the rest of his country and silencing dissent with prison or worse.
The fact that some tout his healthcare and educational advances as tremendous achievements miss the point entirely. That's what he is supposed to do as the leader of a nation. Couple that with a crippling dictatorship, and the experiment for the past many decades was a complete failure.
Good riddance.
Despise him for becoming the same despot he professed to replace.
A man who promised democratic elections, yet ran his country like a mafia thug, providing help to the poor while destroying the rest of his country and silencing dissent with prison or worse.
The fact that some tout his healthcare and educational advances as tremendous achievements miss the point entirely. That's what he is supposed to do as the leader of a nation. Couple that with a crippling dictatorship, and the experiment for the past many decades was a complete failure.
Good riddance.
8
To all of those comments (correctly) praising what Castro did for Cuba and its people, it should be added that his government started with nothing. When Batista fled on New Year's Day 1959, he and his inner circle fled with a fortune - at least $300 million - much of it believed to be the national Treasury. History will treat Fidel Castro better than most US presidents did.
23
dee--NO, it won't. You are abjectly wrong, in your praise of Fidel Castro.
3
Castro's 'reforms' were accompanied by control of the press and suppression of internal dissent, cementing his grip as a totalitarian dictator.
I hope Americans clamoring for an autocratic Trump Presidency recognize the danger that the centralization of power poses to our democracy.
I hope Americans clamoring for an autocratic Trump Presidency recognize the danger that the centralization of power poses to our democracy.
7
How nice of NYT to gloss over and essentially ignore the death squads, torture chambers, abject poverty, intimidation and human rights abuse that this monster and his brother inflicted on Cubans.
12
Fidel Castro murdered and tortured to gain and keep power under the guise of helping the Cuban lower classes and peasant population. He decimated families and confiscated their belongings at gunpoint forcing millions into exile from a home they did not wish to leave. Castro was a tyrant and that's all he was - to report otherwise, is fantasy. Hell has a special place for people like Castro.
12
Your delusional ranting fly in the face of the facts.
Exeunt Castro
Enter trump.
Enter trump.
3
Funny how things changed over the years. With their actions in November and December of the year 2000, George W. and Jeb Bush made Fidel and Raul Castro look like John and Robert F. Kennedy. Which is ironic, considering that the Kennedys (do not forget their fondness for fellow Irish-American and rabid anti-communist Joe McCarthy) had been so desperate to overthrow the Castro government in the early 1960s.
I can't help but think that the Castros and Hugo Chavez were shaking their heads in disbelief 16 years ago as they watched the unfolding of events in Florida. The biggest joke in the Caribbean basin ceased to be Cuba, Venezuela, or even Haiti. Thank you, Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris! At that point, Castro and Chavez must have realized that their paid propagandists would no longer have to write fiction to demonize the United States. When armed forces of the USA invaded Iraq on false pretenses less than 3 years later in March 2003 and overthrew the government there, the propaganda coming out of Havana and Caracas just started writing itself. In his wildest anti-imperialist dreams, did Fidel Castro ever imagine that "Guantanamo Bay" would become a byword for torture by U.S. interrogators?
And now that Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States on the day that Fidel Castro died, I'm guessing paid propagandists in Tehran, Moscow, and Pyongyang will no longer find it necessary to write fiction either. Truth is stranger than fiction, no doubt about that.
I can't help but think that the Castros and Hugo Chavez were shaking their heads in disbelief 16 years ago as they watched the unfolding of events in Florida. The biggest joke in the Caribbean basin ceased to be Cuba, Venezuela, or even Haiti. Thank you, Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris! At that point, Castro and Chavez must have realized that their paid propagandists would no longer have to write fiction to demonize the United States. When armed forces of the USA invaded Iraq on false pretenses less than 3 years later in March 2003 and overthrew the government there, the propaganda coming out of Havana and Caracas just started writing itself. In his wildest anti-imperialist dreams, did Fidel Castro ever imagine that "Guantanamo Bay" would become a byword for torture by U.S. interrogators?
And now that Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States on the day that Fidel Castro died, I'm guessing paid propagandists in Tehran, Moscow, and Pyongyang will no longer find it necessary to write fiction either. Truth is stranger than fiction, no doubt about that.
6
And, for all our yakkity yak about democracy and freedom we still ask questions about people's communist or socialist affiliation in our "immigration papers", and harass for eternity anyone who is a Socialist or is "suspected" of being one. For many American idiots, who never read any economic or political theories other than Adam Smith and Ayan Rand, Socialism and Communism are one and the same.
Try getting a job in a company in the US by claiming openly you support a Socialist party of the US, Green Party or a Progressive party. We are supposed to a great democracy! How is that possible with two parties that are ideologically narrow and alike...except for a few wedge issues (like gun rights, gay rights, etc.)?
We have officials who spend full time following legal immigrants who are outspoken about controversial or harmful American foreign and domestic policies. Our surveillance system can tell you how many cockroaches there are in your apartment, and can even send some to cause asthma in you. And we have freedom and democracy?
We Americans do not travel anywhere, some in Texas do not even go out of the State...while claiming to be the "greatest State or Nation in the world".
Our education is so appalling many of our high school students cannot locate our 50 States on a map, let alone tell you where Cuba is. Many of our kids today cannot spell "America" even if you gave Ritalin & Adderal up their wazoos.