Castro, salmon & me
Labour pal on Fidel’s talks over Scotland
Barack Obama led tributes to Fidel Castro yesterday after the revolutionary Cuban leader died aged 90.
Castro survived 638 assassination attempts during his leadership of the Caribbean island, which he ruled with an iron grip over six decades.
An icon of the left, he was admired for his commitment to socialism in spite of a damaging US trade blockade.
To opponents, he was a dictator who crushed dissent, killed rivals and was responsible for human rights abuses.
President Obama restored relations with Cuba in December 2014 after a stand- off between the US and Castro that lasted more than 50 years.
Yesterday, as Cuba announced nine days of mourning, he said: “We extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people.
“We know that this moment fills Cubans – in Cuba and the United States – with powerful emotions, re calling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families and of the Cuban nation.
“History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around them.
“For nearly six decades, the relationship between the US and Cuba was marked by discord and profound political disagreements.
“During my presidency, we have worked hard to put the past behind us.
“The Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner in the United States of America.”
In contrast, US president- elect Donald Trump tweeted, “Fidel Castro is dead!” before releasing a statement slating the Cuban. He said: “The world marks thepassing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades.
“Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin said: “I express to all the Cuban people our deepest condolences over the death of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
“The name of this outstanding statesman is considered to be a symbol of an entire era in the modern history of the world.”
Thousands of Cuban-Americans who were exiled flooded the streets of Miami to celebrate the death within 30 minutes of the announcement.
Crowds marched down the streets, chanting, banging pots and pans and waving Cuban flags.
In Old Havana, the centre of the Cuban capital, people gathered around their radios, listening to state- run stations playing revolutionary anthems honouring Castro.
The debate has raged on since his passing over whether Castro created a Latin-American utopia or a divisive country lacking basic liberties and freedom for its people.
Castro led a guerrilla coup in 1959 to overthrow the regime of the US-backed former Cuban president Fulgencio Batista.
Once in control of Cuba, he remained hostile to America throughout his life. It’s believed US intelligence agencies unsuccessfully tried to kill Castro hundreds of times.
Some of the more outlandish plots included exploding cigars, a seashell explosive and poison.
Known by many as a man of the people, Castro had enjoyed a luxurious chi ldhood. Educated in private boarding schools, he entered law school at the University of Havana in 1945.
On July 26, 1953, Castro and 150 supporters attacked the Moncada military barracks outside Santiago de Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Batista, who had taken control of the government after a coup. The attack failed and Castro was captured, tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His brother Raul was also among those jailed.
He was released in 1955 under an amnesty deal with the Batista government and he travelled with Raul to Mexico, where they continued to plan their revolution.
Castro’s efforts finally led to the collapse of Batista’s government and, in January 1959, Batista f led to the Dominican Republic.
Castro implemented far-reaching reforms by nationalising factories and plantations in an attempt to end US economic dominance on the island.
One of the world’s most famous communists, Castro’s actions meant Cuba and America would go on to suffer through fierce tensions for more than five decades.
He aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union dur ing the Cold War and allowed them to build missilelaunching sites in the country.
This led to a stand- off between the US and the Soviet Union in 1962, one that could have escalated into a nuclear war.
The year before, America’s biggest plot to kill Castro had been foiled. The CIA helped to train an exile army to retake Cuba by force.
The army were to storm the Bay of Pigs, a remote spot on Cuba’s southern coast, and overthrow the regime. On
April 17, 1961, 1500 Cuban fighters landed at the Bay of Pigs and Castro and his men were waiting for them. The invasion was badly planned and all of the men were either captured or killed. From then on, hostilities increased. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Castro remained defiant, despite a cash crisis that almost led to a Cuban economic breakdown. Seen as an icon of rebellion, he made America his greatest enemy, refusing to trade or concede any power. From the late1990s, speculation began to rise over Castro’s age and wellbeing. In 2006, he underwent surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding.
In a dramatic announcement in the same year, Castro designated his brother R au last he country’ s temporary leader.
At the age of 81, Castro permanently gave up the Cuban presidency due to his physical condition, handing over power to Raul.
Two years later, Castro officially stepped down from his role within Cuba’s Communist Party.
Raul easily won election as the party’s new first secretary, taking over from his brother.
Until December 2014, it was difficult for any American to visit Cuba unless they had family there. But Raul had more relaxed views on the relationship with the US, moving to mend the 50-year rift between the nations.
Cuba and America agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and open economic and travel ties.
Before he turned 90 in August, Castro predicted his death would come soon. His last appearance in public was at an event to mark his birthday.
While Cuba’s population of 11million have endured years of economic hardship, the country has not suffered the deep poverty, violent crime and government neglect of many other developing countries.