It was Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, but the announcement of Cuban dictator/strongman Fidel Castro’s death on Nov. 25 must have seemed either a surreal, difficult-to-believe, moment or a concrete, “it’s about time” announcement to Cubans around the world.
The 90-year-old Castro, who ruled Cuba for 49 long, torturous years (he took power in a 1959 revolution), creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War. For five decades, the bearded dictator defied U.S. efforts to topple him. Under his heavy-handed rule, Cubans lived in poverty, while he and his brother Raul lived in extreme luxury.
When the word “dictator” is uttered, we usually think of individuals like Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, of Idi Amin or Castro. All of these, and (sadly) plenty more through recent history, have used the same playbook when it comes to ruling with an iron fist.
Under Castro, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gays, and other “undesirables” were rounded up and sent to work camps - or UMAPs. Sound familiar, oh ye who have a basic understanding of how ethnic cleansing works? Castro was a tyrant who imposed communism on Cuba for more than 60 years, while torturing and killing tens of thousands more who disagreed with him. The total of the Castro regime death toll may never be known, but estimates approach 100,000.
Additionally, there was no religious liberty under Castro. Dissidents were tortured, imprisoned, or killed. So extreme was Castro’s control, he banned Christmas from being celebrated for 30 years. Yes, all the American right-wing media heads yapping about the “war on Christmas” might want to take a look at life 90 miles off the Florida coast for a refresher.
There are those who will say Castro was misunderstood, that he wasn’t all bad. They will say, “He built free schools and hospitals with much help from his Soviet sponsors.” They will say, “There's a high literacy rate.” These are true; however, as Obi-Wan Kenobi said so eloquently to Luke Skywalker on Dagobah, “Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” The facts of the truth: Castro ruled with repression and hypocrisy. Government-sponsored censorship prevented people from reading whatever they want. Castro executed thousands by firing squad and sentenced thousands to jail and hard labor. Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and block leaders kept people in fear of being spied upon, or called out for being anti-Castro. Citizens had poor access to health care and life-saving medicine.
Two years ago, President Barack Obama loosened the trade embargo between the United States and Cuba. Many criticized the move, questioning opening how the U.S. could work with such a regime. Others offered praise, opining the embargo had never worked, so maybe a new tactic was needed. After all, some argued the U.S. trade embargo is the reason life was so hard for Cubans. The true reason is not the trade embargo, but an oppressive government that decries capitalist enterprise and controls every aspect of financial betterment.
Fidel Castro is dead. But the damage will last a hundred generations longer than his rule.
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