Fidel Castro’s Bloody Legacy Cannot Be Whitewashed

Posted by on Nov 28, 2016 in Featured, International, Tyranny | 0 comments

On Saturday, it was announced that former Cuban dictator and avowed communist Fidel Castro died at the age of 90.

Celebrations broke out in Miami, Florida, and elsewhere as Cuban exiles rejoiced in the news. The man who wrought pain and suffering on them and their homeland is finally dead. Survivors of communism, their descendants, and other pro-freedom advocates took it to social media to remind people how brutal and inhuman Castro’s policies were:

As expected, leftist figures from across the globe offered sappy condolences to the Castro family. These included remarks from President Obama, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Canadian PM  Justin Trudeau, among many:

Why the praise for Castro if history demonstrates otherwise? Here’s a breakdown of Castro’s bloody past and his dealings:

Castro originally had the support of Americans, wrote Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby. Here’s more on it:

The United States welcomed Castro’s ouster of Batista and was one of the first nations to recognize the new government in 1959. It was not until 1961 that President Eisenhower — reacting to “a long series of harassments, baseless accusations, and vilification” — broke diplomatic ties with Havana. By that point Castro had nationalized all US businesses in Cuba and confiscated American properties worth nearly $2 billion.

Castro’s policies led to the deaths of an estimated 35,000 to 141,000 Cubans from 1959-1987, per the late University of Hawaii professor RJ Rummel (who specialized in democide, or state-sanctioned murder). 73,000 Cuban deaths is the consensus number reached by the majority of experts.

Castro turned Cuba into a police state. The Guardian wrote, “While Castro became a figurehead for revolutionary armed struggle throughout and beyond Latin America, the former guerrilla was far from universally popular in his home country once he turned his hand to government. Property appropriations, restrictions on religion and crackdowns on suspected enemies left many, particularly in the old middle class, hating him – a sentiment that has spanned the generations.”

Castro was a racist, sexist, homophobe, and all-around xenophobe. Here’s more about racism in Castro’s Cuba from the NYT:

Racism in Cuba has been concealed and reinforced in part because it isn’t talked about. The government hasn’t allowed racial prejudice to be debated or confronted politically or culturally, often pretending instead as though it didn’t exist. Before 1990, black Cubans suffered a paralysis of economic mobility while, paradoxically, the government decreed the end of racism in speeches and publications. To question the extent of racial progress was tantamount to a counterrevolutionary act. This made it almost impossible to point out the obvious: racism is alive and well.
….

An important first step would be to finally get an accurate official count of Afro-Cubans. The black population in Cuba is far larger than the spurious numbers of the most recent censuses. The number of blacks on the street undermines, in the most obvious way, the numerical fraud that puts at less than one-fifth of the population. Many people forget that in Cuba, a drop of white blood can — if only on paper — make a mestizo, or white person, out of someone who in social reality falls into neither of those categories. Here, the nuances governing skin color are a tragicomedy that hides longstanding racial conflicts.

Before gloating over Castro’s supposed “golden” legacy, learn the actual facts about this tyrant. He is not worthy of celebrating. His legacy is tainted with blood, hatred, and disdain for freedom.

Although freedom may not come to Cubans in the immediate future, Castro’s death can serve as an impetus for them to reclaim their homeland from dictatorship. Viva Cuba Libre!

As always you can read more of Gabriella’s articles and see what she is up to at gabriellahoffman.com 

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