Fidel Castro, Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Passes Away

Reports indicate that Fidel Castro, the former leader of Cuba, has died at the age of 90. According to Reuters, Cuban television announced this news early Saturday, citing Raul Castro. Raul Castro, the President of Cuba, stated on television, "The Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution passed away at 10:29 PM on Friday." According to AFP, Raul Castro mentioned that, per Fidel Castro's will, his body will be cremated on Saturday. Fidel Castro announced ten years ago that he would not return to power and stepped down after nearly five decades of leadership. He transferred power to his brother Raul Castro due to illness. Fidel Castro seized power in 1959 following a guerrilla war against the government and maintained control of this small Central American country until ten years ago. Although Fidel Castro was referred to as a charismatic leader, his opponents heavily criticized him for violating freedom of expression. This may explain why over a million Cubans were forced to leave the country during his five-decade rule. Many Cubans who had to migrate to the United States also fall into this category, and their descendants still harbor resentment towards him after several generations. Most of these individuals, residing in Miami in southeastern Florida, took to the streets to express their joy upon hearing of Fidel Castro's death. In late 1956, Fidel Castro, along with a group of about 80 revolutionaries, went to the Sierra Maestra mountains and began a guerrilla war against the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Three years later, in 1959, Castro triumphantly entered Havana with his forces. Castro then nationalized companies and private institutions and implemented land reforms, referring to the United States as the number one enemy due to its economic blockade of his country. During this time, Cuba received comprehensive support from the Soviet Union, peaking during the "Cuban Missile Crisis" in 1962, when the Soviet Union deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba in support of Castro, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war with the United States. After the collapse of the socialist bloc in 1990, Cuba entered a severe economic crisis, which forced Castro's government to implement economic reforms, and in the following years, under Raul Castro's leadership, Cuba began moving towards a free market economy. The relationship between Cuba and the United States improved in 2015 with a historic reconciliation, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were resumed after 50 years. This reconciliation was completed with Barack Obama's visit to Havana in March of this year.