When Fidel Castro died at age 90 in November, many Cubans were devastated. Huge crowds gathered in the capital, Havana, to pay their respects to the country’s former leader, who had ruled the island nation for nearly 50 years.
Just a couple of hundred miles away in Miami, Florida, the reaction was very different. Thousands of Cuban-Americans—many of whom had fled Cuba to escape Castro and Communist rule—took to the streets in celebration, waving Cuban flags and cheering. To them, Fidel was a brutal dictator who stole their families’ land and businesses, jailed political opponents, and wrecked Cuba’s economy.
When Fidel Castro died at age 90 in November, many Cubans were devastated. Many people gathered in the capital, Havana. They wanted to pay their respects to the country’s former leader. He had ruled the island nation for nearly 50 years.
The reaction was very different just a couple hundred miles away, in Miami, Florida. There, thousands of Cuban-Americans who had fled Cuba to escape Castro and his Communist rule were celebrating. They waved Cuban flags and cheered Castro’s death. To them, Fidel was a brutal dictator. He stole their families’ land and businesses. He jailed political opponents. He wrecked Cuba’s economy.