We learned that Fidel Castro’s only son, known as “Fidelito,” died in Cuba. The Cuban state media reported that he committed suicide because of depression.
So far, no independent news source has been allowed to investigate the case.
As a kid in Cuba, I remember images of Fidel Castro and Fidelito tagging along wearing a military uniform. I recall another image of Fidelito in a baseball outfit. I did not hear much about him after that except that he was going to school in the old USSR. It’s fair to say that Fidelito lived a privileged life and did not have to face the shortages that other kids had to endure.
Fidelito is the only child of Fidel Castro and Mirta Diaz-Balart. They were married in 1948 and went to New York for their honeymoon.
This is a bit about her life:
A middle-class philosophy and literature student, she met Mr Castro, the son of a Spanish immigrant, when they were both at university in the 1940s. Despite the fact that her brother, Rafael Diaz-Balart, became a leading official in the Batista government, she defied her family’s wishes and married Mr Castro in 1948, while he was studying to be a lawyer.She gave birth to their only son, Fidelito, the year after. But as the revolutionary struggle took Mr Castro away from his young family, Ms Diaz-Balart became suspicious he was being unfaithful. They divorced in 1955 and she fell in love with Mr Nuñez Blanco. Mr Castro, who was exiled by the dictatorship, tricked his ex-wife into allowing him to be with his son, then promptly took custody of him.After Batista’s overthrow in 1959, Mr Nuñez Blanco and Ms Diaz-Balart stayed for a few years in Cuba, but left to live in Madrid.
Mirta is now 89 and lives in Spain. She always kept a low profile. Most of her relatives left Cuba, such as Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who became a member of the US House representing South Florida.
We have no information about Fidelito’s death. The Cuban media told us that he killed himself. The Cuban media also told us that crickets attacked US diplomats over the last year. So please forgive me if I am always skeptical of the Cuban state media.
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