HAVANA, CUBA – The communist leader of Cuba – Fidel Castro – has died, and President-elect Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence feel pretty good about it.
Cuban television announced that Castro died Friday at the age of 90. He had ruled the Caribbean island nation of Cuba for 5 decades as President (he resigned in 2014), and at times terrorized the United States by cooperating with enemies like the Soviet Union by installing missiles aimed here. Thousands had fled the communist country, with news stories over the years showing refugees on make-shift rafts attempting to make the perilous 90-mile journey to Florida and a better life. Only recently had a thaw in the cold relations between the two countries made progress, as President Barack Obama has attempted to bring a friendlier atmosphere with the opening of an embassy and other concessions, like the trading of mail.
However, American conservatives haven’t been so keen on Obama’s new policy toward Cuba, and the new American President – Donald Trump – made the triumphant announcement Saturday that “Fidel Castro is dead!”
Later Saturday, his Vice President, Mike Pence, declared “the tyrant Castro is dead. New hope dawns. We will stand with the oppressed Cuban people for a free and democratic Cuba. Viva Cuba Libre!”
Newly-elected Florida Senator and former Presidential candidate Marco Rubio also sounded off, saying “Well into the 1970s, Fidel Casto was imprisoning gays and long-haired young people in work camps.”
Meanwhile, CNN reported that in Little Havana, Miami,”crowds are celebrating the death of Fidel Castro.”
President-elect Trump later released this statement:
While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.
Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I join the many Cuban Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/802499192237080576
The tyrant #Castro is dead. New hope dawns. We will stand with the oppressed Cuban people for a free and democratic Cuba. Viva Cuba Libre!
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) November 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/reaIDonaldTrunp/status/802561179004477440
"a ruthless dictator..executed thousands of opponents, imprisoned tens of thousands..": https://t.co/7tTXe8KYtp
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 26, 2016
