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Fidel Castro's death has been announced by Cuban state television:
Cuba's former president Fidel Castro, one of the world's longest-serving and most iconic leaders, has died aged 90. His younger brother and successor as president Raul Castro announced the news on state television.
Castro toppled the government in 1959, introducing a Communist revolution. He defied the US for decades, surviving many assassination plots. His supporters said he had given Cuba back to the people. Critics saw him as a dictator.
Ashen and grave, President Castro told the nation in an unexpected late night broadcast on state television that Fidel Castro had died and would be cremated later on Saturday. "The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 hours this evening (03:29 GMT Saturday)," he said. "Towards victory, always!" he added, using a revolutionary slogan. A period of official mourning has been declared on the island until 4 December, when his ashes will be laid to rest in the south-eastern city of Santiago.
Also at Bloomberg (world leaders react), Washington Post, NYT, The Guardian, CNN, NPR, WSJ, PBS, and Reuters. Editorials at the Miami Herald and Daily Beast.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26 2016, @08:35PM
But, all in all, he managed to keep his country pretty stable for decades. Compare to Columbia, or Mexico. Those nations are our "friends", and we "help" them a hell of a lot. And, they are both cesspools to be avoided.
Yes, "help" is the operative word here. Like help ship guns there. Help fund killings in name of war on drugs. And of course, by funding those drug lords by keeping war on drugs going.
If it wasn't for the ridicules "War on Drugs" being staged in those countries via US "help", neither Columbia nor Mexico would have problems they have now.
Fidel Castro really didn't do to badly, if you think about it. Cubans didn't have to suffer with a Shah of Iran, or the Islamic Revolution that deposed him.
Shah of Iran was replaced by a democratically elected government. But that government didn't like British Oil Company, so the Brits and Americans to prop up their business interests used the CIA to overthrow the democratic government of Iran and replace it with the Shah.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Mosaddegh#Operation_TPAjax [wikipedia.org]
Rest in peace, you crazy old coot.
RIP Castro. Maybe he wasn't the best person to lead Cuba, but he certainly has done better than the other places "helped" by US, like examples you've given.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 26 2016, @10:38PM
I was referring to THIS shah - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi [wikipedia.org]
The US, with the approval of the UK, overthrew that democratically elected government which you refer to, and installed this puppet to rule Iran. This is the puppet who was later overthrown by the Islamic Revolution. We owe the existence of Iran's deist government to this man and the CIA.
Oh - the reason we destroyed that democratically elected government? Because they were holding out for more money from BP - British Petroleum. Despite some formal name changes since then, that is the very same BP working the petroleum business today.
So, to summarize, we subjected the Iranians to a couple decades of despotic rule, to help ensure that a British oil company made a fat profit.