Topic

Fidel Castro

28 articles 2010–2016

Cuban Writer Reinaldo Arenas Deserves the Last Word on Castro

Lee Smith · December 6, 2016

Upon the death of Fidel Castro last month, President Obama remarked, "History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him." The statement was cowardly in striving for judicious balance to describe the legacy of a dictator who jailed and…

When Jesse Jackson Cozied Up to Fidel Castro

Fred Barnes · December 5, 2016

A certain type of American always got along well with Fidel Castro. Jesse Jackson was exactly that type—left-wing, ambitious, publicity-conscious. He and Castro could do business together. And in 1984, they did.

History Will Not Absolve Fidel Castro

Elliott Abrams · December 4, 2016

In 1953, a young Fidel Castro was tried for his armed attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The attack was a dismal failure, though its date—July 26—was later taken as the name of Castro's revolutionary movement. At the trial 24…

Cozying Up to the Dictator

Fred Barnes · December 2, 2016

A certain type of American always got along well with Fidel Castro. Jesse Jackson was exactly that type—left-wing, ambitious, publicity-conscious. He and Castro could do business together. And in 1984, they did.

History Will Not Absolve Him

Elliott Abrams · December 2, 2016

In 1953, a young Fidel Castro was tried for his armed attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The attack was a dismal failure, though its date—July 26—was later taken as the name of Castro's revolutionary movement. At the trial 24…

The Verdict on Castro

Lee Smith · December 2, 2016

Upon the death of Fidel Castro last month, President Obama remarked, “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him." The statement was cowardly in striving for judicious balance to describe the legacy of a dictator who jailed and…

The Future of Cuba

Tws Staff · December 1, 2016

Contributing editor Elliott Abrams joined editor William Kristol on the latest installment of Conversations with Bill Kristol to discuss the death of dictator Fidel Castro, his repressive history, how the left has romanticized it, and how the Trump administration might handle relations with Cuba.

One Cuban's View of Castro

Ethan Epstein · November 30, 2016

Helene Cooper, a New York Times journalist, says we should avoid taking an "American-centric" view of Fidel Castro's regime. She has a point: Ideally, we would take a Cuban-centric view of his rule, given that it was the Cubans themselves who either suffered or prospered under Castro's rule. And on…

The Tyranny of Fidel Castro

Michael Warren · November 27, 2016

While left-wing Western leaders celebrate the late Fidel Castro—whitewashing much of Cuba's recent history in the process—it's worth remembering how total and insidious the Communist dictator's tyrannical regime was for the Cuban people. Over the years, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has documented some of…

World Leaders 'Normalize' Fidel Castro

Chris Deaton · November 26, 2016

Several world leaders on both sides of the Atlantic praised Fidel Castro after the Cuban president's death was announced after midnight Saturday. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's comments summarized his White House's Cuba policy and predicted "history" would judge Castro's effect on Cuba and its…

Ryan Blasts Obama Over Lifting Cuban Trade Restrictions

Michael Warren · October 18, 2016

House speaker Paul Ryan has issued a statement condemning President Obama's decision to lift trade restrictions with Cuba, the Carribbean island nation still controlled by Fidel and Raúl Castro's Communist regime. Obama announced Friday the United States would be lifting the limits to importing…

Trump Was Right: Castro Did Send Criminals to U.S.

Philip Terzian · October 8, 2016

If you ever worry about the quality of news on the Internet, consider a recent story at BuzzFeed from reporter Adrian Carrasquillo. The writer notes indignantly that Donald Trump's infamous campaign comments about Mexican immigrants were not unprecedented: Speaking on a radio talk show, in 2011,…

Republicans Blast Obama Restoring Relations With Castro's Cuba

Michael Warren · July 1, 2015

Some Republican leaders are sharply criticizing the Obama administration for establishing official diplomatic ties with Cuba, the Caribbean island nation that has been under the control of Communist dictator Fidel Castro and his brother Raul since 1959. A number of GOP presidential candidates and…

August 4, 1961: In The Year 1 AO

Irwin M. Stelzer · April 24, 2015

The day President Obama believes relevant history began. Rather like the French revolutionaries who decreed that the establishment of their Republic be dated Year I of the French Republic. August 4, 1961 was the day on which Barack Hussein Obama arrived on this earth in Honolulu, Hawaii. Anything…

Obama Apologizes to Castro

Michael Warren · December 19, 2014

Barack Obama apologized to Cuban president Raul Castro during their phone conversation after the American commander in chief's opening remarks. Speaking to reporters at his final White House press briefing of 2014 Friday afternoon, Obama gave more details about his phone call with the communist…

He Chose Wrong

Lee Smith · May 12, 2014

While the encomia from world leaders and cultural figures continue to pour in after the death of Gabriel García Márquez at the age of 87 last month, a Charles Lane column in the Washington Post last week on the 1982 Nobel Prize-winning novelist threatened to reopen a 40-year-old wound. Lane…

New Dem. Finance Chief Dined With Fidel Castro

Daniel Halper · January 22, 2013

Politico reported this morning that "Henry R. Muñoz III of San Antonio -- an Obama bundler and a national chairman of the Futuro Fund, a group of Latino leaders who raised money for the president’s reelection -- is expected to be named DNC Finance Chair, the first Latino to hold the title."

Fidel and the Jews

Jaime Daremblum · September 27, 2010

In a recent series of conversations with Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg, Fidel Castro made several eyebrow-raising comments. The one that received the most attention was Castro’s assertion that the Cuban economic model no longer works. (He later tried, disingenuously, to backtrack on this…

When Jeffrey Met Fidel

Lee Smith · September 10, 2010

Jeffrey Goldberg is back from Cuba, where he was summoned by Fidel Castro after the former Cuban president read Goldberg’s recent article on the likelihood of an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear program. Goldberg promises that his Havana adventure will be the subject of a forthcoming story,…

'A Desperate Measure'

Jaime Daremblum · July 20, 2010

It’s a familiar trick: When the Castro regime wants something from the international community, it makes a grand show of releasing political prisoners, in hopes of convincing foreign officials that Cuba has liberalized and thus deserves to be rewarded.