Fidel’s Castro’s death on Friday came as a relief for many in America, particularly those who either escaped or whose parents fled Cuba during his regime. The dictator is infamously known for human rights abuses rampant throughout his rule. In Miami, Cuban-Americans and all those who are a part of the exile community celebrated the dictator’s demise.
While they celebrated, world leaders took a softer line on commenting on Castro’s life. USA Today reported that North Korea is implementing a 3-day mourning period for the dictator, that Kim Jong-un sees as a “rare comrade-in-arms against the common enemy of the United States.” Four famous Americans, including our President, and Canada’s Prime Minister released statements that essentially expressed pity for the Cuban people who are, as Trudeau phrased, in “mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”
We can add another example to that list of embarrassing reactions to Castro’s death.
The New York Times’ Helene Cooper defended the dictator on MSNBC’s Meet the Press. Cooper, who was born Liberia, remembered Castro as a force against an ‘apartheid regime’ supported by the United States. She dismissed Marco Rubio’s comments as “America-centric” while President Obama’s statement represented the reality that “nobody in the rest of the world sort of agrees with you.”