The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro:

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President.

“Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.

“While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”.

“I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raúl Castro during my recent visit to Cuba.

“On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”

We know that this moment fills Cubans–in Cuba and in the United States–with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation

… Syria President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday hailed Fidel Castro’s “legendary resistance” to the embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba in a statement marking the death of the revolutionary leader. “The great leader Fidel Castro led his people’s and his country’s struggle against imperialism and hegemony for decades,” Assad, whose government is facing US sanctions, said in a message of condolences.

“His resistance became legendary and inspired leaders and people all over the world,” he said in the letter addressed to Castro’s brother Raul, who is president of Cuba. “Cuba, a friendly country, was able thanks to its leaders to resist against the toughest sanctions and most unjust campaigns in our modern history,” Assad said, referring to the US embargo on the island. …

Remarks by President Obama and President Raul Castro of Cuba in a Joint Press Conference

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More broadly, we’re moving ahead with partnerships in health, science, and the environment. Just as Cubans and American medical teams have worked together in Haiti against cholera, and in West Africa against Ebola — and I want to give a special commendation to Cuban doctors who volunteered and took on some very tough assignments to save lives in West Africa in partnership with us and other nations. We very much appreciate the work that they did. Our medical professionals will now collaborate in new areas, preventing the spread of viruses like Zika and leading new research into cancer vaccines. Our governments will also work to protect the beautiful waters of this region that we share.

And as two countries threatened by climate change, I believe we can work together to protect communities and our low-lying coasts. And we’re inviting Cuba to join us and our Caribbean and Central American partners at this spring’s regional energy summit in Washington.

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President Raul Castro Warns on Consequences of Climate Change

Cuba´s President Raul Castro, denounced today here that the global temperature rise will compromise first, integrity and physical existence of many countries and island nations, and will produce serious consequences to the Third World.

Key Remarks of President Raul Castro at Rio+20

“Despite the milestone that marked the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 38 percent between 1990 and 2009”, said Raul Castro speaking at the plenary session of the Summit United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20.

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Fidel Castro warns of climate change

Havana – Cuba’s iconic revolutionary Fidel Castro warned that the world was on an “inexorable” march into the abyss this year because of climate change and the threat of nuclear war.

In an article published on Thursday – Castro’s first since November 2011 – the 85-year-old retired leader also took aim at the United States and at gas shale “fracking”, a new source of fossil fuels condemned by environmentalists.

He did not, however, address rumours of his death, which were denied by an official Cuban blogger after they surfaced on Twitter earlier this week.

“Many dangers threaten us, but two of them, nuclear war and climate change, are decisive and are drifting further away from a solution,” he wrote in an article entitled “The March Towards the Abyss.”

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Castro was a mass murderer

President Obama said this about the death of Fidel Castro: “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular character.”

And I say “Fidel Castro was a mass murderer who ordered the killing of thousands of innocent Cubans, in order to scare and control the rest of the Cuban population.”

He had a peaceful death, but in his final days he should have experienced a lot of suffering; he should have been dragged through the streets of Havana, like Mussolini in Italy, and then hanged.

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“Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights”

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