Fidel Castro Legacy

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As of November 25, 2016, Cuban president Fidel Castro is dead. Establishing the first Western Hemisphere communist state after overthrowing dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Castro was the last of the Cold War leaders to go. He was born in 1926 near Birán, Cuba and, starting in 1958, he and his forces began campaigning guerrilla warfare, which eventually led to Batista’s overthrow. As the new leader of his home country, Castro had brought in communist policies and strengthened relations with the Soviet Union, however, due to the Cold War going on at that time, this put a strain Cuba’s and America’s relationship with each other. While many improvements were made under his rule, he also killed anyone who opposed him or tried to escape his …show more content…

In Cuba, the oppression that many were at the receiving end of will no longer be a concern and the rising group of young artists in the country will be able to express themselves freely without fear of death or a lifetime spent in prison. This taste of freedom is one that many will relish in addition to the good things that Castro had provide the country with previously, such as free education and healthcare for all, and the positive parts that his legacy has left in its wake. Barack Obama had previously re-established diplomatic ties with Havana and loosened the travel ban back in 2009 during his presidency, however, President-elect Donald Trump wants to get rid of these vital steps forward. If he finds these agreements that so many presidents have helped worked towards over the many years of Castro’s rule and that Obama was able to carry out, not only would he be taking away the American freedoms that many young Cubans were able to experience because of them, he would also cause Cuban - AMerican relations to grow more tense. By not working with the country more, especially now that it is free of Castro, and getting rid of any agreements that the countries have made in an attempt to get on better terms with one another, Trump is showing Cubans that Americans want nothing to do with them, which may lead to conflicts between the two nations and perhaps even a

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