With the recent death of Fidel Castro, we decided to take a quick detour from our linear narrative to jump ahead in time and talk about one of the major figures, not only of the Cold War, but of the 20th century. A hero to many, reviled by just as many, his death brought on a new spate of Western media coverage. After reading much of it, we just had to provide our own perspective. We decided to tackle the subject by taking one of the major media obituaries, by the New York Times, and break it down, line by line, to uncover the propaganda. And we’re making this episode free to guests.
Every international human rights group has condemned Castro for serial, longstanding human rights abuses, you don’t have to look very far for hard evidence if you wish to do so. 10% of you population doesn’t flee their home if life is hunky dory. And we invaded Cuba because Castro appropriated a vast number of American owned interests and made overtures to the Soviet Union. Castro also exported support and troops to any number of communist guerrilla bands in Central America and Africa in the late 60s to the 80s. You can certainly question U.S. actions against Cuba or make straw man arguments that the CIA did this or that, but to somehow paint Castro as less than a brutal dictator who suffered zero discontent is just incorrect. Also, feeling “a destiny to rule Cuba” is not far off from being “messianic”.
Derrick, I’m assuming that you didn’t listen to all of our Castro shows, as I think we tackled all of your claims. Human rights groups have made claims about abuses, but the evidence is pretty slim. Life in Cuba has indeed not been “hunky dory” (but that is a great Bowie album) but how much of the standard of living in Cuba is the fault of Castro vs the U.S.’ economic embargo?
Yes, Cuba supported revolutions in other countries, trying to overthrow right-wing dictatorships. The CIA plots against Castro aren’t “straw man arguments” – they are on record by the CIA.