By Zoila Palma: Former Cuban president Raúl Castro is celebrating his 95th birthday today marking a milestone for one of the most recognizable figures of Cuba’s 1959 revolution.
Though he formally retired from politics in April 2021, Castro remains general of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, holds a seat in the National Assembly and is still considered an influential figure in Cuban affairs.
Born on June 3, 1931, in Birán, eastern Cuba, Castro became politically active at a young age while studying law in Havana. He opposed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and participated in the 1953 attack on military barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Following imprisonment and release, he fled to Mexico, where he joined the guerrilla movement that later overthrew Batista and brought the revolutionary government to power in 1959.
After the revolution, Castro was appointed minister of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces and later became second secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1965. When Fidel Castro’s health declined in 2006, Raúl Castro assumed temporary leadership before being elected president in 2008.
During his tenure, Cuba saw reforms allowing private enterprise, restored diplomatic relations with the United States in 2015 and renewed commercial flights between the two countries. He handed over the presidency in 2018 to Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Although largely absent from public life since retiring, Castro continues to attract political attention. He was last seen publicly at a May Day rally alongside Díaz-Canel, weeks before the United States indicted him over the 1996 downing of civilian planes over Cuban waters.
While Castro has remained silent on the charges, supporters in Cuba and on social media marked his birthday with tributes, praising his role in the revolution and his lasting influence on the island nation.
The post International News: Raúl Castro turns 95 as Cuba marks legacy of Revolutionary Leader appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Former Cuban president Raúl Castro is celebrating his 95th birthday today marking a milestone for one of the most recognizable figures of Cuba’s 1959 revolution. Though he formally retired from politics in April 2021, Castro remains general of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, holds a seat in the National Assembly and is still
The post International News: Raúl Castro turns 95 as Cuba marks legacy of Revolutionary Leader appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
