Donald Trump has condemned Fidel Castro as a “brutal” dictator who led a repressive regime for more than six decades.
The President-elect declared the death of the former President of Cuba as the first step away from a “totalitarian island” and towards a liberated Cuba in a statement addressing Castro's death.
Castro overthrew the Cuban government in 1959 and launched the Communist Cuban revolution. His death, after years of failing health, has been commemorated by leaders worldwide in statements praising his legacy and his mark on Cuban society.
But Mr Trump warned the “tragedies, deaths and pain” caused by Castro could not be erased in a statement issued hours after his first response, the four-word tweet: “Fidel Castro is dead!”
“Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades,' Mr Trump's statement reads. "Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.
“While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.
“Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I join the many Cuban-Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba.”
