Maryann Batlle

Naples (Fla.) Daily News

MIAMI — Carole Sague has never spent a day of her 17 years in Cuba. But Saturday afternoon, she was part of the growing crowd of people in Little Havana in South Florida celebrating the death of the island country’s former leader Fidel Castro.

Sague, who was born in the United States to Cuban-American parents, said she understands what drives Castro’s exiles to rejoice. Castro promised Cubans reform, but instead he divided families and killed dissidents, she said.

“He rose to power on lies,” Sague said.

Young Cubans like Sague turned out by the thousands to witness a milestone their parents or grandparents had waited decades to witness.

Whether they left Cuba as children or spent their whole lives in the outside world, Cubans born long after Castro’s regime first took power in 1959 said they are just as passionate for change as their elders.

Miami's Little Havana celebrates Fidel Castro's death

Rafael Cruz, 34, of Golden Gate Estates, said he drove across the state from Southwest Florida to Little Havana because he wanted to share his joy with other exiles. His family fled Cuba to escape economic and political oppression when he was a teen, he said.

"This is as good as it gets away from home," Cruz said of Little Havana. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

Cuba’s current president, Raul Castro, confirmed in an announcement on state television that his older brother, Fidel, died at 10:29 p.m. Friday.

The news was almost unbelievable, said Oscar Miro, a 22-year-old who came to the United States 10 years ago. He only has known a world with Castro in it.

Miro, who wore a Cuban flag like a cape, was caught off guard by the Cuban government’s public admission that Castro, the icon of a communist revolution that disrupted countless lives, was dead.

“We always thought they were gonna hide it to prevent an event like this,” Miro said, referring to the outpouring of emotion.

Hanoi Rodrigues, 21, Miro’s friend since middle school, said Castro’s death is a necessary step toward a Cuba that can be free.

“Cuba should be like this country,” Rodriguez said.

Stephania Valentin, 32, said she made her way to Little Havana because it felt right.

Valentin is of Haitian and Cuban descent. Her Cuban grandmother, who passed away, was pro-Castro, Valentin said, but the gathering was about more than politics for her.

“I wanted to be part of the energy — the happiness,” Valentin said.

Sague said Raul Castro's rule in Cuba is vulnerable because of his brother's death.

Cubans on the island can start to envision a country without the Castro family's leadership, she said.

"They can see the power is weakening, and they can start to fight for what they deserve," Sague said.