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The oldest son of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro killed himself on Thursday after months of treatment for depression, state media reported. He was 68.

Official website Cubadebate said that Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart had been in a "deeply depressed state." A brief note read on state television said his treatment had "required a hospitalization regime then outpatient follow-up."

The eldest son of Cuba's former leader was known for his distinctive beard and resemblance to his father, earning him the nickname Fidelito or Little Fidel.

Castro Diaz-Balart had served as scientific adviser to the Council of State and was vice president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

His mother was Mirta Diaz-Balart, a woman from Cuba's aristocracy who Castro married in his youth before beginning the revolutionary struggle that later brought him and his brother Raul to power.