U.S. President-elect calls late leader a ‘brutal dictator’ on Facebook and runs into a hail of barbs from Kerala

When Donald Trump described Fidel Castro as a ‘brutal dictator’ on his Facebook page, he could not have imagined that his post would draw the sharpest reactions from a small State in distant India, in a language he perhaps has not even heard of.

The U.S. President-elect had attacked the late Cuban leader for ‘oppressing’ his own people for nearly six decades. The post attracted more than 19,000 comments, mainly in English, but also in Malayalam. Many comments were sharply critical of Mr. Trump.

While most questioned Mr. Trump’s right to criticise Fidel Castro, who led the island nation during the time of 10 U.S. Presidents, one invited Mr. Trump to visit Kerala so people could greet him with a black flag. He is also assured that he would continue to be trolled until he steps down, one writer addressing him as ‘Trumpettan’ (elder brother Mr. Trump). The critics reminded him about the many attempts to assassinate the Cuban revolutionary.

Fidel Castro is an icon in Kerala, the first State to elect a Communist-led government. Malayalis have earlier trolled Prime Minister Modi for comparing Kerala with Somalia.