Statement of the National Committee Communist Party USA on the death of Fidel Castro.

The Communist Party USA joins with millions of people around the world in mourning the passing of our dear comrade, Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, leader of the heroic Cuban people and inspiration to fighters for national liberation and socialism the world over.

Comrade Fidel not only led the Cuban government, he was twice elected head of the Non-Aligned Nations organization.

He fought U.S. imperialism in so many ways—political, military, economic and ideological. Transitioning the Cuban Revolution from a national democratic, anti-imperialist one into a socialist revolution was a world-shaking accomplishment.

Comrade Fidel’s example was a beacon for the cause of socialism, leading the armed rebellion against the corrupt U.S.-supported Batista dictatorship and building a victorious revolutionary movement. That movement included armed rebels, workers in the cities and campesinos in the countryside. The achievements of the Cuban Revolution demonstrate the accomplishments made possible by a determined, persistent, consistent revolutionary working class and people.

Revolutionary Cuba’s literacy campaign wiped out a 25 per cent illiteracy rate, a legacy of colonialism, in just one year. Cuba’s world-class health care system, developed against all odds in a country impoverished by centuries of colonial plunder, rivals or exceeds that of most industrialized nations. Even more, Cuba has trained tens of thousands of doctors to practice in their own underserved countries and regions around the world, including Africa, Latin America, Haiti. We are particularly grateful for the training of close to 200 U.S. doctors now practicing in rural and urban areas across the U.S.

Comrade Fidel always displayed boundless confidence in the power of the Cuban people to overcome even the most daunting challenges. As Cuba faced decades of economic strangulation due to the illegal U.S. blockade and later the loss of its main trading partners in the socialist bloc, Fidel acknowledged the severity of the challenges but inspired the Cuban people that nevertheless they could prevail. When five Cuban patriots collecting information to protect their homeland from terrorists were unjustly imprisoned in the U.S., Fidel assured the Cuban people that the Five would return. It took the heroism of the Five and the unshakeable determination of the Cuban people, an unprecedented worldwide solidarity campaign and diplomatic breakthroughs with the Obama administration, but return they did.

U.S. imperialism’s unrelenting campaign against Comrade Fidel’s leadership and Cuba’s sovereignty, faltered in the face of the heroism of the Cuban people and its Communist Party. The shameful decades-long efforts of the U.S. government to subvert, condemn, and assassinate the Cuban people’s democratically elected leader were thankfully unsuccessful, but thousands died and untold damage was done through these cowardly acts of terrorism.

Fidel, in his last years, retired from the government and devoted himself to writings about world politics, giving special attention to the environmental crises facing the entire world. As in so many fields, Cuba leads the world in sustainable and organic agriculture, recycling, long-range planning. Cuba is showing the world that it is possible to master the challenges facing all humanity.

We pledge to continue the struggle to end the illegal blockade in the face of new challenges from Donald Trump, to build on the friendly relations between our two peoples and parties and to make Comrade Fidel’s vision of a just and humane world a reality. His flexible and consistent leadership will continue to provide a shining light on the direction ahead. The world and its people have lost a champion.

Always in our hearts, we remember Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz, presente!

Photo: Kremlin

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