Donalp Trump was wrong in castigating Fidel Castro

Quite a good number of world leaders have sent messages of condolences following the passing on of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

Many, especially from Africa, praised the fallen leader for the great sacrifice he made in liberating a number of African countries like Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa, just to name but a few, from the yoke of oppressive colonialism.

Ironically, US President-elect Donald Trump’s ‘condolences’ were more or less celebratory and fallacious. His message stated that: “Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights”.

Probably Trump, being a global business tycoon, might know more about the dark side of Castro, which the rest of the world might not know. But for now, his sentiments can be dismissed as lies because Cuba, under Castro, is known to have adopted a socialist lifestyle where primitive accumulation of wealth by individuals is abhorred.

Castro was never ranked among infamous corrupt world leaders who stole most of their countries’ wealth and stashed it offshore. In addition, Cuba, unlike some Asian countries, has never been notorious for firing squads.

On the contrary, Cuba is renowned for the best medical care in the whole world.

In fact, Obamacare in the US, borrowed heavily from the Cuban model. Cuba is credited for sending its medics to several countries to assist in combating diseases outbreaks, such was the case during Ebola outbreak in West Africa three years ago.

If at all Castro brought poverty to Cubans, then the US is partly to blame because of the economic embargo it imposed on Cuba in retaliation to Cuba’s decision to align itself to communist Soviet Union.

It is, therefore, unfortunate for Trump to go against the grain and attribute all manner of unsubstantiated atrocities to the fallen Cuban leader.

Aggrey Kulali