I'd like to preface this article by saying that I'm not Cuban, and although I'd like to go I've never been to Cuba. However the death of Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has brought up some deeply held emotions all around the world. In America the news has been met with both joy and sorrow from people who identify with both sides of the political spectrum. Many people however, know of the Cuban revolution and the history of Cuba since through somewhat biased media channels because, with the exception of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the modern history of the country is more or less rolled in with American involvement in the Cold War. For this reason, I've tried to take some commonly held beliefs I've heard and investigate them a bit. My only real qualification here is two years of study as an International Relations major, so take this and everything you read anywhere with a grain of salt.

To many on the left, from liberal Democrats to outright anarchists, Castro was a symbol of resistance to U.S. imperialism. During a time when the U.S. sought to influence the politics of many South American countries, people saw Castro and the success of Cuban socialism as a victory against western capitalist influence. Operation Condor was a CIA backed plot to destabilize governments in South America in order to install friendly regimes, yet Cuba never succumbed to this influence. It is true that a country 90 miles off the coast of one of the world's greatest superpowers has kept a surprisingly strong economy in the face of a long trade embargo that was only recently lifted. It is also true that throughout the years since Cuba became officially Communist, the U.S. government has aided and participated in many attempts to overthrow the government of Cuba; the most notable of these attempts being the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. In fact, the CIA has attempted to assassinate Castro an estimated 624 times, yet he lived to the ripe old age of 90.

However, that isn't to say that the the critiques of Castro's regime are entirely untrue. The biggest argument against his government are it's treatment of Cubans in general, and homosexuals in particular. It is true that for most of his life Castro was incredibly homophobic, stating that homosexuality was unnatural and grew out of bourgeois decadence. He brought these ideas to his system of government as well, enacting and enforcing anti-homosexual laws, even going as far as to remove renowned Beat poet Allen Ginsberg from the country due to his homosexuality. In addition to laws against homosexuality, the revolutionary government strengthened laws that defined terrorism and used these laws in an attempt to quiet critics of the government. This has, of course, led to Castro's denouncement as a brutal dictator, however it is important hat we do not lose context when looking at his actions. Firstly, Castro's homophobic tendencies were not at all uncommon during the time he lived, especially in a country with a long relationship with the idea of machismo. Castro has also gone on to denounce the treatment of homosexuals and take full responsibility for the actions of the government. In dealing with the idea of state censorship and how it has framed Castro as a dictator, we have to look no further than American McCarthyism. The Cold War was a time of international paranoia and every country was trying it's best to make sure that they were protected from enemies both outside of and within their borders, at this time every country strengthened the laws regarding terrorism and free speech. It seems to me hypocritical to accuse another country of something that your own country did as well. All in all, I do not believe that we should remember Castro as a hero or a villain but as a man motivated, like all men, by the things that he believed.