Congresswoman Lee expresses sympathy with Fidel Castro mourners

Yet despite hardship brought about by a U.S. economic embargo, Castro’s Cuba became a country renowned for high education standards and world-class doctors. Soler said she did not expect Fidel Castro’s death to change the human rights situation in Cuba.

It is unclear whether Trump, who takes office on January 20, will continue efforts to normalise relations with Cuba or fulfill a campaign promise to close the U.S. embassy in Havana once again.

Flag-waving Cuban students broke into a mass chant of “I am Fidel” to salute Castro as nine days of mourning began for the combative Cold War icon.

Though many in Cuba and Latin America have publicly mourned the loss of a figure who stood up to the US’s assertion of its hegemony in the region, exiles in Miami, 370 kilometers (220 miles) from Havana, have danced in the streets to celebrate Castro’s death.

“I hope they start having free elections”, he said. “But we know the reality of it”. Raul Castro had introduced modest reforms, opening up opportunities for small businesses while still protecting the state monoliths and monopolies. “Fidel was the bonding agent that kept that whole thing going”.

Her mother, an educator, was the last in her family to turn against the regime. American tourists visiting Cuba are finding themselves in the middle of history.

Many across the world couldn’t believe what they read.

Former Trump campaign director Kellyanne Conway said on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos that Trump is “open to researching and, in fact, resetting relations with Cuba”.

Maria Soldani, 70, of Pompano Beach, has been traveling to Cuba since 2006, in part to see relatives in her native Cienfuegos.

Fidel Castro’s death comes at a time of a changing relationship between the US and Cuba and a changing administration here at home.

Lysset Perez, a 44-year-old peanut vendor, dressed in the national colours with a single-starred, blue, red and white flag on her head on Sunday.

Mwencha said Cuba under Castro, has been very much associated with Africa’s development.

“I honored that wish. That is really what you might call humanity in him that was larger than just the individual Cuba”, Mwencha said.

Many Canadians crossed their fingers and hoped that it was indeed a mistake. “Cuba is the only exception”. Yet, she accepts that life in Cuba has for her its downsides.

“Raul wants the country to advance, to do business with the whole world, even the United States”, said Belkis Bejarano (65) in central Havana.

Elian Gonzalez says in an interview with Cuban state television that it’s “not right to talk about Fidel in the past tense. but rather that Fidel will be”. It was not working for them. I think that there is evidence that there has been some change. That people are willing to speak. People quietly sipped their morning coffee outside the Versailles restaurant – which had put up signs in Spanish calling itself the “House of the Exiles” – where numerous demonstrations have been centered along Calle Ocho, or 8th Street.

The death of the father of the Cuban revolution, who defied the northern superpower through 11 USA presidents, comes amid a sometimes rocky transition of power in Washington. “Trump will give them an excuse. They can blame him for the slow pace of change”, he said. Under Castro’s rule, Cuba excelled in all sectors, especially healthcare.

At the same time, he said, “I’d like for everything to be more democratic, for everyone to be able to express themselves and define their own position”.

Trump does not like unrestricted immigration and that is what that policy allows, Robert Muse – an expert on USA law vis-a-vis Cuba – told EFE. “And some people have said ‘you suffer from Stockholm syndrome, ‘ which I challenge them to say to my face”, he said.

In April, he delivered a rare speech during the nation’s Communist Party congress, praising his brother for his “magnificent effort” and promising victory for the Cuban people.