International News
Fidel Castro’s eldest son commits suicide: Cuban media
Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, a lookalike of his father, had been in a “deeply depressed state.”
Official Cuban website Cubadebate said Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, eldest son of late Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, committed suicide on Thursday aged 68. Mr. Diaz-Balart had been in a “deeply depressed state.” A brief note read on state television said his treatment had “required an initial hospitalization then outpatient follow-up.”
Mr. Diaz-Balart was known for his resemblance to his father, earning him the nickname Fidelito or Little Fidel. He studied nuclear physics in the former Soviet Union and served as scientific adviser to Cuba’s Council of State. He was vice-president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. He previously led its nuclear program.
Born to Castro’s first wife
Mr. Diaz-Balart was born to Fidel Castro’s first wife, Mirta Diaz-Balart, a woman from Cuba’s aristocracy who Fidel married in his youth before beginning the revolutionary struggle that later brought him and his brother Raul to power.
By his maternal lineage, Mr. Diaz-Balart is cousin to Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who represents Cuban exiles in Florida.
Fidel Castro, the father, died in November 2016 at the age of 90.
