Fidel angel castro diaz balart wikipedia

Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart

Cuban nuclear physicist and government official (–)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Castro and the second or maternal family name is Díaz-Balart.

Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart (1 September – 1 February ) was a Cuban nuclear physicist and government official. Frequently known by the diminutiveFidelito (little Fidel),[1] he was the eldest son of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his first wife, Mirta Díaz-Balart.[2][3][4]

Life and career

Castro Díaz-Balart's parents divorced in , prior to the Cuban Revolution in which his father seized power in the country. His mother moved to Miami, United States, with the Díaz-Balart family, taking her son with her. Castro Díaz-Balart returned to Cuba as a child to visit his father, and remained there for the rest of his childhood.[5] In , he appeared as a 9-year-old during an interview with his father on U.S. television.[6]

Castro Díaz-Balart moved to Moscow (in what was then the Soviet Union), where he enrolled at Voronezh State University in [7] For safety, he studied under the code name "José Raúl Fernández",[8] which he claimed to have chosen in homage to world chess champion José Raúl Capablanca and to have later used to publish 30 scientific publications.[9] He initially studied physical education before switching to nuclear physics in [7] He graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University, and went on to work at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, and to receive his first doctorate from Lomonosov, in [10][7][1] Returning to Cuba, he was placed in charge of Cuba's nuclear power program for a time, leading the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant construction program from to , during which time he was also the executive secretary of the country's Atomic Energy Commission.[11] He served as a member of the Non-aligned Movement's Coordinating Countries for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, and was elected to chair the Second Meeting of that group in April [12] Castro Díaz-Balart was removed from his positions in June , following a falling out with his father, who cited "inefficiency" as the reason for the removal.[13] Another reason for his removal is attributed to his failure to develop an atomic bomb for Cuba's military.[14] Castro then announced the suspension of construction at Juragua in September , due to Cuba's inability to meet the financial terms set by Russia to complete the reactors.[13]

Castro Díaz-Balart then returned to further his studies in Moscow, and received his second doctorate at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in [7] In the s, he returned to a level of prominence, serving as a scientific advisor to the Council of State, the governing body of Cuba, and as vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.[15][16] Throughout his career, Castro Diaz-Balart authored articles on the developing role of nuclear energy.[17]

In , Castro Díaz-Balart disputed reports that Fidel Castro was becoming senile, describing his father as "lucid" and "working hard",[18] which was similar to the "upbeat assessment" of Castro's health that Castro Díaz-Balart made in February , following Castro's illness during that period.[19]

In April , he visited Russia to declare Cuba's recognition of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, also receiving an honorary doctorate at Voronezh State University.[7] In February , during the Cuban thaw towards the end of the Obama administration, when Americans were more freely allowed to visit Cuba, he participated in events to welcome American celebrities to the island, mingling with Paris Hilton and Naomi Campbell.[20] The following month, he visited Novosibirsk, Russia, meeting with the mayor, Anatoly Lokot, and regional governor Vladimir Gorodetsky to improve Cuban relations with scientific institutions in the region.[10]

Family

See also: Díaz-Balart family

Castro Díaz-Balart had three children – Mirta María, Fidel Antonio, and José Raúl – with Natasha Smirnova, whom he met in Russia. After divorcing Smirnova, he married María Victoria Barreiro from Cuba.[21] U.S. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, currently representing the 25th district of Florida, and former U.S. Congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart were his maternal cousins.[22]

Death

Castro Díaz-Balart died by suicide in Havana on 1 February , at the age of [5] He had previously received outpatient care for depression.[23][24][25] The report of his suicide by the Cuban government was described as "unusually public."[26] Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart's first cousin Gabriel Díaz-Balart also died by suicide as a result of depression. "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart was buried on the Central Colon Cemetery in Havana, in the tomb of the Academia de Ciencias, to the right of André Voisin.[27]

At his death he still held his positions with the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the Council of State.[16]

Publications

References

  1. ^ ab"FIDEL CASTRO Díaz-Balart, "FIDELITO". History of Fidel Castro Ruz first-born son". The Cuban History. 27 November
  2. ^"Who Is Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart? Oldest Son of Deceased Leader Fidel Castro Committed Suicide". Newsweek. 1 February
  3. ^Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (26 November ). "Fidel Castro's Children: The Family He Left Behind". . Retrieved 2 February
  4. ^Geisler, Bob. "Hamburgs Wirtschaftssenator zu Besuch bei Fidel Castros Sohn". Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). Retrieved 2 February
  5. ^ ab"Cuba: Fidel Castro's son 'takes own life'". BBC News. 1 February
  6. ^"Fidel Castro (starting at )". Youtube. Retrieved 2 February
  7. ^ abcde"Visiting Russia, Fidel Castro's Son Scoffs at U.S. Sanctions Over Crimea". The Moscow Times. 1 April
  8. ^""Fidelito" ist tot". DPA-Article in Der Tagesspiegel. 2 February
  9. ^Stone, Richard (2 February ). "Fidel Castro's eldest son, a physicist, is victim of apparent suicide". Science. doi/
  10. ^ abPagliery, Felipe (30 March ). "Fidel Jr. Back in the News". Havana Times.
  11. ^"Se suicida Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, hijo mayor del expresidente de Cuba". BBC Mundo. 2 February
  12. ^Executive Office of the President, Latin America Report (), Issue , p. 2.
  13. ^ abFrench, Howard W. (7 September ). "Cuba Cancels Atom Plant, Blaming Costs and Russians". The New York Times.
  14. ^Barron, John (March ). "Castro, Cocaine and the A-Bomb". Reader's Digest (March, ): 65–
  15. ^"Falleció el compañero Fidel Castro Díaz–Balart". Granma. 1 February
  16. ^ ab"Fidel Castro's eldest son 'Fidelito' commits suicide". Reuters. 1 February
  17. ^"Fidel Castro's Eldest Son Commits Suicide". Shillong Times. 2 February Archived from the original on 2 February
  18. ^Elfrink, Tim (20 September ). "Fidel Castro Is Not Senile, Still "Working Hard," His Son Says". Miami New Times.
  19. ^Gibbs, Stephen (16 February ). "Cuba's Castro recovering says son". BBC.
  20. ^Allen, Nick (1 March ). "Cuba's revolution comes full circle with a Hilton in Havana". The Telegraph.
  21. ^Madan, Monique O.; Flechas, Joey (2 February ). "Fidel Castro's oldest son commits suicide after battle with depression". Miami Herald.
  22. ^Marsh, Sarah; Frank, Marc (2 February ). Maler, Sandra; McCool, Grant; Cameron-Moore, Simon (eds.). "Fidel Castro's eldest son 'Fidelito' commits suicide". . Archived from the original on 2 February Retrieved 18 March
  23. ^Oppmann, Patrick (1 February ). "Fidel Castro's eldest son takes own life, state media reports". CNN. Retrieved 2 February
  24. ^"Fidel Castro's eldest son dies aged 68 – reports". The Guardian. 2 February Retrieved 2 February
  25. ^White, Jeremy (2 February ). "Fidel Castro's eldest son has died". The Independent. Retrieved 2 February
  26. ^Rodriguez, Andrea (2 February ). "Fidel Castro's son mourned in Cuba after suicide". ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 February Retrieved 3 February
  27. ^Miami Herald: September 19, Lincoln Diaz-Balart tells own story, help needed to prevent suicide.

External links