Fidel Castro's Children Both Supported & Opposed Cuban Leader
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Much like the people of Cuba, Fidel Castro's own children range from worshipping him to wanting nothing to do with him. His family also stretches all the way to the halls of the United States Congress.
In 1948, Fidel Castro married Mirta Diaz Balart, the wealthy sister of a fellow law student. The marriage exposed Castro to a wealthier lifestyle and political connections. Mirta and Fidel had a son they named Fidel, but is known as Fidelito. The couple divorced in 1955. Fidelito grew up to run Cuba's Atomic Energy Commission until he was removed from the post by his own father.
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While married to Mirta, Fidel had an affair with a married Havana socialite which produced a daughter, Alina Fernandez Revuelta, an outspoken critic of her father.
"I remember him at least the first years of my life. I remember a tender person who used to play games with me. I have tender memories of him at the beginning then I start to grow up and make a difference," said Alina Fernandez Revuelta.
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The differences escalated to the point that Fernandez escaped Cuba in 1993 disguised as a tourist and was later granted political asylum in the U.S. She wrote a book titled Castro's Daughter and became a radio host in South Florida.
For years Fidel Castro hid a second marriage in 1980 to Dalia Soto Del Valle. The couple produced five sons, Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio and Angel.
First wife Mirta Diaz Balart remarried and moved to Spain. Her brother, attorney Rafael Diaz Balart who had introduced her to Fidel went into exile in New York, where in January of 1959 he founded the first anti-Castro organization. Diaz-Balart died in 2005; by then his sons Lincoln and Mario Diaz Balart were already members of the U.S. Congress.
Fidel Castro died Friday night. He was 90. With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro said on state television that his older brother died at 10:29 p.m. Friday. He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: "Towards victory, always!"