castro s regime. some of those people are here with me right now. i know we were speaking earlier before you said you were witnessing fire squads when you used to live in cuba. you ve been back in the united states how long? i ve been in the states for about 48 or 49 years. tell me, you lived in front of the courthouse, and you witnessed firings firing squads. tell us exactly the oppression that this regime created. when castro took power the first month he set up firing squads. i happened to live right out front across from the courthouse. and every day for months and months and months we had five, ten, 15 people every day that were prosecuted. the trial would only last a couple of hours, and then they would take them in to the military headquarters, maybe six
new reaction from president-elect donald trump to the death of the long-time cuban leader fidel castro. trump released this statement that reads, in part, fidel castro s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental hiuman rights. it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long and toward a future where the wonderful cuban people live in the freedom they deserve. let s bring in former adviser and an msnbc contributor and a writer and huffington post contributor who s worked on every democratic presidential campaign since 1972. good afternoon to both of you, gentlemen. let s start with this. castro s death is really trump s first diplomatic test. robert, how s he doing?
when things took a turn fidel made it clear the direction he was heading by arresting any sis dissidents and putting many of my grandfather s friends in front of firing squads, because of that, my father was put 20 years in prison for basically refusing to speak out. he was considered a lucky one by many of his friends. sadly, you have generations of people, like my grandfather, like my parents, waiting to have relief because so many of their lives were taken away from them. my grandmother landed in cuba and had a store. after castro took power, suddenly that did not belong to her. all of her hard work was fidel castros. my grandparentses are no longer around. i don t think my parents believe that things are suddenly going
remains to be seen exactly what donald trump will do. all right. nbc s ron allen. let s pick up on that. let s bring in nbc s kristen welker, covering the president-elect during his holiday weekend in palm beach florida. what are elected officials saying? sheinelle, before we get to them, the president-elect put out that tweet at 8:00 a.m. this morning saying, fidel castro is dead, then a couple hours later, he had a broader statement. it says, fidel castro s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights. though the tragedies cannot be erasesed r our administration will do all it can to ensure the cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. and you re absolutely right. the cuban-american community speaking out as well today. this was a press conference led by congresswoman ros-lehtinen and she was born in cuba. she s a cuban exile. take a listen to what she and
opportunity to live a free life, that frankly all the other countries in the western hemisphere, with some rare exceptions, can enjoy, that it would come to the cuban people as well so they also can improve their lives economically, which are mired in misery right now and have been under this regime. you know, look, my thoughts just ramble on. i ll be glad to answer your questions. clearly this is something that evokes powerful emotion for those who lived in cuba. as we talked about, you left cuba, you once lived there. what do you remember of your life in cuba under castro? oh, well look, i remember the dramatic change that occurred in my life before and after the castro regime. it s often thought of improvements that came about, i only lived under castro for three years. what i can remember was firing squads, the inability to speak