what is happening and what is going to happen in the future with cuba. it is just amazing. rafael, look a this, we re looking at this ariel image outside of the versailles restaurant. i ve been there, you have been there, we have covered stories, we have spoken to people. it is a place where people gather to talk politics. look at the crowd and the many people showing up at 3:25 in the morning, people who heard this news and came together to celebrate. what we hear is people banging pots and pans, but in the background every so often you hear the same chants, freedom, freedom. it is something that we have heard in miami from the exiled community for decades. this is nothing new. this is something that people have been talking about, this is something that people have been dreaming about for a long, long time. there are radio stations in miami dedicated to this, dedicated to speaking about the fall of fidel castro. i can only imagine that all of
this. 11 u.s. presidents had to deal with fidel castro. if you put the numbers together, that s almost a quarter of all of the chief executives in u.s. history. that s a lot of presidents with the same problem. it is amazing. it is interesting, the last guest, the former singapore ambassador to the u.n., i did have to push back on his suggestion that what we re seeing in miami is a small, distorted reaction because, n, it is important. it is important to point out millions of people fled cuba, fled cuba to get to the united states. many people in miami, if we can take a look at these images, many people are reacting. they are celebrating in the streets this hour, at 3:55 in the morning on the u.s. east coast, gathered there just outside the versailles restaurant. the very famous restaurant for cuban americans to gather to talk politics, and on this day to mark history, the death of fidel castro at 90 years old. cnn will continue to follow the
leadership in 2008. he held on to power longer than any other national leader except queen elizabeth ii. the mood in parts of miami, florida, is one of celebration. this was the same last night in the city s little havana neighborhood, the heart of the exile community. hundreds marched through the streets chanting and waving as we see in this video. one woman said castro s death is a celebration of freedom. well, we are here because we are celebrating the freedom of cuba. we believe that after this moment, many things are going to change in cuba and also we are not in such happiness, because we are also celebrating all those people who have gave their lives and are not here today, and could not see this moment. for them, it would be a very
here. there was a woman who had a ceramic horse, fidel s nickname for the longest time was the horse. she said she bought this horse 50 years ago and saved it for this day. she came a while ago before we went on camera and smashed it down here on the street. she bought the horse specifically for that. we are joined by a man named enrique santos. who, like myself, we have known each other quite a while. parent, cuban, grandparents, cuban. he is a well-known d.j. here in the miami community. really well-known, because you prank called fidel castro. it is one of those things that went viral to say the least. it definitely went viral. reporter: when you see this, how do you explain it to people who don t have a connection to the cube ban exile experience who in many ways are celebrating the death of a human being? what do you say to those people out there? to me, personally, i m here, i don t thu we should celebrate the death of a human being.
turned into the nightmare we have today, a totalitarian regime in which all liberties have been abolished. reporter: castro was unable to bring economic prosperity. for that castro blamed the united states and its embargo. but many blamed the man himself, pointing to his unwavering believe in a socialist model. opponents were often dismissed as traitors, imprisoned or compil exiled. castro became a target of international condemnation. but castro never backed down, proudly defending his record on human rights. interpreter: never has a person disappeared in cuba. we feel proud of our clean record in relation to this problem. reporter: call it pride or