very, very nicely about fidel castro. but if this had happened, you know, 30, 40 years ago that might not have been the case. even though both countries were communist countries, they both went through revolutions in the middle part of the 20th century, china and cuba did not have the best relationship for a long time. in fact, they didn t establish formal diplomatic ties until 1993. it was in an interview in the late 70s actually that fidel castro gave that he said while he agreed with chairman m mao ze dun of china, he agreed with him but he said mao s ego was detrimental for the chinese. he was very critical of chairman mao and that at that time was not a way do get ties with china. in 1993 things eased, diplomatic relations were formally established between both sides. since then what you ve seen is a cuban economy that has come to increasingly rely on the chinese
that we live today because we have a totalitarian regime. reporter: what castro was never able to abolish is economic props parity. for that, castro blamed the united states and its embargo. many blame the man himself pointing to his unwavering belief and outdated social model. castro had little tolerance. opponents were often listings add traitors and exiles. and castro became the target of international condemnation but like so many times before, castro never backed down, proudly defending his record on human rights. translator: there hasn t been a single case of death quads here. never has a person disappeared in cuba which has been common practice all over latin america. so, we feel proud of our clean record with relation to this problem. reporter: call it pride or selective reasoning, but castro never lost faith in the
they don t want to be detained. they don t want to be exiled, which is what happens to anyone that disagrees with the castro regime in any way, shape, or form. cuban disi cents are being rounded up as they always are to send a strong message to the cube ban population that there will be no dissent on these days. privately in their homes, these same individuals who probably are proclaim tog any press covering this in cuba that they lament the loss of their leader, they are probably celebrating inside in the privacy of the home. fidel castro was a tyrant, an evil dictator. i think it is terrible that president obama issued a statement offering condolences to the castro family. what about condolences to the family members of those who fidel castro personally executed, because he did so. what about the family members of
is one of those moments that you remember. a history to himself. whatever you think of the man he represents a half century if not more of history. it s cuba and the u.s., the rest of the world. influence over latin american leaders. we will break down this here on cnn. we will look at his influence and legacy. patrick has been talking about that a lot. patrick, you are standing by and will be with us for the foreseeable hours. for now look at the role of the army. it has had a big role since he came in to power. here s the package that patrick put together. reporter: from the moment they rolled in to havana that new year s day 1959, ragged, bearded and unwashed they were bent on a radical break from the past. today more than 50 years later, cuba s armed forces remain the
brother fidel. he said dear people of cuba with profound pain i have to inform you and our friends of america and to the world that november 25th, 2016 at 10:29 in the evening the commander and leader 0 the cuban revolution fidel castro died following explicit desires of leader fidel his remains will be cremated in the early hours of tomorrow, saturday 26th of november. the organizing commissioner of the funerals will give detailed information about the organization of the. patrick is live with us this hour. we have elise labott as we hear word on the passing of this former leader. we are touching base with writers, columnist, people in miami to get reaction.