Raúl Castro, the 95-year-old former Cuban leader, is reportedly gravely ill and hospitalized after an apparent stroke, according to reports that have set off a wave of emotional reaction across South Florida’s Cuban exile community. The Cuban government has not publicly confirmed the illness, and state-run Cuban television made no mention of Castro’s health on its nightly newscast or on the program Mesa Redonda as of Tuesday.
Diario Las Américas reported that Castro was seriously ill, citing a confidential source inside Cuba, according to CBS News Miami. Ileana Lavastida, executive director of the outlet, said the newspaper received the report from what she described as a highly reliable confidential source inside Cuba with access to Castro’s inner circle. Lavastida said Castro had apparently suffered a stroke and had been intubated, though she also said Castro was not dead but was seriously ill.
Reports of contacts between Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, a relative of the former leader, and the Trump administration have also surfaced, with the two sides reportedly discussing a possible economic and political opening in Cuba. Those discussions are currently stalled, according to the same report.
Exiles Voice Decades of Anger
For many in Miami’s Cuban exile community, the news landed with a force shaped by decades of grievance. Hector Gonzalez said Castro took everything from his parents and put his father in jail, adding bluntly, “I wish he was dead.”…