I got to give it to the guy. Fifty years of despotism is more than what Lincoln, Wilson, Hoover, FDR, LBJ, and Nixon strung together combined.

The New York Times reports,

Fifty years ago today, many Cubans cheered when Fidel Castro seized power in Havana, and even now, the revolution attracts many fans — as evidenced by the Canadian tour agencies advertising trips “to celebrate five decades of resilience.”

But the bodies speak to a different legacy. Here in South Florida, where roughly 850,000 Cubans have settled over the years, repeated waves of painful exile and family separation define the Castro era. The revolution never met their hopeful expectations, the island they love has slipped into decay, and for many, this week’s golden anniversary provides little more than a flashback to traumas, old and new.

I can just hope the Cuban embargo is lifted as soon as possible in order to hasten the inevitable fall of that regime. The European Union renewed ties this past year, along with presidential visits from Brazil and Russia.

The Cuban people are already more American than you know, as the Times report shows.

“I have my own business; I sell Viagra pills,” said the man, who did not want to be identified for fear of running afoul of authorities. “You can’t buy them in Cuban shops, so that is a pretty good business considering that the Cuban population is growing older every year.”

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