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Fidel Castro would have turned 100 on Thursday, and his long shadow continues to loom over the island.
Published On 13 Aug 2026
Cuba has commemorated former President Fidel Castro with events including the International Book Fair, art exhibitions, concerts and gatherings of delegates from left-wing organisations across the continent.
The centenary of Castro’s birth, marked on Thursday, comes as Cuba faces an intensifying squeeze that began when the Trump administration imposed a fuel blockade in January, followed by a series of sanctions aimed at pressuring the communist government to make political and economic changes. The measures have deepened a five-year economic crisis, exacerbated by existing US sanctions and a failed domestic financial overhaul.
Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for five decades, from 1959 until he handed the presidency to brother, Raul, in 2008. He remained influential until his death in 2016.
Raul Castro received a standing ovation as he appeared in public at an event on Thursday in Havana to mark the centenary of his brother’s birth.
Raul, the last surviving leader of Cuba’s 1959 revolution, is widely seen as still wielding power on the island, despite stepping down as president in 2018.
In May, he was indicted by a court in the US state of Florida on four counts of murder.
