Colombian President Gustavo Petro posted a tweet praising Castro's tyranny in Cuba. The message provoked many adverse reactions, which rebuked him for trying to whitewash one of the bloodiest regimes on the continent.
"The Castros took care that the children had food, health and education," Petro said on X (formerly Twitter), in a post against former President Iván Duque.
Los Castro cuidaron que los niños tuvieran comida, salud y educación, en cambio tú, Duque, los bombardeaste. Creiste que si morían los niños moría el comunismo, tanta estupidez pensaste. Quizás sea peor la dictadura del que cree que es bendito el matar 6.402 jóvenes, pensando… https://t.co/84gearFgol
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 17, 2023
Duque's message, to which Petro reacted, questioned the position of the current government for its alliance with Russia and its sympathy for Havana: "They condemn the Pinochet dictatorship, but they idolize the dictatorship of the Castros and their heirs. They remain silent in the face of Russia's genocide in Ukraine and legitimize the ELN's [Ejército de Liberación Nacional]crimes against humanity, calling them revolutionaries. They want to equate Israel's democracy with Putin's oppression, and call their opponents versions of Hitler, while justifying massacres, kidnappings and institutional takeovers for 'political' reasons. Such are demagogues with their double standards."
Petro's publication provoked the ire of those who consider the whitewashing of the Castro regime unacceptable.
Argentine activist Agustín Antonetti wrote: "You are a despicable human being. If I put what I think of you they will close my account. You are a garbage of a person. No one with a modicum of humanity can say that Fidel Castro 'took care' of Cuban children. He is unforgivable."
Solo te voy a dar un dato Gustavo Petro:
El 13 de Julio de 1994, Fidel Castró ordenó hundir el remolcador 13 de marzo.
Murieron 41 personas, de las cuales 10 eran menores de edad.
¡Ay Petro! Que te perdone Dios si es que crees en él, por defender a un asesino. pic.twitter.com/Ll0EIfueSd
— Yan Estrada (@YannisEst) September 17, 2023
One of the strongest reactions was that of the renowned journalist and director of the magazine Semana, Vicky Dávila:
-Cuba es una dictadura…
-Fidel Castro fue un dictador…
-Raúl Castro fue dictador…
-Los cubanos siguen viviendo bajo el yugo de la dictadura, como hace décadas….
-Los dictadores cubanos siempre han protegido terroristas y los han entrenado y escondido…
-Las dictaduras solo…— Vicky Dávila (@VickyDavilaH) September 17, 2023
Gustavo Petro, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, received strong criticism because just hours after publishing the tweet about Cuba, a photograph of him was leaked in a Broadway theater.
"There you have it, Petro's guerrilla defending the atrocities of the Castros and the more than 70 years of Cuban dictatorship from Broadway in New York. The poor in Colombia are in need and he is a charlatan with the money of the treasury, "said the opponent Miguel Polo Polo.
