Fidel Castro Admits Blame for Persecution of Gays in Cuba

In a recent interview with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, former Cuban president Fidel Castro lamented the persecution suffered by the gay community in Cuba during his presidency, responding, “”If someone is responsible, it’s me.”

When Castro came into power, homosexuality was banned and declared “against the revolution.” Those even suspected of being gay were rounded up and arrested, often being raped in the process, eventually being sent to prison or “rehabilitation and re-education camps.” The gay writer Reinaldo Arenas, who initially supported the revolution, chronicled the gruesome abuse he faced in his memoir Before Night Falls. Homosexuality was eventually decriminalized in 1979, but public decency laws continued to extend to those who “publicly flaunted their homsexual condition.

Castro told journalist Carmen Lira Saade he failed to pay attention to LGBT rights because of the many problems the regime was facing at the time, “problems of life or death.” “At the time we were being sabotaged systematically, there were armed attacks against us,” he recalls. “Keeping one step ahead of the CIA, which was paying so many traitors, was not easy.” However he emphatically calls the persecution “a grave injustice.”

Cuba’s policies towards the LGBT community now seem to be a mixed bag. While the state sponsors activities for International Day of Homophobia, police continue to arrest gay activists. In 2008, a remarkably progressive LGBT rights bill that included the legalization of same-sex unions and the right for transsexuals to switch genders on their ID cards was proposed but eventually withdrawn.

While Castro made a decidedly anti-homophobic speech in 1993, declaring, “I’ve never been in favor, nor supported policies against homosexuals…I do not consider homosexuality to be a phenomenon of degeneration,” this is the first time he has accepted responsibility for the extreme abuse that transpired during his regime.

Read more: cuba, Fidel Castro, homophobia, human rights, lgbt rights

Agência Brasil

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trina f.

7:19PM PDT on Sep 20, 2010

i cant imagine castro making a statement like this in lieu of impending benefits. maybe i am gullible,but people do change.
i'd like to believe he is speaking from genuine remorse. if so, more power to him.

send a green star

10:39AM PDT on Sep 16, 2010

I wonder how the homophobic politicians in this country will manage to twist this to their advantage?

Christine S.

8:55PM PDT on Sep 14, 2010

Even Ron White, the redneck comedian, thinks homophobia is a ridiculous waste! Go after pedophiles and rapists, and leave consenting adults alone.

Karen C.

10:10AM PDT on Sep 11, 2010

I find Castro's comments amazing but that fact remains that same sex marriage isn't allowed in Cuba. Does Castro plan to lobby for such a bill as that which was withdrawn in 2008? Also, what is the state of gay rights in Cuba now? The article just mentions the bill being introduced but are gays actively still being arrested today?

Carlos L.

5:06AM PDT on Sep 11, 2010

At least he admits it. Late, but he does. Other politicians die without admiting their failures. This is particularly true of US presidents. Can anyone imagine George Bush apologizing for the invasion of Iraq? Or, for that matter, Obama for the unjustified expansion of the war in Afghanistan?

Carl W.

8:06PM PDT on Sep 10, 2010

Don't be fooled. Castro apologizes because he'll get sommething out of it - like fewer fights & less chance of riots he'll have to deal with. Humanitarian??? - I've got some bridges to sell you !?!

Sherylee H.

4:18PM PDT on Sep 10, 2010

Well at least he finally came clean. I wonder if the state will compensate or provide counselling for the damage done to the LGBT community.

luca p.

3:32PM PDT on Sep 10, 2010

thanks

3:31PM PDT on Sep 10, 2010