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Fidel “Fidelito” Castro Diaz-Balart: Photos of Fidel Castro’s Oldest Son

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Fidel “Fidelito” Castro Diaz-Balart, Fidel’s oldest son, committed suicide on February 1 at the age of 68, according to the state-run website Cubadebate. The son who looked so much like Fidel that he was called “Fidelito” had suffered depression in recent months, CNN reported. His depression was so severe, Newsweek reported, that he required hospitalization and an outpatient followup at one point. But tragically, all the care he received was not enough. See photos of Fidelito in the story below. Do you agree that he resembled his father?

GettyFidel ‘Fidelito’ Castro Diaz-Balart in 2015.

Fidelito was born in 1949. His mother, Mirta, sent him to live with Fidel after his father came to power in Cuba. Fidel never returned his son and at one point, Miami relatives claimed that Fidel had kidnapped Fidelito.

Fidelito was introduced in 1959 by his father on a CBS broadcast. When he studied nuclear physics in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, he used the cover name Jose Raul Fernandez. Later, Fidelito ran the atomic-energy commission before his father removed him from his position, according to The New Yorker. When Fidelito died, he was the vice president of Cuba’s Science Academy and was scientific advisor for the Council State. He wrote several books and articles about scientific topics during his lifetime.

In 2015, Fidelito was photographed with Paris Hilton and Naomi Campbell in Havana.

Fidelito was often said to look a lot like his dad, Fidel Castro. But he didn’t talk much about his dad, he once said, because his father felt like one of the only things he had was his privacy.

He was married to Maria Victoria Barreiro, but had three children from his first marriage. Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov is Fidelito’s son with Natalia Smirnov. He received a scholarship in 2008 to study at Spain’s National Research Council. He’s now a professor in Havana at the  University of Information Science. Fidelito also had a daughter with Natalia, Mirta Maria Castro Smirnov. Mirta also studied in Spain under a scholarship. She’s now a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Seville and lives in a luxury apartment in Havana. Fidelito had a third child: Jose Raul Castro Smirnov, who is currently a graduate student.

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It seemed that the older Fidelito grew, the more he resembled his father. Here’s one photo of Fidelito:

And his father, Fidel:

And here are some photos of Fidelito as a child:

https://twitter.com/DsempolvandoQba/status/923036356904808449

Do you think he resembled his dad?

Stephanie Dube Dwilson is a sports and entertainment contributor for Heavy covering Texas Longhorns football and Hallmark. She covered the presidential election results live in 2016 & 2020 for Heavy. She's an attorney with a master's in science and technology journalism, and runs a website on UFO news and FOIA reports called The Verified Report. More about Stephanie Dube Dwilson

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