One hundred years since Fidel Castro's birth is the occasion the Democratic Socialists of America chose to publish an online tribute to the late Cuban leader, calling him a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance and demanding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio face prosecution for crimes against humanity. The Republican National Committee responded Wednesday, warning the statement would damage Democrats in November.
Castro held power in Cuba for nearly half a century after the 1959 revolution before illness led him to transfer authority to his brother Raúl. He died in 2016 at age 90. The DSA's statement called Castro "an organizer, a fighter" and "a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South."
The group claimed U.S. restrictions had blocked critical resources from Cuban civilians and said the policy constituted genocide under Rubio's direction. It demanded reparations for what it characterized as trillions of dollars in damage, an end to what it called a U.S. blockade, and Rubio's prosecution for crimes against humanity. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, posted on X last Thursday without naming the DSA: "Fidel Castro was a complete failure at everything except destroying Cuba and impoverishing, jailing and murdering his own people."
RNC national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre told Fox News Digital that Democrats were "openly embracing the same policies that left the people of Venezuela, Cuba, and China with empty shelves, no electricity, and their freedoms stripped away." She called the embrace "political suicide" that would be "their downfall in November." White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly rejected the genocide framing, pointing to food shortages, blackouts, poor living standards, and human rights abuses as evidence of the Cuban government's own failures. Kelly said the United States was ready to "open a new chapter" with Havana and that Rubio "wants a better future for the Cuban people."
The sanctions record
The DSA's prosecution demand centers on a pressure campaign that sharpened in June, when Rubio designated five entities as revenue generators for Havana. Three were associated with the military-controlled conglomerate GAESA; the total also included at least one member of Castro's extended family. The action followed a May executive order authorizing sanctions against parties deemed responsible for repression in Cuba or threats to U.S. security.
A State Department report published last month labeled Cuba "the capital of 21st century communism" and named the DSA among organizations alleged to sustain pro-Cuba activism in the United States. The DSA rejected the report three days before releasing its Castro tribute, saying it organized independently of the Cuban government. Fox News Digital sought comment from the DSA and had not received a response at publication time.