People wonder about U.S., Cuba relations after Castro's death
Following the death of Fidel Castro, people are wondering what it could mean for the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.
Fidel Castro’s death came at a delicate time for relations between the United States and Cuba.
President Obama has attempted to restore diplomatic relationships between the two countries in the last 2 years.
President-elect Trump has been heavily critical of those negotiations.
Both men today had starkly different responses regarding the dictator’s death, which was announced on state television by his brother Raul.
Many Cuban-American lawmakers had an emotional response to Fidel Castro's passing.
"The truth is that he was a sadistic murderer who brought great suffering to the 11 million people of Cuba. He should not be revered, he should be reviled,” said Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Inside a tiny office space in Union City, where the faces of executed Cuban political prisoners under the Castro Regime line the walls, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez where he said he would not celebrate.
"Today, I find no real joy. Too many families have been torn apart. Too many killed and imprisoned. Too many tortured,” he said.
In the last 2 years President Obama had eased travel and trade restrictions with the tiny island nation.
On a statement today, President Obama focused on healing, “…a future in which the relationship between our two countries is defined not by our differences but by the many things that we share as neighbors and friends."
President Elect Donald Trump responded with a different tone, but left the door open to further diplomacy, "Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty."
"Fidel Castro said history will absolve me. No. It will condemn you, condemn us if we do not help the Cuban people,” said Senator Menendez.
Menendez said that while the man who caused decades of hostility with the United States is gone, his brother remains in charge, and a dictatorship is very much in place. He explained how more needs to change under the next U.S. administration.
"Release all political prisoners. Allow free open elections. Permit a free press, let the U.N Commission on Human Rights enter the country, and then, you can have a relationship with the United States,” he said.
While some on Capitol Hill are hopeful, Castro’s death served as a symbolic moment to bring change.
However, others remain very skeptical.
Florida senator Marco Rubio, who is also a Cuban-American, said "the dictator has died, but dictatorship has not."