Bernie Sanders declines to retract positive statements on Fidel Castro


Near the end of Wednesday's CNN/Univision Democratic debate, Jorge Ramos gave Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders his "Welcome to Miami" question, asking if the candidates supported President Obama's detente with Cuba and considered Raul Castro a president or a dictator. Clinton said that she backs opening relations with Cuba, viewing it as a way to bring democracy to the island nation. She called Raul and Fidel Castro "authoritarian and dictatorial."
Maria Elena Salinas tweaked the question for Sanders, noting that in the 1980s he had offered praise for Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega (who is once again leader of Nicaragua) and playing a video of him saying positive things about Fidel Castro, then Cuba's leader. She asked if Sanders wanted to take back his positive assessments of Castro, an especially unpopular figure in South Florida, and Ortega. Sanders talked about decades of U.S. policy in Latin America, including support for many coups. When pressed by Salinas, he said that "it would be wrong not to state" that the Castros have done good things with medicine and education.
Clinton jumped in, noting that Sanders also said in the same interview that Cuba had undergone "a revolution in terms of values," and stating that if those values include jailing and killing people for expressing political beliefs, "that is not the kind of revolution of values I want to ever see anywhere." That got a big cheer from the South Florida audience.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling