Mirta Díaz-Balart, First Wife of Cuban Leader Fidel Castro, Dies

July 8, 2024

The first wife of former Cuban president Fidel Castro, Mirta Díaz-Balart, died at the age of 95, as announced this Saturday by her grandson, Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, on his X social media account.

"Surrounded by much love, my dear grandmother Mirta Díaz-Balart Gutiérrez departed. We lose a great woman," said the grandson of the historic Cuban leader, accompanying his message with family photographs where he is seen with his grandmother.

"Her end is not death. Her special affection, loyalty, and extraordinary history will remain eternal. She will continue to be the most concrete and kind expression of beauty," he added.

Mirta Díaz-Balart, who lived in Spain, was the mother of Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, known as "Fidelito," Fidel Castro's eldest son, who committed suicide in 2018.

Daughter of a Cuban politician from the 1940s, Mirta Díaz-Balart married Fidel Castro in 1948. They divorced in 1955.

The custody battle for the child, ultimately won by Fidel Castro, gave rise to a real saga full of ups and downs.

After the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959, Mirta Díaz-Balart had to go into exile.

However, she was able to travel to Cuba on several occasions.

The Díaz-Balart family remains one of the pillars of the Cuban exile community based in Miami, Florida.

One of Mirta Díaz-Balart's nephews and Fidelito's cousin is U.S. Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, a fierce anti-Castro activist.

Fidel Castro (1926-2016) had at least seven children with four different women.

With his last partner, Dalia Soto del Valle, he had five children.

Mario Díaz-Balart is one of the U.S. congressmen of Cuban origin who announced in Miami a series of measures seeking to prohibit, among others, the granting of visas to any person involved in "the exploitation of Cuban doctors," as well as the use of federal funds for aid to small businesses on the island, known as Mipymes.

The initiative is outlined in the fiscal year 2024 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill being considered by Congress.

"We have included in a section (of the bill) the denial of entry visas to the U.S. to any government official or international groups that traffic with Cuban doctors," said Díaz-Balart at a press conference where he was supported by leaders of the Hispanic community and the exile.

Díaz-Balart referred to the inclusion in said bill of legislation that he characterized as the "most positive and most aggressive to help our allies and confront our enemies."

He warned that those who participate in the "exploitation of Cuban doctors will not be able to enter the U.S., because their visas will be denied," as will those of their relatives.