President Raul Castro: The architect of a new era for Cuba.

(Baonghean) - On April 19th, the 7th National Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba was held, and as predicted and wished by the people of this Caribbean island nation, President Raul Castro was re-elected as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the party.

A statement by President Raul Castro at the 7th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party.

Following his resounding success in all aspects during his first term, observers believe that in his next term, with the "thawing" of Cuba-US relations, President Raul Castro will continue to lead Cuba into a period of brilliant development...

Fidel's younger brother and number one comrade.

Raul Castro was born on June 3, 1931, and grew up with his brother Fidel on their father's sugarcane farm in eastern Cuba. Their parents, Angel Castro and Lina Ruz, had three children. During his childhood, his closest friends were the children of the farmers who worked on the farm. Raul believes this experience instilled in him a deep compassion and empathy for the poor and needy.

Raul grew up and went to school in Santiago before moving to Havana for university, where he joined a Communist youth organization. From a young age, he was deeply influenced by his older brother's ideology of Cuban liberation, participating in student protests against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

In 1953, he and Fidel attacked the Moncada barracks to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Following this, Raul was arrested and imprisoned for 22 months along with his brother. In 1955, after their release, the two brothers went to Mexico to prepare the Granma ship for their revolutionary journey to Cuba in 1956.

Fidel and Raul were comrades who worked together from the early days of the Cuban revolution.

After returning to Cuba from Mexico, Fidel and Raul Castro, along with their revolutionary comrades, waged guerrilla warfare, ultimately leading to the victory that overthrew the Batista dictatorship in early 1959.

Following the success of the Cuban Revolution, Raul Castro continued his service in the military as Minister of Defense. In 1976, he was promoted to the rank of General. In 2006, he was appointed to lead the country, succeeding President Fidel Castro.

Although he rarely appeared in the media or at major events, and lacked the oratorical skills of his brother, international observers believe that Fidel Castro's absolute support for the people and military of this beautiful Caribbean island nation was largely due to his ability to devise shrewd and strategic policies.

Therefore, it's not surprising that when Fidel Castro announced his retirement, the only person trusted to run the country was Raul Castro. Only he – a seasoned and strategic fighter who had experienced the revolutionary struggle for national liberation and weathered the most difficult periods of the country's history – possessed the willpower and determination to continue leading Cuba along the socialist path chosen by the Party and the people.

Creating a new path

To assess Raul Castro's achievements during his first term as First Secretary and President of Cuba, it can be said that, in addition to deciding on many socio-economic development policies and open foreign relations, perhaps his greatest achievement was normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States.

This does not mean we deny the diplomatic efforts of the international community over the years, as evidenced by the 23 times nearly 190 out of 193 UN member states expressed their support for the Report "The Need to End the Economic, Trade and Financial Embargo Imposed by the United States Against Cuba," submitted annually by the Cuban Government, the Vatican, and personally by the current US President.

But the mere fact that the entire international community supported and opposed the US embargo 23 times shows just how protracted and difficult the "battle" was, and it was only when President Raul Castro took leadership of the country that things truly changed.

Cuba is experiencing a strong resurgence under the leadership of President Raul Castro.

He decided to release American citizen Alan Gross for humanitarian reasons, after the latter had served five years of a 15-year prison sentence handed down by a Cuban court for crimes of violating Cuba's independence and territorial sovereignty and espionage.

This humane and courageous decision, along with the persistent shuttle diplomacy efforts of both sides, acted as a catalyst to bring Cuba and the United States closer together after more than half a century.

The normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba is entering a new phase of development, with new directions and visions. "Developing the national economy alongside the struggle for peace, national unity, and upholding ideology is a crucial task of the Cuban Communist Party," President Raul Castro affirmed.

Canh Nam