The life of Fidel Castro's son who committed suicide due to depression

Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart was the son of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his ex-wife Mirta Diaz-Balart. Tall and bearded like his father, he was often called Fidelito (little Fidel). He committed suicide due to depression on February 1.

Fidel Castro and Diaz-Balart married on October 11, 1948, in New York, before he led the uprising that overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista. She is believed to be the only woman Castro ever married, but their marriage lasted only seven years. Their son, Fidelito, was born in 1949.

Mrs. Díaz-Balart moved to Spain in 1959, and Fidelito stayed with his father. As a teenager, Fidelito appeared with his father on a TV show with CBS host Edward R. Murrow. During the interview, Fidelito spoke fluent English and showed off a new puppy.

Fidelito holds a doctorate in physics from the Kurchatov Institute in the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, he made significant contributions to the research and development of nuclear energy in Cuba. Fidelito is said to be the most highly educated of Fidel Castro's children. During Fidelito's studies in Moscow, Myrta visited him frequently and later made quiet visits to Havana.

Fidelito was once the head of Cuba's nuclear power program but was fired from that position by his father in the early 1990s.Daily Beastreport

"It was not a resignation," Mr. Castro said. "He was fired for incompetence. We do not have a monarchy here."

After Raul Castro succeeded his brother as president of Cuba in 2008, Fidelito was appointed scientific adviser to the Cuban Council of State and vice president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died at the age of 90 on November 26, 2016.

GrandfatherFidelitoHe had three children, Mirta María, Fidel Antonio, and José Raúl, with his first wife, Natasha Smirnova, whom he met in Russia. After divorcing Smirnova, he married Cuban María Victoria Barreiro.He was treated for depression by a team of doctors for several months before committing suicide.

Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Cuban Institute in Coral Gables, said Fidelito was the only Castro child to have chosen a life of political involvement. "But in recent years, he hasn't done much," Suchlicki said. "I can understand that he was depressed for a while."