Leader Fidel Castro and the Cuban people have been, are and will continue to be loyal friends of the Vietnamese revolution.

Fidel Castro - a great friend of Vietnam, passed away, leaving not only the Cuban people but also progressive people around the world in mourning.

Although Fidel Castro has passed away, his name and spirit remain, a source of encouragement for Vietnamese communists in their revolutionary cause today and tomorrow.

Cuba under the leadership of Fidel Castro has always stood side by side with Vietnam, wholeheartedly supporting the Vietnamese revolution in many different forms.

The island of freedom and dignity

Disgruntled with injustices in society and international relations, lawyer Fidel Castro rose up on the island nation of Cuba, rallying the masses to overthrow a reactionary government that was a lackey of foreign powers.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro raises the invincible flag of the Khe Sanh unit, the Tri Thien - Hue liberation army. Photo: VNA.

Leader Fidel then continued to steer the Cuban revolutionary ship through the rough waves caused by imperialism. Fidel himself withstood many assassination attempts by the CIA. He led the Cuban armed forces and security forces to defeat the invasion at the Bay of Pigs by exile forces (trained by the CIA and supported by the US military), thereby once again maintaining the regime and the achievements of the revolution.

The West then continued its propaganda war and embargo in an attempt to weaken and eventually strangle the Cuban state. But all these schemes still could not defeat a strong, steadfast, generous and also very gallant Fidel Castro. Under Fidel's leadership, Cuba was like a small David standing tall against the giant Goliath.

Maintaining the regime against the world's number 1 powerful capitalist country is an undeniable greatness of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist Party.

Cuba's victory also encouraged leftist forces about the possibility of victory for the socialist revolution despite countless difficulties and hardships.

Although located half a world away from Cuba, Vietnam is still inspired by the just cause of the Cuban people with President Fidel Castro as its soul.

Words give power

Not only was Cuba a source of inspiration, it also directly supported the Vietnamese people in their struggle for independence.

Cuba was the first country to recognize the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (December 1961), the first country to establish a Solidarity Committee with Vietnam (September 1963), and the first country to establish an embassy next to the Liberation Front (July 1967).

Cuba designated 1967 as the “Heroic Year of Vietnam,” and then August 28, 1972 as “Dykes Day” after the United States launched an air war to destroy the North, targeting the entire dike system of North Vietnam. At that time, Fidel affirmed that Cuba’s solidarity and trust in the Vietnamese people and leaders were “unconditional and absolute.”

In the 1960s, Cuba faced economic difficulties when the US began to embargo the country. When someone accused Cuba of sending sugar and milk to Vietnam while the Cuban people were lacking these things, Fidel Castro spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in the Cuban capital that "it is a pity that we do not have enough sugar and milk to send to the Vietnamese people". He even emphasized: "We are willing to sacrifice our blood for the Vietnamese people".

And another special thing is that in September 1973, Cuban leader Fidel Castro himself visited the liberated area of ​​Vietnam in the Quang Tri fire line. The Vietnam War was still fierce at that time and would last for another 2 years.

Leader Fidel was the first and only foreign leader to visit the liberated zone of South Vietnam when the war had not yet ended. The image of a tall Fidel wearing a military uniform, waving the liberation army flag, standing next to Vietnamese soldiers had great encouragement value for our compatriots and soldiers at that time.

Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro was friendly and unobtrusive with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong and soldiers of the Khe Sanh brigade of the South Vietnam Liberation Army. Photo: VNA.

Vietnamese people who had the opportunity to meet Fidel all commented that he was very kind, close, and had no distance from the Vietnamese people. He always wholeheartedly supported the Vietnamese revolutionary movement as well as the freedom struggle in Latin America and Africa.

At the end of the Vietnam War, Cuba - under the leadership of Fidel Castro, enthusiastically supported Vietnam's entry into the United Nations.

Help Vietnam with material

Not only did Cuba and Fidel enthusiastically help Vietnam with concrete material aid. Cuba, despite being under an embargo, did not spare any effort in providing aid to Vietnam. In Vietnam’s difficult circumstances, this was practical and extremely valuable aid, as the Vietnamese often say - “a piece of food when hungry is worth a whole package when full”.

Not only that, during Fidel Castro's first visit to Vietnam, Cuba presented Vietnam with key projects worth a total of about 80 million USD, including Thang Loi Hotel (in West Lake, Hanoi), Vietnam Cuba Hospital (in Quang Binh), Xuan Mai Street, Ba Vi Cow Breeding Farm, and Luong My Chicken Factory.

In addition, Cuba also generously donated breeding cows and chickens to Vietnam, and sent road and bridge experts to Vietnam to expand the Ho Chi Minh Trail, helping to train many Vietnamese students...

Fidel Castro himself, as leader of the Cuban state, later visited Vietnam two more times, in 1995 and 2003.

These events show the sincere feelings from the heart of Fidel Castro in particular and the Cuban people in general for Vietnam.

Bằng cả lời nói và hành động, Cuba và Fidel Castro đã coi cuộc cuộc đấu tranh của nhân dân Việt Nam như của chính mình, xem việc giúp Việt Nam như giúp chính mình.

Mối quan hệ giữa Cuba và Việt Nam vì thế vừa là tình đồng chí vừa là tình anh em thủy chung son sắt đã được thử thách qua thời gian./.

Theo VOV