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 former wife Mirta Diaz-Balart. Tall and bearded like his father, he was often called Fidelito (Little Fidel). He committed suicide on February 1st due to depression.

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.

Díaz-Balart moved to Spain in 1959, while Fidelito lived 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 introduced a newly acquired puppy to the audience.

Fidelito holds a PhD in physics from the Kurchatov Institute in the Soviet Union. During the 1980s, he made significant contributions to nuclear energy research and development in Cuba. Fidelito is considered to be Fidel Castro's most highly educated son. While Fidelito was studying in Moscow, Myrta frequently visited him, and later also made quiet visits to Havana.

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

"It wasn't a resignation," Castro said. "He was fired for incompetence. We don't have a monarchy here."

After Raul Castro succeeded his brother as President of Cuba in 2008, Fidelito was appointed scientific advisor to the Cuban State Council and Vice President of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro passed away at the age of 90 on November 26, 2016.

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

Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Institute for Cuban Studies in Coral Gables, said Fidelito was Castro's only son who chose a life involved in politics. "However, in recent years, he hasn't done much," Suchlicki said. "I can understand that he's been depressed for a while."

Phuong Vu