‘He’s Got To Be Dead Or Very Close To It’

Posted Feb 19, 2008 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Feb 19, 2008 at 03:59 PM

Restaurant owner Irelio Carvajal has only one explanation for today’s announcement of Fidel Castro’s resignation. “He’s got to be dead or very close to it.”

He’s a dictator who said he would control Cuba for life, Carvajal says. He would never willingly give up power. But the country won’t tell people the truth because there would be riots.

“The frustration of the people is extreme,” says Carvajal, who visited his native land three years ago. Carvajal came to Tampa when he was 12 as part of the Mariel boatlift. Now 40, he owns Black Beans restaurant in Town ‘N Country.

The truth about Castro will come out, he says. It could be two months. It could be two years. “You never know in a country like that. The press is not free. Everything is controlled.” But eventually the news will get out.

He also predicts some freedom will come for business and travel. “It has to ... because of pressure from the people. They will demand it.”