One Hollywood Cuban Waiting for Castro to Croak

As the latest Castro death watch begins in earnest, it's worth reading this anti-Castro interview with actor Andy Garcia, himself a refugee from Cuba:

Some people think Castro is a savior, that he looks out for kids and the poor. It's a bunch of hogwash. In the 45 years since Castro has been in power, Cuba has been in the top three countries for human rights abuses for 43 of those years. People turn a blind eye to his atrocities….

He waves the fist of "I'm fighting Yankee imperialism." Never mind that he didn't care about Soviet imperialism in the 1960s and '70s. It's a whole political game. It's hard to fathom that people would go down there to shake his hand, because he's got blood on his hands.

He's not too keen on Che Guevara, either.

That interview ran in the LA Daily News in April and the whole thing is online here. Garcia's Cuban epic, The Lost City, is just out on DVD. He also starred in the 2000 anti-Castro For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story.

(And while we're talking about anti-communist movies from unexpected sources, don't forget Joan Chen's searing Xiu Xiu or The Sent-Down Girl [1998] and Julian Schnabel's anti-Castro Before Night Falls [2000].)

Hat Tip: Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO, who gives it a rave here.

Reason on Castro here and here and especially here. On Che here and here. On lack of movies exploring left-wing totalitarianism here and here.