Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart was Buried in the Colon Cemetery in Havana

Several wreaths remained on Monday on the vault of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, in the Colon Cemetery of Havana, where Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart was buried on Sunday. (EFE)

14ymedio biggerEFE via 14ymedio, Havana, 5 February 2018 — The remains of the nuclear physicist Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, Fidel Castro’s first-born son, known as Fidelito, who took his own life last Thursday, rest in the pantheon of the Academy of Sciences in the Colon Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Havana.

On Monday, the discreet black marble pantheon was covered with several wreaths of flowers, most of them of white roses, from his children and grandchildren, his mother, Mirtha Díaz-Balart, and his sisters on his mother’s side and his nephews, according to EFE.

The funeral of the revolutionary leader’s first-born, who committed suicide at the age of 68, was celebrated on Sunday in Havana, where he was honored at the headquarters of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, of which he was vice president at the time of his death, according to several attendess who published on social networks.

The official media did not publish anything about the funeral, organized privately by the family, as had already been explained in the official note published on the death.

The only public comments from the Castro family about the death of the the commander of the revolution’s oldest son were made last Friday by Mariela Castro, daughter of President Raúl Castro and cousin of the deceased, who expressed appreciation on her Twitter and Facebook accounts for the condolences received.

Castro Díaz-Balart, the only child from Fidel Castro’s marriage with Mirtha Díaz-Balart, also served as scientific advisor to the Council of State of Cuba, the Island’s highest governing body.

According to the official statement released in state media, Fidelito was in a “deeply depressed state” for which he had been receiving treatment for months.

“As part of his treatment, he initially required hospitalization and then continued with outpatient follow-up during his social reincorporation,” the text said.

Trained in Russia, where he studied under a pseudonym for security, he was the head of Cuba’s nuclear policy between 1980 and 1992 and was in charge of the unfinished construction of the Jaragua nuclear power plant, which would have been the first installation of this type in the island.

Among his last public appearances were the investiture of Chemistry Nobelist Peter Agre, an American, as a member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, in August of 2017, and a trip to Japan last October to represent Cuba in a scientific forum.

Few details of his personal life are known, but he was married to the Russian Natasha Smirnova, with whom he had three children (Mirta María, Fidel Antonio and José Raúl) and after divorcing his first wife he married the Cuban María Victoria Barreiro.

He had, in addition, five brothers recognized by their father (Alexis, Alexander, Antonio, Alejandro and Angel Castro Soto) and two sisters from his mother (the twins Mirta and America Silvia Núñez Díaz Balart). as well as Alina Fernández Revuelta, the illegitimate daughter of a relationship that Castro had with Natalia Revuelta.

In addition, his maternal cousins include Cuban-American Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart and former congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart, both known for their anti-Castro positions.

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