Fidel Castro’s first wife, Mirta Diaz, has died.

Fidel Castro’s first wife, Mirta Diaz-Balart, has died at the age of 95, her grandson, Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, announced on X.

Mirta Díaz-Balart, who lived in Spain, is the mother of Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, known as “Fidelito,” Castro’s eldest son, who committed suicide in 2018.

Mirta Díaz-Balart, daughter of a 1940s Cuban politician, married Fidel Castro in 1948. The couple divorced in 1955.

The battle for custody of his child, which Fidel Castro won, had reached great proportions. After the victory of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Mirta Díaz-Balart was forced into exile.

However, he managed to visit Cuba several times.

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My dear grandmother Mirta Diaz-Balart Gutiérrez left us surrounded by so much love. A great woman leaves us.

Their end is not death. Their special passion, loyalty, and extraordinary story will remain eternal. And they will continue to be the most real and gentle form of beauty. pic.twitter.com/wJyxvD0olZ

— Dr. C. Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov (@FACSmirnov) July 6, 2024

The Díaz-Balart family still has considerable influence among Cuban exiles living in Miami. One of Mirta Díaz-Balart’s nephews and Fidelito’s cousin is Mario Díaz-Balart, a member of the House of Representatives and a staunch opponent of Castro.

Fidel Castro (1926-2016) was married only once, to Mirta Díaz-Balart. But he had children with four different women.

With his last partner, Dalia Soto del Vague, he had five children.