OH NO! The Jeep Conveying Fidel Castro's Ashes Broke Down During Funeral Procession

The antiquated Jeep carrying deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's remains broke down during a funeral procession that marked the end of nine days of official mourning in Cuba.

Before and after the mechanical impediment, throngs of people looked on and cheered as Castro's procession passed them by.

As IPRESSTV reported:

The Russian-made jeep ferrying Castro's ashes broke down and needed to be pushed on Saturday en route to the late leader's final resting place.

The breakdown of the jeep in the midst of adoring crowds chanting "Long live Fidel!" was symbolic of the dual nature of Castro's Cuba.

While his legacy inspires fierce adulation by many of the nation's citizens, others continue to grumble about Cuba's autocratic government, inefficient bureaucracy and stagnant economy.

Since the Communist nation has been cut off from the United States and other countries since Castro unseated the previous leader Fulgencio Batista in 1959, a good portion of the island's infrastructure has somewhat frozen in time.

The jeep had to be pushed by Cuban soldiers to Castro's interment site.

Castro died late last month at the age of 90.

Snoop Dogg Blasts Colin Kaepernick's Comment on Castro, Asking Him To Choose Between Revolution or Football

Snoop Dogg just put Colin Kaepernick in his dog house, calling the San Francisco 49ers quarterback a hypocrite for protesting social injustice while praising late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and advising he choose between football and his ongoing National Anthem protest.

"He's sort of kind of hypocritical in so many words because he's pushing this, but at the same time he’s giving credit for this and this is the same abuse that [Cubans] been taking" the rapper said 

Snoop Dogg added, "So it makes you hypocritical to be able to speak on this topic and that topic."

The "Lay Low" singer was referring to Kaepernick's recent comments about Castro at a media event ahead of the 49ers game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

"One thing that Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here, even though we’re fully capable of doing that," the quarterback shared.

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The football player clarified his comments on the Cuban dictator after Sunday's game telling the press, "What I said was I agree with the investment in education. I also agree with the investment in free universal health care, as well as the involvement in helping end apartheid in South Africa. Trying to push the false narrative that I was a supporter of the oppressive things he [Castro] did is just not true. I said I support the investment in education, I never said I support the oppressive things he [Castro] did."

Snoop Dogg also commented on Kaepernick's national anthem protests saying that while he understands where the football player is coming from, he believes Kaepernick must choose between football and "being a revolutionary."

"In the beginning, I understood it thoroughly because I’m one who’s had situations with police and I deal with it and I understand where he was coming from,” the rapper said. “But at the same time, it’s like you have to really stand for it and I don’t believe he can do that and play football at the same time because there’s too many rules and regulations and things that he has to deal with as opposed to being a revolutionary."

Fidel Castro A Longtime Cuban Leader is Dead at 90. See complete Biography

Longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the bearded, cigar-smoking Communist revolutionary who infuriated the United States, inspired both loyalty and loathing from his countrymen and maintained an iron grip on Cuban politics for almost 50 years, died Friday at the age of 90.





Castro, who was the only leader most of his countrymen ever knew, outlasted 11 US presidents since he first took power in 1959.

Castro had been in declining health for years – he continued to spew his anti-American tirades almost until the end.


In October, 2014, Castro reprinted a New York Times editorial in state-run media that argued that the U.S. embargo on Cuba should end. The editorial ran almost verbatim, omitting one line about Cuba’s release of political prisoners.

In 2012 he wrote an opinion piece for a state-run media outlet in which he branded the Republican presidential primary race "the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance" the world has ever seen.

And just to show how much his volatile presence lingered in American politics, despite officially handing over power to his brother Raul in 2008, Castro also was the subject of a question during a Republican candidates' debate in Tampa, Fla. that same month.
 

When Mitt Romney was asked the first thing he would do as president if he found out Castro was dead, he replied, "Well first of all, you thank heavens that Fidel Castro has returned to his maker and will be sent to another land."

When it was his turn to answer, Newt Gingrich said, "I don't think that Fidel is going to meet his maker. I think he's going to go to the other place."

The lawyer, revolutionary and political leader who triggered such visceral reactions was born August 13, 1926 out of wedlock to a Cuban sugar plantation owner and a servant in his home (they eventually married). He was not formally recognized by his father until he was 17, when his surname was changed to Castro from Ruz, his mother's name.

Though he spent the better part of his life railing against capitalism and the rich, Castro enjoyed a wealthy and privileged childhood.

He attended Jesuit boarding schools, and developed a love for sports, pitching for El Colegio de Belen’s baseball team. He attended the University of Havana law school, where he joined groups that focused on Cuban nationalism and socialism.




After graduation and now a revolutionary, he took up arms against the government of President Fulgencio Batista, leading a failed 1953 attack on a military barracks in hopes of triggering a popular revolt.

Instead he was captured and at his trial, where he led his own defense, famously predicted "history will absolve me."

After spending time in prison, Castro went into exile in Mexico, where he met Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who became his confidante.

Castro established another guerrilla force and after several years of fighting, eventually defeated Batista in 1959, taking control of Cuba at the age of 32.

After being sworn in as prime minister, Castro began a series of reforms, many designed to end US economic power on the island. Relations between the two countries frayed and when Castro visited the US later that year, President Dwight Eisenhower refused to meet with him.

At the same time, Castro's government began to establish relations with the Soviet Union. In April 1961 Castro formally declared Cuba a socialist state just days before the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion that saw 1,400 Cuban exiles trained by the CIA unsuccessfully attempt to invade and topple his government.

Castro intensified relations with the Soviet Union and in 1962 US reconnaissance planes discovered Soviet missiles on their way to Cuban sites, precipitating a tense standoff between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

But in the 1980s, Russia stopped taking Cuban sugar, causing widespread economic deprivation that resulted in thousands of Cubans trying to flee to the US by sea.

Castro often spoke with resentment and disgust of the Cubans who left the island because of his government, particularly those who went into exile in the United States.

He called Cuban exiles “guzanos,” the Spanish word for “worms,” and complained about the Miami Mafia that always sought his ouster.

Cuban exiles responded with equal disdain, with many forming organizations solely focused on getting Castro out of power.

Rumors of his death ran rampant in Cuban communities many times over the decades.
In a 1988 speech, Castro said: "I think I hold the dubious record of having been the target of more assassination attempts than any politician, in any country, in any era.”

"The day I die, nobody will believe it."

Castro served as prime minister until 1976, when he became president, serving in that position until 2008, when an ailing Fidel handed over power to his younger brother Raul.

He remained as First Secretary of the Communist Party until April 2011.

And even when officially out of office, he remained the best known figure in Cuba.

"Men do not shape destiny," he once said. "Destiny produces the man for the hour."

Along the way he was a prime enemy of the US and there were reports of the CIA trying to topple him in a variety of ways, although some suggestions – like an exploding cigar – seemed to border on the absurd.

Castro's personal life was complicated and private. He was believed to have one son by a first marriage, an illegitimate daughter from another relationship, five sons from a second marriage and another son by an unnamed mother.