Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, Oldest Son Of Cuban Leader, Takes His Own Life

By Scott Neuman

Published February 2, 2018 at 6:37 AM EST

A photo from 2002 shows Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart (right), with his father, Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the Havana Book Fair opening.

Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, the eldest son of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, has taken his own life, Cuba's state media reports.

The 68-year-old "Fidelito," or "Little Fidel," as he was known, had been hospitalized for depression and was still being treated as an outpatient at the time of his suicide, according to Cuba's official newspaper, Granma.

Castro Díaz-Balart was the only son of Fidel and his first wife, Mirta Díaz-Balart, who were divorced before the Cuban revolution. As a child, he was the subject of a nasty custody battle — with his mother, having kidnapped and moving with him to live in New York. He eventually landed back in Cuba when after his father seized power in 1959.

Castro Díaz-Balart was trained in the Soviet Union as a nuclear physicist and served as a scientific adviser to Cuba's Council of State.

The Telegraph writes:

"Many Cubans remember him as a little boy dressed in an olive drab military uniform, accompanying his father on January 8, 1959 as he entered Havana triumphantly after the revolution.

The younger Castro was always faithful to his father's communist ideals."