At Andre's Cuban restaurant, hugs and laughs are shared. After knowing years of pain under Fidel Castro, Daniel Mera was relieved to hear of the Cuban dictator’s death.
“It's hard to rejoice when somebody dies, but when someone has caused so much harm, he's had an iron grip on the people and the island for so long,” Mera tells NBC 7.
During the Cuban revolution in 1959, Mera says his grandfather told his grandmother to leave Cuba and stay in the U.S. for safety. When Castro came into power, they never saw each other again.
“It separated my grandmother and grandfather for life,"Mera says.
Congressman Darrell Issa released a statement saying in part: "Fidel Castro was a tyrant, murderer, liar, and evil despot. History will remember him as nothing more."
Still others around the world shed tears. For mourners in Havana, Castro's death marks an end - but for Mera and his family it’s a new beginning.
“We will hope now there's hope. Hope, that’s a good thing to have,” he adds.
Local
Castro's brother Raul remains president, but he has said he will retire in 2018.
