While left-wing Western leaders celebrate the late Fidel Castro—whitewashing much of Cuba’s recent history in the process—it’s worth remembering how total and insidious the Communist dictator’s tyrannical regime was for the Cuban people. Over the years, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has documented some of this tyranny, as well as the useful idiots who explain away Castro’s disregard for human rights and freedom. The articles are all worth the time, but read some excerpts from them below.

In a piece previewing Pope John Paul II’s 1998 visit to Cuba, George Weigel wrote about the numerous ways in which the Communist regime had restricted the Catholic Church: