Fidel is glued to the tube

OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has gotten so wrapped up in the Pan-American Games taking place in Rio this month, he’s forgetting to take his pills. In his newspaper column “Reflections of the Comandante,” Castro writes:  I don’t miss a single event on television: weights, taekwondo, rowing, cycling, beach volleyball… I hardly ...

600485_070718_cuba_05.jpg
600485_070718_cuba_05.jpg

OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images

OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has gotten so wrapped up in the Pan-American Games taking place in Rio this month, he’s forgetting to take his pills. In his newspaper column “Reflections of the Comandante,” Castro writes: 

I don’t miss a single event on television: weights, taekwondo, rowing, cycling, beach volleyball… I hardly take my eyes off the television set. Sometimes I forget when it is time to eat or take a pill.

I can hardly blame him. It’s not every day that Cuba can celebrate triumphs on the world stage, but right now, the island nation trails only the USA in gold medals won. Today, the Cuban baseball team will face off against Nicaragua for a spot in tomorrow’s finals. For Fidel’s sake, I wish them luck.

Sam duPont is a Master's candidate at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and focused his capstone research on transitional democracies and elections in fragile states.

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.