Man Wins $1B Judgment Against Castro, Guevara

Court finds revolutionaries responsible for GM dealer's 1959 suicide
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2009 5:43 AM CDT
Man Wins $1B Judgment Against Castro, Guevara
A young girl takes a break next to a mural depicting Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara during the celebrations of Castro's 81th birthday in Havana.   (AP Photo/ Javier Galeano)

A Cuban-American who blames Fidel Castro and Che Guevara for his father's suicide has been awarded more than $1 billion by a US court, the Miami Herald reports. Gustavo Villoldo, whose father and his General Motors dealerships became prime targets for Castro and Guevara after the 1959 revolution, will attempt to obtain the cash from frozen Cuban government accounts worldwide.

"I wish you the best in trying to collect,” the judge said. Villoldo, 73, says his father became "a broken man" after extensive interrogations at rebel hands. The younger Villoldo became a CIA operative after fleeing Cuba and was part of the squad that tracked down Guevara in Bolivia, where he was executed. "Your honor, you have brought closure for my family after 50 years," he told the judge. "Justice has prevailed." (More Che Guevara stories.)

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