{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/exclusive-interview-fidel-castros-daughter-6015595?src_src=goodeveningnoe&src_cmp=gv-2026-04-22&est=hO7IDj5k0PbWZ5PmagETsERNfuklsveh+wgZLmPX5fOem05WfCN3MmmgBGnj","title":"Castro's Daughter Calls for Cuban Regime Change","domain":"theepochtimes.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/35827314/pexels-photo-35827314.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"cuba","category":"Politics","language":"en","slug":"884dba33","id":"884dba33-20c6-4780-bace-4d7151de984c","description":"Alina Fernández Interview: Fidel Castro's daughter discusses Cuba's communist regime in an exclusive Epoch Times video interview, calling for overdue chang","summary":"## TL;DR\n- **Alina Fernández Interview:** Fidel Castro's daughter discusses Cuba's communist regime in an exclusive Epoch Times video interview, calling for overdue change.\n- **Fled in 1993:** She escaped Havana at age 37 using a false passport, later reuniting with her daughter in the U.S.\n- **Regime Critique:** She says change was needed since the late 1980s, highlights past miseries like the Special Period, and sees family divisions as a key tragedy.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)[[2]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688)\n\n## The story at a glance\nThe Epoch Times presents an exclusive video interview with Alina Fernández Revuelta, Fidel Castro's daughter, who criticizes the communist regime he established in 1959. She describes her disillusionment from childhood, key turning points like the 1980 Mariel boatlift, and her 1993 escape from Cuba. This comes amid her recent media appearances tied to her memoir and upcoming documentary *Revolution’s Daughter*, amid Cuba's ongoing economic crises.[[3]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/exclusive-interview-fidel-castros-daughter-6015595?src_src=goodeveningnoe&src_cmp=gv-2026-04-22&est=hO7IDj5k0PbWZ5PmagETsERNfuklsveh+wgZLmPX5fOem05WfCN3MmmgBGnj)[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\n## Key points\n- Alina Fernández Revuelta, born in 1956 to Fidel Castro and Natalia Revuelta, learned her father's identity at age 10 and grew up in Havana's revolutionary elite.\n- From age 9 or 10, she recognized regime lies through mandatory \"voluntary\" child labor in farming and sugar harvests.\n- The 1980 Mariel boatlift, where 125,000 fled amid regime-organized harassment calling them \"gusanos,\" marked a major disillusionment for her.\n- She became a public dissident in the late 1980s out of fear for her daughter's safety.\n- Fled Cuba in 1993 at age 37 via a Spanish tourist's passport, granted U.S. asylum, and reunited with her daughter after Rev. Jesse Jackson's intervention.\n- Describes the 1990s Special Period after Soviet collapse as \"years of total misery\" with no electricity, food, or transport—worse than today.\n- Calls the regime personalized, paternalistic, and narcissistic under Castro, surviving his death despite expectations it would end.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)[[2]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688)\n\n## Details and context\nAlina Fernández kept her stepfather's surname due to laws and marked her fleeing stepfather and sister as \"traitors\" on official forms as a child. The regime's survival post-Fidel Castro's death surprised her, as she saw it as dependent on his personal rule. She notes family divisions as a core tragedy, where differing views made relatives enemies.\n\nEconomic shocks like the post-1991 Special Period followed lost Soviet subsidies, closing schools and halting daily life. Current blackouts and shortages stem from halted Venezuelan oil after Maduro's issues, fueling protests she views as insufficient alone for change. Fernández published her memoir *Castro’s Daughter* in 1998, visited Cuba last in 2014 for her dying mother, and features in the documentary *Revolution’s Daughter* premiering in April 2026.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\n## Key quotes\n“For me, it’s been time for a regime change since the late ‘80s.” — Alina Fernández, in Epoch Times interview.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\n“At the time Fidel Castro died, we were all thinking [his regime] had come to an end, because it was a very personalized and paternalist ... narcissistic government. ... But it survived.” — Alina Fernández.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\n“So I discovered that in Cuba, voluntary meant mandatory.” — Alina Fernández, on child labor.[[2]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688)\n\n## Why it matters\nAlina Fernández's insider perspective underscores the Cuban regime's long-term human and economic costs, from family rifts to repeated crises. For Cuban exiles and Americans with ties to the island, it reinforces calls for external pressure amid stalled internal reform. Watch for U.S. policy shifts or protest escalations, though she cautions protests alone may not topple the entrenched system.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\n## FAQ\nQ: Why did Alina Fernández flee Cuba in 1993?\nA: She escaped at age 37 using a Spanish tourist's passport due to growing fears for her daughter's safety after becoming a public dissident in the late 1980s. She first went to Spain for U.S. asylum and arrived in Atlanta on Dec. 21, 1993. Rev. Jesse Jackson later helped reunite her with her daughter.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\nQ: What turning points disillusioned her with the regime?\nA: Mandatory \"voluntary\" child work from age 9 revealed early lies, and the 1980 Mariel boatlift—where the regime incited mobs to harass 125,000 fleeing \"gusanos\"—was a harsh blow that \"killed\" her faith. The 1990s Special Period worsened conditions further.[[2]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688)\n\nQ: When does she say regime change became necessary?\nA: She dates it to the late 1980s and expected it at Fidel Castro's death due to the regime's personalized nature, but it endured. She sees current crises as urgent but doubts internal protests like pot-banging will suffice.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330)\n\nQ: What is her current stance on returning to Cuba?\nA: She last visited in 2014 for her ill mother and has not returned, hoping to go back freely after the regime falls. She lives modestly in Miami like other exiles and no longer contacts family there.[[2]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688)","hashtags":["#cuba","#communism","#castro","#exile","#regimechange","#documentary"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/exclusive-interview-fidel-castros-daughter-6015595?src_src=goodeveningnoe&src_cmp=gv-2026-04-22&est=hO7IDj5k0PbWZ5PmagETsERNfuklsveh+wgZLmPX5fOem05WfCN3MmmgBGnj","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-says-regime-change-in-cuba-is-overdue-6006330","title":""},{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fidel-castros-daughter-speaks-out-6007688","title":""},{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/exclusive-interview-fidel-castros-daughter-6015595?src_src=goodeveningnoe&src_cmp=gv-2026-04-22&est=hO7IDj5k0PbWZ5PmagETsERNfuklsveh+wgZLmPX5fOem05WfCN3MmmgBGnj","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-23T13:55:26.349Z","createdAt":"2026-04-23T13:55:26.349Z","articlePublishedAt":"2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z"}