Desperation Led to Escape, Castro Daughter Says

COLUMBUS, Ga. —  Fidel Castro’s daughter said Thursday that she used a faked Spanish passport and a wig to sneak out of Cuba and appealed to her father’s government to let her 16-year-old daughter join her.

Alina Fernandez Revuelta, who has long been estranged from her father, fled Cuba on Monday, leaving her daughter behind. She flew to Spain and was granted political asylum by the United States.

“You have to realize the desperation it takes to turn a person’s core to iron to withstand the hardship of escape and the possibilities that there may be no hope of seeing your child again,” she said Thursday.

Fernandez, believed to be in her late 30s, said her daughter knew of her escape but “acted unaware of my plans as she was celebrating her 16th birthday the day before.” She said she spoke to her daughter early Thursday, and as of that time no Cuban authorities had come by to see the girl.

With a U.S. immigration official acting as an interpreter, Fernandez spoke at a news conference in this Georgia town where she is staying with a wealthy Cuban-American, Elena Amos, who has assisted other Cuban defectors.

She said she had no message for her father, but “my message for the Cuban government and the people of Cuba would be to help my daughter. I cannot stop thinking of her while I’m here.”

She gave few details of her escape but did say she used a wig, gained extra weight, wore a heavy coat and used heavy makeup to alter her appearance.

When Fernandez left Cuba, it was the first time she had been off the island since she and her mother were in Paris in 1964.