Fidel Castro has told a Mexican newspaper that he is ultimately responsible for the persecution suffered by homosexuals in Cuba after the 1959 revolution.

The former president told La Jornada there were moments of great injustice against the gay community. "If someone is responsible, it's me," Castro said.
In the 1960s and 70s, large numbers of homosexuals in Cuba were fired, imprisoned or sent to so-called “re-education camps". Homosexuality was decriminalised in Cuba in 1979.

”Too many problems”
Castro, 84, said homosexuals, black women and women had traditionally been discriminated in Cuba. He said he didn't pay enough attention to what was going on against the gay community.

"At the time we were being sabotaged systematically, there were armed attacks against us, we had too many problems," he said. "Keeping one step ahead of the CIA, which was paying so many traitors, was not easy."

Maria Castro
Castro fell ill in 2006 and handed power to his brother Raul in 2008. He led Cuba for almost 50 years and still leads the ruling Communist Party.

President Raul Castro’s daughter Maria is the director of Cuba’s Centre for Sexual Education. She promotes the rights of sexual minorities and was one of the main speakers at a Cuban ceremony marking the International Day against Homophobia in Havana on 17 May 2008.

There have recently been efforts to legalise same-sex unions.