A physical fall by Cuban President Fidel Castro drew a charged reaction from Miami's Cuban exile community on 21 October 2004. Castro had stumbled and broken his arm and knee, and in Little Havana, the neighborhood that has long served as the center of Cuban exile life in the United States, the incident was the dominant topic of the day.
At the Versailles restaurant, a popular gathering spot for exiles, many expressed disappointment that Castro had not been more seriously injured. Several said they had hoped, on hearing the news, that the fall might prove fatal.
The word choice in early reports caused brief confusion: some radio listeners believed, for a moment, that Castro's government had collapsed when they heard journalists describe his 'fall.'
Ninoska Perez-Castellon, a radio journalist leading the Cuban Liberty Council, said the reaction revealed how urgently Cubans wanted an end to Castro's four decades in power.
Not all exile leaders shared the mood. Jose Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue argued that fixating on the accident was a waste of energy that should go toward political action to end Castro's rule.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.