The man who was once thought to be the savior of Cuba but is now vilified throughout the world, died on Nov. 25. Fidel Castro had a life full of changing reputation, but he is best known for standing in stark defiance of American politics and international policy for over half a century.

Castro turned over control of Cuba to his brother Raul, 85, in 2006, but had still had major influence over the communist country. He was known for being controlling of people's lives, but also for being a great orator and revolutionary.

Castro originally came to power in 1959 when he over took Havana from the former military dictator, Fulgencio Batista in a coup after months of leading the rebel resistance. The people believed that he would be a great leader to democracy, but Castro had other plans. He transitioned the country into communism and allied himself with the Soviet Union, causing America to not only close the embassies and cut diplomatic ties with Cuba, but also began an embargo on Cuban goods that was condemned by many major countries of the UN.

However, Castro was proud of this embargo, claiming Cuba was the only country in the world not reliant on Western Trade.

Castro spent many of his years in power funding anti-America propaganda. With the American embargo on Cuban goods, it was not hard to convince people that America was in the wrong.

In the sixties Cuba became the Soviet Union's base in the Western Hemisphere, and American intelligence agencies, most famously the CIA, made many attempts to get rid of Castro, including the botched Bay of Pigs Invasion. This further entrenched the bad Cuba-US relations for the next fifty years.

President Barack Obama opened back up channels of discussion with Cuba earlier this year when he became the first sitting president in 88 years to visit Cuba. Fidel Castro warned his country against opening trade and diplomatic relations with America, but his brother allowed for the embargo to be dropped and re-setup the American Embassy in Cuba.

Castro's death marks the end of his rule in Cuba and perhaps an end to his communist rule of the country, as his brother has announced that he intends to resign in 2018.