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Day of two greats today, wrote Sandro Castro, grandson of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, while sharing an image that shows Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona showing the communist leader the tattoo he had in his honor, a symbol of adoration and complicity.
The scene corresponds to one of the Argentine star's visits to Havana and became a symbol of the personal and political relationship between the two.
Maradona, a declared admirer of the Cuban regime, tattooed the face of the dictator on his left leg, the same leg with which he scored some of the most memorable goals of his career.
Their connection began in the late 1980s and was solidified in 2000, when the player chose Cuba as a safe haven to deal with his drug addiction, under the direct protection of the regime.
During their stay, they received exclusive medical attention, luxurious accommodation, and preferential treatment, all amidst an island going through a severe economic crisis.
Maradona used to refer to Fidel as "a second father" and said he considered him "the greatest in history."
Fidel, for his part, maintained a close relationship with him and welcomed him on numerous occasions in Havana.
Both shared a life marked by power, excesses, and corruption, which included cases of pedophilia.
While Castro ruled Cuba for almost half a century through a familial and military structure that controlled the country's resources, Maradona openly defended dictators and authoritarian leaders from the region, of whom he was also a beneficiary.
Fidel Castro and Diego Maradona both passed away on November 25th, four years apart — the dictator in 2016 and the football player in 2020—.
The coincidence of dates has been highlighted by official propaganda as a symbol of a "revolutionary" friendship.
On November 25, marking nine years since the dictator's death, Sandro Castro once again joined the family and state cult that keeps the myth of his grandfather alive, in a country battered by power outages, scarcity, and repression.
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