Editing Fidel Castro (section)

===Retirement: 2008–2016===
Following his retirement, Castro's health deteriorated; international press speculated that he had [[diverticulitis]], but Cuba's government refused to corroborate this.<ref name="Franks 2012">{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cuba-castro-birthday-idUKBRE87B0HO20120812 |title=Fidel Castro to turn 86, but out of view since June |author=Franks, Jeff |work=Reuters |date=12 August 2012 |access-date=13 October 2012 |archive-date=8 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808215726/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cuba-castro-birthday-idUKBRE87B0HO20120812 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He continued to interact with the Cuban people, published an opinion column titled "Reflections" in ''Granma'', used a Twitter account, and gave occasional public lectures.<ref name="Franks 2012"/> In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns and failing health, and not to be disturbed by his future death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/4324128/Fidel-Castro-sends-farewell-message-to-his-people.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/4324128/Fidel-Castro-sends-farewell-message-to-his-people.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Fidel Castro sends farewell message to his people |last=Govan|first=Fiona|date=23 January 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=28 January 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He continued meeting foreign leaders and dignitaries, and that month photographs were released of Castro's meeting with Argentine president [[Cristina Fernández]].<ref name="BBC 23Jan9">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7846670.stm|title=Fidel contemplates his mortality|date=23 January 2009|work=BBC News|access-date=28 January 2009|archive-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217014939/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7846670.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Enrique Peña Nieto y Fidel Castro.jpg|thumb|Castro with Mexican president [[Enrique Peña Nieto]], January 2014; even in retirement, Castro continued his involvement with politics and international affairs.]]
In July 2010, he made his first public appearance since falling ill, greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to ''[[Mesa Redonda Internacional|Mesa Redonda]]'' in which he discussed US tensions with Iran and North Korea.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cuba's Fidel Castro makes rare state TV appearance |date=13 July 2010 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10606890 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221072241/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10606890 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 7 August 2010, Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years, urging the US not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a [[nuclear holocaust]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/07/AR2010080702549.html |title=Fidel Castro warns of nuclear risk in 1st speech to Cuban parliament in 4 years |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 August 2010 |access-date=16 March 2011 |first=Will |last=Weissert |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429070010/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/07/AR2010080702549.html |url-status=live }}; [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/world/americas/08cuba.html "Fidel Castro Addresses Parliament on Iran Issue"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627085849/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/world/americas/08cuba.html |date=27 June 2017 }}. ''The New York Times''. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2011.</ref> When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government, culture minister [[Abel Prieto]] told the [[BBC]], "I think that he has always been in Cuba's political life but he is not in the government... He has been very careful about that. His big battle is international affairs."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-latin-america-10903048 "Fidel Castro addresses parliament after four-year gap"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023214224/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-latin-america-10903048 |date=23 October 2018 }}, BBC News, 7 August 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.</ref> In August 2010, Castro accepted responsibility for persecuting gay men in the 1960s and 70s, which included imprisonment in forced labor camps.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-08-31 |title=Fidel Castro takes blame for persecution of Cuban gays |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-11147157 |access-date=2025-04-25 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

On 19 April 2011, Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/19/fidel-quits-communist-party-leadership-as-cuba-looks-to-reform/|title=Fidel quits Communist Party leadership as Cuba looks to reform|publisher=Euronews.net|date=19 April 2011|access-date=19 April 2011|archive-date=23 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423031134/http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/19/fidel-quits-communist-party-leadership-as-cuba-looks-to-reform/|url-status=dead}}</ref> thus stepping down as [[First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba|First Secretary]]. Raúl was selected as his successor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cuba-congress-idUKTRE73I3GQ20110419|title=Cuban communists opt for old guard to lead reforms|work=Reuters|date=19 April 2011|access-date=20 April 2011|archive-date=7 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307164958/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cuba-congress-idUKTRE73I3GQ20110419|url-status=dead}}</ref> Now without any official role in the country's government, he took on the role of an elder [[leader|statesman]]. In March 2011, Castro condemned the [[2011 military intervention in Libya|NATO-led military intervention in Libya]].<ref>"[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/03/cuba.castro.libya/ Castro condemns NATO's 'inevitable' war on Libya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127022215/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/03/cuba.castro.libya/ |date=27 November 2016 }}". CNN News. 3 March 2011.</ref> In March 2012, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] visited Cuba for three days, during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Pope's vocal opposition to Cuba's government.<ref name="Franks 2012"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pope-cuba-fidel-idUKBRE82R14Q20120328 |title=Pope meets Cuba's Fidel Castro, slams US embargo |author1=Pullella, Philip |author2=Franks, Jeff |work=Reuters |date=29 March 2012 |access-date=13 October 2012 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922145023/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=uk |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later that year it was revealed that along with Hugo Chávez, Castro had played a significant behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating peace talks between the Colombian government and the far left FARC guerrilla movement to end the conflict which had raged since 1964.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/13/fidel-castro-hugo-chavez-colombia-farc-talks |title=Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez played role in Colombia's peace talks with Farc |author=Beaumont, Peter |work=The Observer |date=13 October 2012 |access-date=13 October 2012 |location=London |archive-date=4 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904050937/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/13/fidel-castro-hugo-chavez-colombia-farc-talks |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[North Korea crisis (2013)|North Korea crisis of 2013]], he urged both the North Korean and US governments to show restraint. Calling the situation "incredible and absurd", he maintained that war would not benefit either side, and that it represented "one of the gravest risks of nuclear war" since the Cuban missile crisis.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/05/fidel-castro-north-korea-nuclear-war-warning | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Fidel Castro to North Korea: nuclear war will benefit no one | date=5 April 2013 | access-date=17 November 2016 | archive-date=24 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624190556/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/05/fidel-castro-north-korea-nuclear-war-warning | url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2014, Castro was awarded the Chinese [[Confucius Peace Prize]] for seeking peaceful solutions to his nation's conflict with the US and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fidel Castro awarded China's Confucius Peace Prize |date=22 December 2014 |agency=Associated Press |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/06aef4345e0441c3b6abe40f89327495/fidel-castro-awarded-chinas-confucius-peace-prize |access-date=17 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228175349/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/06aef4345e0441c3b6abe40f89327495/fidel-castro-awarded-chinas-confucius-peace-prize |archive-date=28 December 2014 }}; {{cite news |title=Fidel Castro Wins Confucius Peace Prize |date=11 December 2014 |work=Chian Digital Times |url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/12/castro-wins-confucius-peace-prize-xi-russias-person-year/ |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=15 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115114052/http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/12/castro-wins-confucius-peace-prize-xi-russias-person-year/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2015, he publicly commented on the "[[Cuban Thaw]]", an increased normalization between Cuba-US relations, by stating that while it was a positive move for establishing peace in the region, he mistrusted the US government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fidel Castro appears to lend support to Cuba talks with U.S. |author=Daniel Trotta |date=26 January 2015 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-idUSKBN0L005P20150127 |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918201903/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-cuba-usa-idUSKBN0L005P20150127 |url-status=live }}</ref> He did not meet with US president [[Barack Obama]] on the latter's visit to Cuba in March 2016, although sent him a letter stating that Cuba "has no need of gifts from the empire".<ref>{{cite news |title=Fidel Castro writes caustic note to Obama after Cuba visit |date=28 March 2016 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |url=http://www.dw.com/en/fidel-castro-writes-caustic-note-to-obama-after-cuba-visit/a-19146619 |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201133852/http://www.dw.com/en/fidel-castro-writes-caustic-note-to-obama-after-cuba-visit/a-19146619 |url-status=live }}</ref> That April, he gave his most extensive public appearance in many years when addressing the Communist Party. Highlighting that he was soon to turn 90 years old, he noted that he would die in the near future but urged those assembled to retain their communist ideals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fidel Castro gives his 'last' party address |date=19 April 2016 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |url=http://www.dw.com/en/fidel-castro-gives-his-last-party-address/a-19199782 |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=1 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101063015/http://www.dw.com/en/fidel-castro-gives-his-last-party-address/a-19199782 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2016, Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian president [[Hassan Rouhani]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran: Hassan Rouhani meets with Cuban leader Fidel Castro during one-day state visit in Havana |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |date=20 September 2016 |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/iran-hassan-rouhani-meets-with-fidel-castro-during-one-day-state-visit-in-havana-3040241/ |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=25 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025230459/http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/iran-hassan-rouhani-meets-with-fidel-castro-during-one-day-state-visit-in-havana-3040241/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and later that month was visited by Japanese prime minister [[Shinzo Abe]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan's Shinzo Abe meets Fidel Castro, discusses North Korea |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=23 September 2016 |url=http://www.dw.com/en/japans-shinzo-abe-meets-fidel-castro-discusses-north-korea/a-19569562 |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=26 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126145600/http://www.dw.com/en/japans-shinzo-abe-meets-fidel-castro-discusses-north-korea/a-19569562 |url-status=live }}</ref> In late October 2016, Castro met with the Portuguese president [[Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa]], who became one of the last foreign leaders to meet him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tvi24.iol.pt/politica/marcelo-rebelo-de-sousa/marcelo-foi-um-dos-ultimos-lideres-a-estar-com-fidel-castro|title=Marcelo foi um dos últimos líderes a estar com Fidel Castro|date=26 November 2016|website=Tvi24|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-date=19 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219102600/https://tvi24.iol.pt/politica/marcelo-rebelo-de-sousa/marcelo-foi-um-dos-ultimos-lideres-a-estar-com-fidel-castro/|url-status=live}}</ref>