Some Cuban-Americans believe the death of Fidel Castro means human rights abuses in Cuba will end. Jose Sanchez is one of them. “We had a bad dictator that had Cuba under oppression and repression for almost six decades is no longer with us, and that will give an opportunity to the Cuban people to start the journey towards freedom and democracy.” Sanchez lives in Little Havana, an area of Miami, Florida, where many Cuban-Americans live. Lissette Calderon lives there, too. She says the death of Fidel Castro is the beginning of a new Cuba. “The people of Cuba do not have free elections and there’s no democracy. And I think those of us aren’t gonna rest until we see the freedom for the people of Cuba.” Fidel Castro began ruling the country in 1959. In 2008, he gave the presidency to his younger brother, Raul. For almost 58 years, the Cuban people have had few civil and political freedoms. Thousands of activists have been punished or imprisoned.