Congressman’s mother feared for her life in Cuba

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Lala Mooney, the Cuban-born mother of West Virginia Second District Congressman Alex Mooney, says she has to bite her tongue a lot when she hears people praise Fidel Castro for improving the country during his reign.

“A lot of it is a myth and a lie,” Mooney said Monday during an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.”

Castro died back on Saturday. He was 90.

Lala Mooney fled Cuba when she was 20.
Lala Mooney fled Cuba when she was 20.

Mooney’s family was almost immediately impacted by the Castro-led Cuban Revolution in 1959. Castro’s militia tried to force Lala Mooney’s father, the dean of engineering at Catholic University, to turn over information about his students. During the 1961 Bay of Pigs incident, Mooney and members her family were jailed. A short time later Mooney left her native land.

“After I got out of prison I was so scared,” Mooney said. “It was hard because I was a college student and I didn’t want to abandon my country but it seemed you could not live in a country where they would throw you into prison forever–(leaving) was not an option.”

Mooney, who lives in Charles Town, was 20 when she left. She said Castro came into power promising democracy but that soon changed.

“He was charming. He was a great talker but then just a big traitor,” she said.

Mooney said she’s had to learn over the years not to have a knee-jerk reaction to those who see Casto’s reign differently.

“I have had to really develop the ability to be rational and try to say things that help my country,” she said.

Mooney still has relatives in Cuba. She said Havana has been relatively quiet since Castro’s death.





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