In a letter, Dirceu recalls his time with Fidel.

247 - Former minister José Dirceu, who was imprisoned in the Mensalão scandal (Action 470) and recently convicted again in the Lava Jato operation, recalled, through an open letter, his meeting with Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Dirceu traveled to Cuba as one of the political prisoners exchanged for US ambassador Charles Elbrick in 1969, during the military dictatorship.

Read the full text of the letter written by José Dirceu:

"I just learned of Fidel's death. It's 9:15 am on Saturday. Yesterday, during visiting hours here at the Medical Penal Complex, I asked that my friends be given my greetings for their 90th birthdays, which were celebrated on August 13th, something I couldn't do personally because I'm imprisoned."

Coincidentally, today I received the sad and unfortunately expected news, since Fidel had lived through and survived a long illness. Not only did he fight against it and resist, but he went through this long journey always working and fighting, writing and studying, researching and receiving his comrades from all over the world.

Fidel was a survivor of numerous attacks and assassination attempts, now proven by official documents from the United States government – ​​from the student struggle, the attack on Moncada, the "Granma" landing, the guerrilla warfare, and later, winning the battle of Girón and facing the long struggle to consolidate the revolution in the 60s and 70s.

A revolutionary leader and statesman, he placed Cuba and its people on the map of 20th-century history. He participated in and was a protagonist, even while governing an island of 100 km² and 10 million inhabitants, in all the major world events and was present in all the great struggles for independence and against dictatorships in the 60s, 70s and 80s, in Latin America and Africa.

He confronted and did not surrender to the world's greatest power, the United States of America.

Like no one else, he embraced the aspirations of the Cuban and Latin American people for independence and sovereignty, following the legacy of Cuba's father, José Martí, and the great figures of Latin America, such as Bolívar. He was a symbol of hope and a source of inspiration for the poor, the dispossessed, the exploited, and the oppressed throughout the world.

Back in 1969, upon arriving in Cuba, I had the surprise of meeting him for the first time. Jovial, cheerful, and emotional, he came to welcome us and offer his solidarity. We had arrived in Cuba from Mexico, where we had gone after being released from prisons of the Brazilian dictatorship, exchanged for the American ambassador. It was the first of many encounters during my life in Cuba and, later, as a member of the Workers' Party, a congressman, a minister, and finally, a former minister, once again persecuted and exiled within my own country.

He and Cuba never failed to show me solidarity and support, and it manifested itself fully, not when I was in government, but whenever I needed it most – again banished and slandered during the Mensalão scandal and also after my conviction and imprisonment in 2013. Years of infamy, when Fidel and Cuba remained in solidarity.

Upon taking office as minister in 2003, in my speech I expressed my gratitude for the solidarity of the Cuban people and their leader Fidel Castro during the dictatorship.

Today I pay my humble tribute to the commander and hero of the Cuban people. I offer my condolences to the people and government of Cuba and bid farewell to Fidel, unable to be in Havana to do so personally, signing with the name I received when the dangers and threats of the dictatorship and its tutor, the United States, forced us to use pseudonyms.