Castro was a mass murdering psychopath who pretended to be a Communist as a means to power.
Fidel was a true believer in Marxism since his days at the University of Havana but he had to ally himself first with people (not all of them Communists) who despised the Batista dictatorship. It was clear from the outset Communists were the dominant element in the Revolutionary leadership and eventually imposed their totalitarian rule over the island.
But before all that, Fidel was the Revolution and he led it and not the Communist Party which was only formally founded in 1965. Fidel was the last charismatic caudillo in Latin America. His place in history is secure next to Franco of Spain. We will never see his likes again in that part of the world.
Nope, Quite the opposite. He was a Communist who pretended to be "just a progressive Socialist," until he gained power. It was then that he announced his brutality had a purpose, he was a "Marxist Leninist."
This Klingon bastard's been around a long time.