Texas Senator Ted Cruz stood up and walked out of Nelson Mandela's memorial service on Tuesday, after Cuban head of state Raul Castro stepped to the podium to make a speech.
A representative from Cruz's team who spoke with ABC News said that the Cuban-American politician, who has long-criticized the South American country's government, encountered a "challenging moment" when Castro took the stage.
"Sen. Cruz very much hopes that Castro learns the lessons of Nelson Mandela," Cruz spokesperson Catherine Frazier said to ABC News. "For decades, Castro has wrongly imprisoned and tortured countless innocents. Just as Mandela was released after 27 years in prison, Castro should finally release his political prisoners. He should hold free elections, and once and for all, set the Cuban people free."
Cruz's father moved to the United States from Cuba at 18 years old in the 1950s, prior the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.
According to the Huffington Post, Cruz, like many other Cuban exiles who fled the country during that time, has not supported the Cuban government's movements since then.
President Barack Obama gave Raul Castro a handshake during Mandela's memorial service.
Nelson Mandela, who supported the Castros and the Revolution, was criticized by Cuban-American citizens in South Florida during the 1990s. Madiba reportedly kept cordial ties with Fidel due to the former Cuban leader's staunch opposition to apartheid.
