Fidel Castro’s lookalike elder brother, Ramon ‘Mongo’ Castro, dies at the age of 91

Ramon Castro, a lifelong rancher and farmer who bore a strong physical resemblance to younger brother Fidel Castro, has died, Cuban state media announced Tuesday. He was 91.

Widely known by his nickname “Mongo”. the white-bearded Ramon Castro preferred tending crops and livestock to the revolutionary political life embraced by his younger siblings Fidel and Raul, who replaced Fidel as Cuba’s president in February 2008.

Two years older than Fidel, Ramon was long used to getting double-takes from people who insisted he looked just like his famous brother. At times, Ramon was said to reply that because he was older, Fidel actually looked like him.

Ramon, Fidel and Raul were the second, third and fourth children of Angel Castro, a Spanish-born rancher, and his second wife, Lina Ruz. Angel Castro also had two other children from a previous marriage.

Once grown, Fidel and Raul headed off to Havana for studies, then the business of launching a revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista, who seized power in a 1952 coup.

But Ramon Castro was content to remain in the village of Biran in eastern Cuba, where he helped his father with the family business.

Nevertheless, Ramon remained in contact with his siblings. He wrote letters to Fidel in prison when he and Raul and other followers were arrested after their unsuccessful 1953 attack on a military barracks that launched their armed struggle. Sometimes along with the correspondence, Ramon sent along a ham or a box of cigars.