Kennedy instituted a naval blockade of Cuba that lasted until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles. Castro has supported revolutionary movements in various Latin American countries and in Africa and has become a symbol of revolution. Under a new constitution in 1976, he became president of Cuba. The end of the Cold War as well as Cuba’s increased economic difficulties and the country’s ongoing international isolation have diminished Castro’s stature as an effective leader. Castro married in 1948 and was divorced in 1954. He has one son, born in 1949.