He transcended the "civilities of international affairs" when he became laudatory in his praise of the accomplishments of a despot and dictator.

There is an expression we are all familiar with - "if you haven't anything good to say about a person, it's best to say nothing at all". In the case of Castro, there clearly is little good to say, however Trudeau, attempting to be statesmanlike, should have remembered the other expression "best to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot than to open it and disspel all doubt".