The former revolutionary leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, died on Saturday at the age of 90.
Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary president who defied for five decades U.S. efforts to topple him, died on Saturday, Manila time, at the age of 90.
The residents were shocked even Castro had been in poor health since an intestinal ailment that nearly killed him in 2006.
In 2008, he formally ceded power to his younger brother Raul Castro.
On Saturday, Manila Time, a somber Raul Castro, 85, who was wearing a green military uniform, appeared on state television to announce his brother’s death.
“At 10.29 at night, the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died,” he said, without giving a cause of death.
“Ever onward, to victory,” he said, using the slogan of the Cuban revolution.
Following the news, tributes came in from allies, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
They said “revolutionaries of the world must follow his legacy.”
Castro did not meet US president Barack Obama when he visited Havana earlier this year, and this is the first time a U.S. president had stepped foot on Cuban soil since 1928.
The news of Castro’s death spread slowly among Friday night revelers on the streets of on the capital of Cuba.
Upon knowing, one famous club that was still open when word came in quickly closed.
Some residents also reacted with sadness to the news.
According to his wishes before he died, Castro’s body will be cremated. His brother Raul Castro said details of his funeral would be given on Saturday.
To recall, Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for 49 years after he took power in a 1959 revolution and with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.
The revolutionary leader was last seen by ordinary Cubans in photos showing him engaged in conversation with the Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang earlier this month.
