Fidel Castro - Revolutionary Leader & Former President of Cuba Dies
CUBA - Fidel Castro, probably one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century, has died aged 90, his brother, now president of Cuba Raul Castro.announced last night.
“Dear people of Cuba, with deep sorrow I stand before you to announce to our people, to our friends of America and the world that today, November 25th, 2016, at 10.29pm, the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died. To respect the will of comrade Fidel, his remains will be incinerated in the first hours of Saturday 26th,” Raul Castro said. (Source: Euronews).
In 1959, aged 32, Fidel Castro became one of the youngest leaders in Latin America. Throughout his 30 years of leadership he never changed his commitment to communist ideals. He gave his presidency to his brother Raul in 2006.
A dictator for some 30,000 Cubans who emigrated from the country during Fidel Castro’s rule, and an inspiring revolutionary legend for others, a former USSR alley and a great friend of the Soviet people, Castro outlived numerous assassination attempts. His reign was marked with the Cuban Missile Crisis, almost bringing the world to nuclear war, and a US trade embargo from 1961 to 2014 when US and Cuba declared a restoration of diplomatic relations.
During his official visit to the Soviet Union in 1963, Castro, together with Nikita Khrushchev [pictured] went to visit Abkhazia and then Tbilisi, where he met with Georgian officials and had a tour to the new districts of the city.
His funeral will be held on December 4 in Santiago de Cuba.
By Nino Gugunishvili