Thousands of Cubans joined by world leaders to pay tribute to Fidel Castro
Castro – who ruled from 1959 to 2006 – died of undisclosed reasons on Friday at age 90
A steady stream of Cubans paid homage to late communist icon Fidel Castro again on Tuesday as Latin American and African presidents joined them for commemorations shunned by several world leaders.
Encouraged by the government, grieving islanders lined up for a second day at Havana’s Revolution Square to view a memorial to the man who ruled the island for nearly half a century.
He was not just your leader. He was our leader and the leader of all revolutionaries
Hundreds of thousands, many in tears, had already streamed across the square late into the night on Monday to salute the picture of a young, black-bearded Castro in military fatigues during the revolution that brought him to power in 1959.
“Fidel isn’t dead. He’s a world symbol and his ideas spread not only in Latin America but all around the world,” said Roberto Hernandez Rosabal, a 47-year-old anthropology professor.
Castro’s leftist admirers in Latin America – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Bolivian President Evo Morales – joined them inside the monument to Cuban independence hero Jose Marti on Tuesday morning.
“All this sadness that has accompanied us since November 25 [when Castro died] has reminded us of the battles of recent history that revolution leader Fidel Castro and our comandante Hugo Chavez experienced,” Maduro said. “We have come to pay tribute to this great giant.”
