Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dies at 90

 

 

 

File photo of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro taken in Havana on Feb 10, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died late Friday at the age of 90, said his brother Raul, the current leader of Cuba.

"With deep sorrow I report to the Cuban people that our beloved leader Fidel Castro passed away at 10:29 p.m. on Friday," said Raul Castro in a statement broadcast on Radio Reloj.

His body will be cremated according to his will. The organizing committee for his funeral will give more details of the mourning.

Castro had led Cuba for nearly half a century before stepping down in 2006 for health reasons. He was succeeded by Raul Castro.

Fidel Castro spent the last years of his life largely out of the public eye, writing editorials on world affairs for Cuba's official Granma daily, and receiving dignitaries at his home in Havana.

The last such meeting was with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on Nov. 15.

Fidel Castro was born on Aug. 13, 1926 in Biran, a village in Holguin Province, as the son of Spanish immigrant Angel Castro and Cuban farmer Lina Ruz.

Castro became well-known worldwide after he led the 1959 Cuban revolution that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Almost immediately, the US moved to topple Castro, fearing the socialist revolution would inspire the rest of Latin America.

Washington attacked Cuba on many fronts, including economically and financially, by imposing a trade embargo in February 1962 that continues to this day.

Cuba's former President Fidel Castro (R) and Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang meet in Havana, Cuba Nov 15, 2016, in this handout photo provided by Granma. [Photo/Agencies]

Related story: Castro, 90, offers thanks on birthday, slams Obama