Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 26-11-2016
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, a titan of the Cold War who defied 11 American presidents and thrust Cuba onto the world stage, has died at age 90.
Cuban state-run television says the former long-time president died at 7pm local time.
Castro’s brother and current president, Raul Castro, confirmed the news.
The revolutionary leader was in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006.
The US government spent more than $1bn trying to kill, undermine or otherwise force Castro from power, but he endured unscathed before old age and disease finally took him.
His supporters in Havana described him as a tireless defender of the poor.
Agustin Diaz Cartaya who joined Castro in the 1953 attack in eastern Cuba that launched the revolution says the Cuban revolutionary leader was “a giant of the Third World.
“No one has done more for the Third World than Fidel Castro.”
The bearded Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.
He was demonized by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa.
Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents in power.
– Al Jazeera & agencies
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