FORMER President Fidel Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 US presidents during his half century rule, has died at age 90.

With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro said on state television that his older brother died at 10.29pm local time Friday.

“I say to the people of Cuba, with profound pain I come here to inform our people, our friends of America and the world, that today ... died the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.

“In accordance with the written will of comrade Fidel, his remains will be cremated at the first hours of tomorrow, Saturday November 26 (local time)”.

He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: “Towards victory, always!”

Castro was in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006.

US LEADERS RESPOND TO CASTRO’S DEATH

President Barack Obama says the United States is extending “a hand of friendship to the Cuban people” at the time of Fidel Castro’s death.

Obama says in a statement that “history will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.” The U.S. president notes that “discord and profound political disagreements” marked the relationship between the United States and Cuba for nearly six decades, and says he has “worked hard to put the past behind us.” Obama says that in the coming days, Cubans “will recall the past and also look to the future. As they do, the Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner” in America.

Fidel Castro is dead! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump was among the first major US political figures to comment on the death.

Trump’s relations with Cuba came under scrutiny in September following allegations that he knowingly violated the US/Cuban embargo in the 1990s.

A story in Newsweek said the now-president elect spent approximately £54,000 ($68,000) to send consultants to Cuba despite the embargo.

Trump released a statement after his tweet that said he hoped “today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.”

In April this year, Castro delivered a foreboding valedictory speech at the Communist Party’s seventh Congress, declaring that “soon I’ll be like all the others”.

“The time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban Communists will remain,” he said.

Castro’s reign over the island-nation 145km from Florida was marked by the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis a year later that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

The bearded revolutionary, who survived a crippling US trade embargo as well as dozens, possibly hundreds, of assassination plots, died 10 years after ill health forced him to hand power over to Raul.

He was demonised by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa.

However, his nearly five decades split many a Cuban family between exile and solidarity with the communist revolution — including his own.

His commitment to socialism was unwavering, though his power finally began to fade in mid-2006 when a gastrointestinal ailment forced him to hand over the presidency to Raul in 2008, provisionally at first and then permanently.

His defiant image lingered long after he gave up his trademark Cohiba cigars for health reasons and his tall frame grew stooped.

“Socialism or death” remained Castro’s rallying cry even as Western-style democracy swept the globe and other communist regimes in China and Vietnam embraced capitalism, leaving this island of 11 million people an economically crippled Marxist curiosity.

He survived long enough to see Raul Castro negotiate an opening with US President Barack Obama on December 17, 2014, when Washington and Havana announced they would move to restore diplomatic ties for the first time since they were severed in 1961.

He cautiously blessed the historic deal with his lifelong enemy in a letter published after a month-long silence.

CASTRO’S DEATH DIVIDES WORLD

While many leaders and politicians from around the world are paying tribute to Fidel Castro, others will not mourn the controversial leader who ruled with an iron fist.

Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 26, 2016

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Fidel Castro was “a friend of Mexico, promoter of a bilateral relationship based on respect, dialogue and solidarity”.

Fidel Castro fue un amigo de México, promotor de una relación bilateral basada en el respeto, el diálogo y la solidaridad. — Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) November 26, 2016

However, Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero told CNN: “Hell has a special place for Fidel Castro.”

Salguero said the exiled Cuban community in Miami were there because they could not live with any freedom in Cuba.

In Miami, Americans waved flags and celebrated as they heard news of Castro’s death, according to CNN.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union which had long acted as an economic and political prop for Cuba, said Castro left a lasting mark on his country and on world history.

“Fidel held his ground and strengthened his country at the time of the harshest American blockade, at the time of massive pressure on him,” Gorbachev was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

“Nevertheless he led out his country from the blockade to the path of self- sustained and independent development.” In a telegram of condolence to Raul Castro, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the late leader an “inspiring example for many countries”. “Fidel Castro was a frank and tried and true friend of Russia,” the Kremlin quoted the message as saying.

In Venezuela, a long-time ally of Cuba and staunch opponent of the political stance of the United States, President Nicolas Maduro said Castro had inspired and would continue to inspire his country.

“We will keep on winning and keep fighting. Fidel Castro is an example of the fight for all the people of the world. We will go forward with his legacy,” Maduro told television station Telesur.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said: “A great has left us. Fidel has died. Long live Cuba! Long live Latin America!” South African President Jacob Zuma thanked the Cuban leader for his help and support in the struggle to overthrow apartheid.

“President Castro identified with our struggle against apartheid. He inspired the Cuban people to join us in our own struggle against apartheid,” he said. French President Francois Hollande mourned the loss of a major figure and welcomed the rapprochement between Havana and Washington, while noting concerns over human rights under Castro.

“Fidel Castro was a towering figure of the 20th century. He incarnated the Cuban revolution, in both its hopes and subsequent disillusionments,” Hollande said in a statement.

“France, which condemned human rights abuses in Cuba, had equally challenged the US embargo on Cuba and France was glad to see the two countries re-establish dialogue and open ties between themselves,” added the Socialist party leader. Hollande met Fidel Castro in May, 2015 during the first ever visit by a French head of state to Cuba since the Cuban revolution.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also offering his condolences to the Cuban people and the family of Fidel Castro over the death of the island’s longtime leader.

Ban says that “at this time of national mourning, I offer the support of the United Nations to work alongside the people of the island.” He says that under Castro, Cuba made advances in the fields of education, literacy and health, adding that he hopes “Cuba will continue to advance on a path of reform and greater prosperity.” Ban recalled that he met with Castro in January 2014. He described it as “a lively discussion that covered developments around the world as well as sustainable development and climate change.”

US FL: Cubans Celebrate in Miami Following Fidel Castro's Death November 26 US FL: Cubans Celebrate in Miami Following Fidel Castro's Death November 26

But in Cuba, the mood has been sombre as locals on the streets of Havana react to the shock news.

Mariela Alonso is a 45-year-old doctor. She calls the retired Cuban leader “the guide for our people.”

In her words: “There will be no one else like him. We will feel his physical absence.” Mechanic Celestino Acosta was sitting on a porch in the central Havana neighbourhood of Vedado.

He called the news of Castro’s death “a painful blow for everyone.”

In Old Havana, people gathered around their radios, listening to state-run stations play revolutionary anthems and recite facts about Castro’s life.

State television followed Raul Castro’s announcement with more than an hour of normal re-runs of international programs, then shifted to biographical documentaries about Fidel Castro.

HOW A COMMUNIST LEADER TRANSFORMED CUBA

Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro outlasted nine US presidents.

Wearing green military fatigues and chomping on cigars for many of his years in power, Castro was famous for long, fist-pounding speeches filled with blistering rhetoric, often aimed at the United States.

At home, he swept away capitalism and won support for bringing schools and hospitals to the poor.

But he also created legions of enemies and critics, concentrated among Cuban exiles in Miami who fled his rule and saw him as a ruthless tyrant.

In the end it was not the efforts of Washington and Cuban exiles nor the collapse of Soviet communism that ended his rule.

Instead, illness forced him to cede power to his younger brother Raul. In his final years, Fidel Castro no longer held leadership posts. He wrote newspaper commentaries on world affairs and occasionally met with foreign leaders but he lived in semi-seclusion.

His death — which would once have thrown a question mark over Cuba’s future — seems unlikely to trigger a crisis as Raul Castro is firmly ensconced in power.

KEY EVENTS IN CUBA UNDER FIDEL CASTRO

January 1, 1959 — Castro’s rebels take power as dictator Fulgencio Batista flees Cuba.

June 1960 — Cuba nationalises U.S.-owned oil refineries after they refuse to process Soviet oil. Nearly all other U.S. businesses expropriated by October. October 1960 — Washington bans exports to Cuba, other than food and medicine. April 16, 1961 — Castro declares Cuba socialist state.

April 17, 1961 — Bay of Pigs: CIA-backed Cuban exiles stage failed invasion.

February 7, 1962 — Washington bans all Cuban imports.

October 1962 — U.S. blockade forces removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba. U.S. President John F. Kennedy agrees privately not to invade Cuba.

March 1968 — Castro’s government takes over almost all private businesses.

April 1980 — Mariel boatlift: Cuba says anyone can leave; some 125,000 Cubans flee.

December 1991 — Collapse of Soviet Union devastates Cuban economy.

August 1994 — Castro declares he will not stop Cubans trying to leave; some 40,000 take to sea heading for United States.

March 18, 2003 — 75 Cuban dissidents sentenced to prison.

July 31, 2006 — Castro announces has had operation, temporarily cedes power to brother Raul.

February 19, 2008 — Castro resigns as president.

July 2010 — Castro re-emerges after years in seclusion, visiting a scientific institute, giving a TV interview, talking to academics and even taking in a dolphin show at the aquarium.

April 19, 2011 — Castro is replaced by his brother Raul as first secretary of the Communist Party, the last official post he held. The elder Castro made a brief appearance at the Congress, looking frail as a young aide guided him to his seat.

April 19, 2016 — Castro delivers a valedictory speech at the Communist Party’s seventh Congress, declaring that “soon I’ll be like all the others. The time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban Communists will remain.”

November 25, 2016 — Fidel Castro dies.

‘HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME’: THE LIFE OF FIDEL

Castro went by many names. He was referred to as the former president of Council of State and Council of Ministers, first secretary of Communist Party of Cuba, commander in chief of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Before resigning on February 19, 2008, he was the world’s longest-ruling head of government, and leader of one of world’s last five communist states.

Had been off public stage for year and half after provisionally ceding power to his brother Raul following emergency intestinal surgery.

His birthdate is officially listed as August 13, 1926, in Cuba’s Oriente province, although some say he was born a year later.

He attended Roman Catholic schools and University of Havana, where he earned law and social science degrees.

Before the Revolution, Castro launched his revolutionary fight with July 26, 1953, attack on military barracks in eastern city of Santiago.

He was arrested, later freed under amnesty. Castro then travelled to Mexico to form a rebel army, and returned to Cuba with followers aboard small yacht.

Most were killed or captured, but Castro and a small group escaped into eastern mountain strongholds. Took power when dictator Fulgencio Batista fled New Year’s Day 1959.

After the Revolution, he emerged as head of new government and quickly gained nearly absolute power.

All American businesses eventually expropriated and Cuba was declared socialist state in April 1961, on eve of disastrous U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion by Cuban exiles.

The United States cut all trade with Cuba as island allied with Soviet Union, leading to October 1962 missile crisis that brought world to brink of nuclear war.

For three decades, Cuba was Soviet ally and remained alienated from United States after communism collapsed in eastern Europe.

The two countries began to move toward full diplomatic relations after a surprise announcement by President Barack Obama and Raul Castro on Dec. 17, 2014.

He was married to Mirta Diaz-Balart in 1948. His son, Fidel Felix Castro Diaz-Balart, was born in 1949. Castro was later divorced in 1955.

Although he never confirmed remarrying, Castro reportedly wed former schoolteacher Dalia Soto del Valle and had five sons. It has also been reported he had several other children out of wedlock.