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The Communist ex-president had been in poor health for many years, reportedly blighted by intestinal problems. But the cause of his death has not yet been revealed. State television broadcast images of the historic figure's body.

NC Cuban state television broadcast images of the ex-leader's body

His brother, Raul, announced his death on the state broadcaster. He said: "The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died 10.29pm tonight." The 84-year-old added: "According to the will of Commander Fidel, he will be cremated.

GETTY Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has died aged 90

GETTY Fidel (Left) ceded control of Cuba to his younger brother Raul in 2008

The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died 10.29pm tonight Raul Castro

"Towards an everlasting victory, always." But Cubans in Miami, many of whom are relatives of anti-Castro activists exiled in the 1970s, were seen celebrating his death in the streets.

Cuba and U.S. restore relations Mon, March 21, 2016 Obama arrives in Havana on Sunday for a historic visit that seals a rapprochement he and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed in December 2014 after 18 months of secret negotiations. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 32 U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro shake hands in Havana

He led the Caribbean island for more than five decades and was the world's third longest serving head of state, behind only Queen Elizabeth II and the late Thai King Castro surged to power after he led an insurgency against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista in the 1950s, assuming power in a bloody revolution. His controversial Communist regime, aligned with the Soviet Union, caused strained tensions with the West at the height of the Cold War. The dictator rebuffed a plot to invade and overthrow his government by the US in 1961, known as the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Información de Raúl Castro sobre el fallecimiento del líder de la Revolución Cubana #FidelCastro #Cuba pic.twitter.com/vSwWY3gdiH — CubanitoenCuba (@CubanitoenCuba) 26 November 2016

He then went on to steer his country through the Cuban Missile Crisis, seen by many as the closest the planet has come to all-out nuclear war. Raul Castro became president in 2008 after a string of illnesses saw the historic figure withdraw from the public eye. But Fidel met President Obama in March this year as part of a thawing of relations between the two traditional enemies.

REUTERS Castro was close with other revolutionaries such as former South African president Nelson Mandela

GETTY Castro withdrew from the public eye following a deterioration of his health

He had previously slammed the US president, claiming the commander-in-chief "lacks stature". The revolutionary politician, who was allied with Marxist figurehead Che Guevara, was seen in April bidding farewell to the Cuban Communist Party. He said at the time: “I’ll be 90 years old soon. “Soon I'll be like all the others.

GETTY Castro (right) was a comrade of revolutionary Marxist Che Guevara