Fidel Castro, Cuba's former president and leader of the Communist revolution, has died aged 90, state TV has announced.
Fidel Castro, the father of communist Cuba who led the country for nearly half a century, died at the age of 90, Cuban state TV announced on Friday.
Cuba's current president, Raul Castro, announced the death of his brother, The Associated Press reported, but no further details..
Fidel Castro, the revolutionary and former president ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century before handing over the powers to his brother Raul Castro in 2008.
He retreated from the public eye in 2006 following emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding. His health problems forced him to temporarily hand power to his younger brother Raul Castro, who permanently took his place as president of Cuba in 2008.
His supporters praised him as a man who had given Cuba back to the people. But his opponents accused him of brutally suppressing opposition.
In April, Fidel Castro gave a rare speech on the final day of the country's Communist Party congress.
He acknowledged his advanced age but said Cuban communist concepts were still valid and the Cuban people "will be victorious".
Castro's death followsa historic thawingof relations between Cuba and the United States with the announcement in mid-December that the countries planned to restore diplomatic and economic ties.
Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro speaks on the eve of the military trial of more than a hundred insurgents captured in the mountains on Wednesday Oct. 10, 1960 in Havana. He warns "He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword" to those who attacked his regime. (AP Photo)
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