Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied its efforts to topple him, has died at age 90.
With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro announced on state television that his older brother died at 10:29pm on Friday (local time). He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: "Towards victory, always."
Castro had been in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006.
He led Cuba for five decades and was the world's third longest-serving head of state, after Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and the King of Thailand.
He 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 demonised by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa.
