Galvanized by a 21-gun salute that thundered across Havana, tens of thousands of Cubans paid final respects on Monday to Fidel Castro, who led a leftist revolution, ruled for half a century and resisted the United States throughout the Cold War.
Castro died on Friday at the age of 90, a decade after stepping down due to poor health and ceding power to his brother, Raul Castro. While he had been retired as an active leader, his death removed any impediment on his brother to pursue deeper relations with Washington if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warms to the idea of improved ties.
Castro was admired by leftists and people of the developing world who saw him as a revolutionary champion of the poor, but vilified by those who viewed him as a dictator who oppressed Cubans and ruined the economy through socialism.