Cuban President Raul Castro announced the death of his brother, who ruled the island nation from 1959 to 2006 before transferring his responsibilities.
A divisive and iconic figure, Castro is known to some as a champion of socialism whose revolutionary regime protected Cuba’s sovereignty in the face of American imperialism, while critics brand him a dictator with a decades-long administration plagued with human rights abuses.
Nevertheless, Castro was a time-tested, formidable leader who survived a military invasion, a full-blown international missile crisis, a withering U.S. economic embargo, and numerous assassination attempts.
In April, he delivered a rare speech during the nation’s Communist Party congress, praising his brother for his “magnificent effort” and promising victory for the Cuban people.