Cubans, foreign leaders bid final farewell to Fidel Castro

Cubans have bid a final farewell to their late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in the city of Santiago de Cuba where his ashes will be finally laid to rest.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans lined the streets to pay homage to Castro as his funeral cortege arrived in Santiago on Sunday. People with teary eyes waved flags, sang the national anthem and chanted, “I am Fidel.”

Dignitaries from Cuba and other countries also took part in the mass rally. Officials and diplomats from Ecuador, China and South Africa took to the podium and eulogized Castro. Also, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa hailed Castro and admired the late leader's revolutionary policies.  

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona also arrived in Cuba to attend the funeral of his "second father," declaring "I feel Cuban."

Raul Castro, who took over the country’s leadership from his brother in 2006 and later became president, spoke about Fidel and praised the late leader’s character and accomplishments, especially with regard to his policy towards the United States. Raul pledged to defend Fidel's legacy.

Fidel Castro showed it was “possible to firmly maintain the inalienable principles of our sovereignty without fear to the nuclear blackmail of the United States during those days of the missile crisis in October 1962,” Raul said in his speech.

Highlighting his older brother’s wishes, the president said Fidel's images and statues will not be displayed at public places, and roads will not be named after him. "The leader of the revolution strongly opposed any manifestation of cult of personality," Raul added.

The funeral cortege started out from the capital Havana on Wednesday and arrived in Santiago as the final stop of a 9-day mourning period. The ashes of the revolutionary icon will be interred near the remains of Cuba’s independence hero Jose Marti.

For many in Latin America and the Caribbean, Castro was a symbol of resistance against imperialism for ousting a US-backed dictator in 1959. Castro died on November 25th at the age of 90, a decade after ceding power to Raul.