Former Cuban Leader Fidel Castro Is Dead

The onetime dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro has died.

The Associated Press reports Castro toppled the government in 1959, introducing a Communist revolution. He defied the US for decades, surviving many assassination plots. Castro was 90.

The AP report continues: "His tiny island nation 90 miles from Florida brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and he defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half century rule. With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro said on state television that his older brother died at 10:29 p.m. Friday. He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: "Towards victory, always!"

Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba and embraced Soviet-style communism, had a reign marked by the failed, U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The bearded revolutionary survived a crippling U.S. trade embargo as well as dozens, possibly hundreds, of assassination plots.

I remember in grade school a new family moved into our neighborhood. All I knew was they were from Cuba. We never talked about the changes in their life. I just knew I had some new friends. This was a family of 6 girls. I had all brothers. The parents were hard working and always did what they needed to do to provide for their children. We've lost touch over the years, but I wonder how they would feel today learning of this news.

Castro survived long enough to see Raul Castro negotiate an agreement with U.S. President Barack Obama to move to restore diplomatic ties for the first time since they were severed in 1961.

More reports from the AP:

Cuban exiles and their descendants in Miami are reflecting and jubilating in the hours after the government's announcement of Fidel Castro's death.

The news of Castro's death was long anticipated by the exiles who left after Castro took power, and in the decades since. Rumors have come and gone for decades, and Castro's death had become something of a joke — mostly because it seemed to happen so frequently.

This time, it was real. Folks banged pots with spoons, rapped on cowbells and whooped in jubilation on Calle Ocho (KY'-ay OH'-cho) early Saturday. Cars honked horns, and police blocked off streets.

Cuban state television is carrying special programming paying tribute to the life of the deceased former leader, including footage from years past of Castro giving speeches on revolutionary struggle.