Fidel’s trek ends
Cremated remains reach final destination
FIDEL CASTRO’S funeral procession reached its final destination Saturday — the city where the Cuban revolution began.
The cremated remains of the socialist leader made their way across the island nation he ruled for half a century, in a five-day journey from Havana to Santiago.
The trek, a reversal of the route of the “Freedom Caravan” of January 1959 in which Castro and his rebels took power, drew massive crowds of flag-waving Cubans who lined roadways to pay their final respects.
The miniature coffin covered with a Cuban flag and encased in a glass box was towed behind a military jeep.
Residents of the rural eastern edge of the island, where Castro was raised and his revolution began five decades ago, greeted the cortege with near-religious fervor.
On Friday, a somber throng of mourners huddled together on the curb of a streetcorner in Las Tunas shouted, “I am Fidel!” as the procession passed.
The crowds grew as the spectacle neared Santiago.
A rally for Castro, who died Nov. 25 at the age of 90, was held Saturday evening at the Plaza Antonio Maceo in Santiago.
Castro’s brother Raul Castro was joined by a cabal of foreign leaders in honoring a man who was loved by the developing world but hated by exiles from his own country as well as American leaders.
Among the dignitaries were Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and Bolivia’s Evo Morales, according to Cuban state media.
Former Brazilian Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff were also expected to be at the final sendoff.
On Sunday Castro’s ashes were to be entombed at the nearby Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.