World leaders began to arrive in Havana, last night, November 28, to join the Cuban people in paying their respects to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz.
Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao said upon his arrival, as the special envoy of the general secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the Republic Xi Jinping, that he had come to express his country’s most heartfelt condolences for the death of Fidel, “an outstanding, brilliant leader of the Cuban people, and also a great revolutionary and friend of the Chinese people,” while reaffirming that China will remain firmly at the side of Cuba and saying, “Comrade Fidel will live eternally.”
Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, was among the first to arrive in Cuba to join the Cuban people and their leaders to bid the Comandante en Jefe a final farewell. “We want to convey our solidarity and be at the side of the Cuban people during these days of farewell to the immortal force of Comandante Fidel Castro. It is strange and difficult to arrive in Cuba and not have him here physically,” adding that Cuba and Venezuela are family, as José Martí and Simón Bolívar envisioned, and that the two countries are standing tall and will continue with Fidel at their side.
Photo: Yaimí Ravelo
Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said Fidel was his comrade and friend, and that his presence will endure in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the world, adding that 90% of the world’s inhabitants are in mourning.
Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, stated that he was in Cuba to celebrate the life of Fidel and offer his solidarity to the Cuban people.
While Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua & Barbuda, arriving in Havana, said that Fidel was a great leader, a hero who had the ability to bring people together, and his death is a loss for Cuba and the entire Caribbean.
These leaders were received by Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Elba Rosa Pérez at José Martí International Airport.
(Granma)