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Mass rally in memory of Fidel Castro begins in Santiago de Cuba

The event is led by Cuban President Raul Castro

SANTIAGO DE CUBA /Cuba/, December 4. /TASS/. About a half a million people have come to the main square of Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second largest city, to pay their last respects to Fidel Castro. The event is led by Cuban President Raul Castro.

Well-known politicians, among them Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Bolivian leader Evo Morales and two former Brazilian Presidents , Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Russeff, have arrived to pay homage to the legendary Cuban leader.

Fidel Castro’s funeral procession earlier reached its final destination travelling more than one thousand kilometers from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, with Cubans lining the streets to see Castro’s ashes make their final journey.

In the early dawn, the Cuban leader’s ashes will be transported to Santa Ifigenia Cemetery where they will be laid to rest. A source close to Cuba’s leadership has told TASS that Fidel Casto’s funeral will be attended by a limited number of people, because the ancient necropolis has no room for everyone willing to pay their last respects to the legendary Cuban leader. "That was why the majority of foreign guests took part in a massive memorial event held in Havana on November 29," he explained.

Fidel Castro passed away on November 25 aged 90. The Cuban government declared a nine-day national mourning following his death.