Fidel Castro’s Death and Reaction

HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban government has declared nine days of national mourning following the death of longtime leader Fidel Castro. Public activities and events will be canceled, and the Cuban flag will fly at half staff.Castro's remains will make a cross-country tour from Havana to Santiago, retracing in reverse the route Castro took when the revolution triumphed in 1959. He will be interred in a Santiago cemetery on Dec. 4. Cuban President Raul Castro announced his 90-year-old brother's death last night.

Meanwhile, the death of the former Cuban leader has prompted celebrations among the country's exiles in Miami. Cheers were heard in Miami's Little Havana minutes after the Cuban government announced the revolutionary leader's death. Thousands of people banged pots, waved Cuban flags and whooped in jubilation. One woman whose parents left Cuba after Castro came to power tweeted: "Been waiting to hear this news all my life."

Many world leaders are paying tribute to Castro. Chinese President Xi Jinping says "the Chinese people have lost a close comrade and a sincere friend." Russian President Vladimir Putin says Castro was "a sincere and reliable friend of Russia." Leaders of Mexico and India are also calling Castro a friend. And Pope Francis offered his condolences in a telegram that he signed, breaking with the Vatican's usual practice of have the secretary of state send such messages.