Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia and a close ally of the late Cuban leader, said he was “deeply saddened” at Castro’s death.
“Fidel [was] the only man in the world with so many principles and so many values,” he told the Latin American television network Telesur. “He made so much history not only for Cuba, but also for the planet. That is socialism.”
He added: “There will never again be a man or comrade like Fidel, who devoted his life, his knowledge and his struggle not only to the Cuban people but to all the people of the world.”
The Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, described Castro as “a friend of Mexico, [and the] promoter of a bilateral relationship based on respect, dialogue and solidarity”.
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the president of El Salvador, tweeted in Spanish: “Fidel will live forever in the hearts of those of us who fight for justice, dignity and fraternity.”
Castro turned to the Soviet Union for political and economic support as the US tried to kill the Cuban leader or bring down his government, supporting multiple assassination attempts and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion by exiles in 1961.
Critical financial aid ended abruptly when the Soviet Union fell apart, plunging Cuba into the “special period” of deprivations, but ties remained, with one senior politician calling for a statue in Russia just hours after Castro’s death.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, sent a telegram to the late Cuban leader’s brother, Raúl Castro, in which he said: “The name of this distinguished statesman is rightly considered the symbol of an era in modern world history. Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia.”
Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela in 1991. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
Putin’s predecessor, Mikhail Gorbachev, was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency that Castro had done “everything possible to destroy the colonial system [and] to establish cooperative relations”.
He added: “Fidel survived and strengthened the country during the most severe US blockade, while there was enormous pressure on him, and still led his country out of the blockade on the road of independent development.”
The French president, François Hollande, condemned human rights abuses in Cuba, but paid tribute to the transformations Castro brought to a desperately poor country known primarily as a playground for wealthy Americans before he swept to power.
“Fidel Castrowas a towering figure of the 20th century. He incarnated the Cuban revolution, in both its hopes and subsequent disillusionments,” Hollande said in a statement. The men met in Cuba in 2015, when Hollande made the first visit by a French head of state to Cuba since the revolution.
“France, which condemned human rights abuses in Cuba, had equally challenged the US embargo, and France was glad to see the two countries re-establish dialogue and open ties between themselves,” the Socialist party leader said.
China’s official news agency Xinhua paid tribute to his economic vision, although China has a far more open and freewheeling system than Havana controls. It quoted Castro: “’The people of the Americas want neither freedom without food, nor food without freedom.’
“The Cuban leader was a pioneer in battling the current international economic order, particularly against the capitalist system, neoliberal globalisation, foreign debt and exploitation of natural resources,” the Xinhua report said.
The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said: “Fidel Castro’s death marks the end of an era for Cuba and the start of a new one for Cuba’s people.”
Fidel Castro and then-president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez in 2006. Photograph: vi/Rex/Shutterstock
In a measured statement released on Saturday morning, Spain’s foreign ministry said: “A figure of great historic importance has gone, a man who brought about a turning point in the country’s evolution and whose great influence was felt across the region. As the son of Spanish parents, former President Castro always maintained strong links with Spain and was bound by ties of blood and culture.”
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was more lavish with his condolences, calling Castro a “legendary revolutionary and orator”. In a statement, he added: “It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest-serving president … We join the people of Cubatoday in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.
Trudeau also made reference the longstanding friendship between his father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and Castro: “While a controversial figure, both Mr Castro’s supporters and detractors recognise his tremendous dedication and love the Cuban people who had a need and lasting affection for El Comandante.”
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, described the news as tragic, adding: “Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend. I extend my deepest condolences to the government and people of Cuba on the sad demise of Fidel Castro. May his soul rest in peace.”
Eulogies to El Comandante also came thick and fast from across Africa. From Algiers to Cape Town, Fidel Castro is remembered not as a dictator but as a friend, ally and, in some places, a saviour.
Cuba under Castro fiercely opposed South Africa’s apartheid regime and its western backers, and supported the African National Congress, the most prominent party in the nation’s liberation struggle.
Nelson Mandela, the ANC leader and first president of post-apartheidSouth Africa, was a deep admirer. “Comrade Castro’s leadership remains an inspiration to revolutionary movements committed to social justice worldwide,” the ANC said on Saturday.
Jacob Zuma, the beleaguered ANC and South African president, said that Castro had dedicated his life to “the freedom of other oppressed people around the world”. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cuban troops played a critical and bloody role on Cold War battlefields in Angola and Ethiopia that has never been forgotten in the region.
The independence of Angola from Portugal in 1975, obtained with the aid of Cuban forces, removed a key ally of South African rulers that they saw as a buffer against majority rule and socialism.
Castro was convinced that the global stage for the world revolution was Africa. “The African liberation movement owes you a huge gift of gratitude, said Charles Onyango-Obbo, a Kenyan columnist and publisher on Twitter.
In Algeria, one of the first destinations of the tens of thousands of Cuban doctors who worked on the frontline of cold war conflicts and in developing nations from the early 1960s onwards, Castro was remembered as a “great friend of the Algerian people”.
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