Fidel Castro’s ashes are being interred in a private ceremony after Cuban officials made a last-minute cancellation of plans to broadcast the events live on national and international television. International media are also barred from the ceremony.
The remains of the man who ruled Cuba for a half-century leave the Plaza of the Revolution in the eastern city of Santiago at 6:39 a.m., more than 20 minutes ahead of their scheduled departure. Thousands of people line the two-mile route to Santa Ifigenia cemetery, waving Cuban flags and shouting, “Long live Fidel!”
The motorcade carrying the ashes of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro makes its final journey towards the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago, Cuba, on Sunday, December 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The funeral caravan enters the cemetery at 7:12 a.m. The Cuban military fires a 21-gun salute and crowds at the entrance to the ceremony sing the national anthem, then fill the road to the cemetery where the ashes are being interred inside, out of the public eye.
The decision to hold a private ceremony came the morning after Castro’s brother, President Raul Castro, announced that Cuba will prohibit the naming of streets and monuments after the former leader, and bar the construction of statues of the former leader and revolutionary icon, in keeping with his desire to avoid a cult of personality.
The events ended a week of national mourning for Fidel Castro that reached near-religious peaks of adulation.
— AP
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Sunday, December 4, 2016
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