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While the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro prompted cheers from the country’s exiles in Miami, the 90-year-old revolutionary leader’s passing produced expressions of respect in other parts of the world and measured responses from governments that saw the devoted socialist as a threat.
U.S. President Barack Obama noted that while «discord and profound political disagreements» marked the relationship between the United States and Cuba for nearly six decades, Americans were extending «a hand of friendship to the Cuban people» during their time of grief.
«History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him,» Obama said.
While spending the Thanksgiving weekend in Florida, where the announcement of Castro’s death early Saturday brought Cuban exiles into the streets to celebrate, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to share a thought that proved pithy even for the medium: «Fidel Castro is dead!»
Elsewhere in world, Castro was honored and mourned by many present and former national leaders.
In a telegram to Cuban President Raul Castro, Fidel’s 85-year-old brother, Pope Francis offered «my sense of grief to your excellency and family.»
Francis broke from the Vatican’s usual practice of having the secretary of state send official condolences. In a mark of the esteem the pope held for Castro, whom he met during a visit to Cuba last year, Francis signed the telegram himself.
«The struggle to which he dedicated his life echoed not just in Cuba but across the world, and has awakened respect even in other political camps,» the ministry said. «His words ‘another world is possible’ reflect the shared longing of billions of people from Latin America to Asia, from the Middle East to Africa.»
«India mourns the loss of a great friend,» Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi said on Twitter.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tweeted: «Goodbye, commandante. Until the peoples’ eternal victory.»
«Fidel Castro in the 20th century did everything possible to destroy the colonial system, to establish cooperative relations,» former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.
Ammar al-Moussawi, who is in charge of international relations for Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, lauded Castro as «a historic symbol whose life was a lighthouse to all revolutionaries around the world.»
Guyanese Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said Castro shared his island’s resources with any nation that dared ask for help.
The Castro government sent thousands of doctors and nurses to work in remote Caribbean areas where local and other foreign medical personnel had refused to go, Nagamootoo said.
«His and Cuba’s contribution to humanity and the Caribbean is unmatched by any other nation in terms of brotherly and sisterly relations. He was an international gift to humanity,» he said.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, established to carry on the work of the late anti-apartheid leader who would go on to become South Africa’s president, recounted the close relationship Mandela forged with the Cuban leader.
When Mandela became president in 1994 he was criticized by some in the West for his ties to Castro. Mandela replied that anyone who objected could «jump in the pool.»
«The first country we approached (for assistance in battling apartheid) was the United States of America. We could not even succeed to come close to the government, and they refused to assist us,» Mandela said in a 1990 documentary to explain his loyalty to Castro. «But Cuba, the moment we appealed for assistance they were ready to do so and they did so.»
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined the chorus of admirers, calling Castro «a legendary revolutionary and orator» and a «remarkable leader.»
«While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for «el Comandante,»Trudeau said.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said he and his wife Rosalynn «remember fondly our visits with him in Cuba and his love of his country.» The couple visited Cuba in 2002, long after Carter left office.
While most of the official remembrances were complimentary, a few emphasized less-flattering views of the late leader.
Trump elaborated on his initial tweet later Saturday, calling Castro «a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades.»
Trump says Castro left a legacy of «firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.»
House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in the United States Congress, said any remembrances should be reserved «for the memory and sacrifices of all those who have suffered under the Castros.»
«Now that Fidel Castro is dead, the cruelty and oppression of his regime should die with him,» Ryan said in a statement.