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Fidel Castro's Death Elicits Mixed Reactions In Massachusetts, Around The Globe

BOSTON (CBS/AP) – The Cuban government has declared nine days of national mourning for the death of Fidel Castro, ending when his remains are interred on Dec. 4.

Castro died late Friday night at 90 years old.

Public activities and events will be canceled in Cuba, and the Cuban flag will fly at half-mast. The Council of State says state radio and television "will maintain informative, patriotic and historic programming."

The nightly news had started as usual on Cuban state television when suddenly something changed.

President Raul Castro appeared, seated before a desk in military uniform and delivered somber news: His brother Fidel Castro had died, nearly 58 years after leading a rebel army to a victory that led to one of the globe's most durable socialist states.

The president said his brother's remains would be cremated on Saturday and news about tributes would follow.

He closed with his brother's decades-old slogan: "Toward victory, always."

Within half an hour of the Cuban government's official announcement that former President Fidel Castro had died, Miami's Little Havana teemed with life — and cheers.

castro death
Cuban Americans celebrate upon hearing about the death of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida on November 26, 2016. Cuba's socialist icon and father of his country's revolution Fidel Castro died on November 25 aged 90. / AFP (Photo credit should read /AFP/Getty Images)

Thousands of people banged pots, waved Cuban flags and whooped in jubilation on Calle Ocho, the heart of the Cuban exile community in Florida. Honking and strains of salsa music from car stereos echoed against stucco buildings, and fireworks lit up the humid night sky.

Police blocked off streets leading to Cafe Versailles, the quintessential Cuban American hotspot where strong Cuban coffee was as common as a harsh words about Fidel Castro.

Castro has cast a shadow over Miami for decades, and in many ways, his policy and his power have shaped the city and its inhabitants, many of whom fled from his socialist rule.

Celebrations broke out here in Massachusetts as well. At the Old Havana Restaurant in Jamaica Plain, owner Sixto Lopez said Castro's death is a relief.

"People suffered a lot from him. He divided families," Lopez said. A lot of people died in the sea trying to go out of Cuba."

cuban restaurant
The Old Havana Restaurant in Jamaica Plain. (WBZ-TV)

Lopez fled Cuba in the 1980s, resettling in Boston. His friends and family, he said, suffered under Castro's rule.

There are more than 11,000 Cuban Americans living in Massachusetts.

While Fidel Castro's foes celebrate his death, his friends across Latin America mourn.

Alejandro Rodriquez, at the Old Havana Restaurant, said Castro's death brings about a hopeful change. The mixed reactions, he said, are explained by Castro's all-encompassing rule.

"He's a very strong person," Rodriquez said. "He controlled Cubans' lives for decades."

The leftist government of El Salvador is expressing "eternal gratitude" to Castro and the Cuban people for help "in the most difficult times." That's apparently a reference to Cuba's support of the guerrilla bands battling a U.S. backed, military-dominated government in the 1980s.

The government statement issued Saturday says Castro's "example will live forever in our struggles and will flower in the noble ideas of new generations."

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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