Nicolas Maduro Pays Homage to Fidel in Visit to Cuba

The birth of the late, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro was commemorated Tuesday in a ceremony lead by Cuban President Raul Castro Ruiz and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Santa Ifigenia cemetery in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba.

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Maduro arrived just days after the renowned leader would have celebrated his 91st birthday.

With flowers adorning the mausoleum, the event began with a ceremonial change of the honor guard, then with the procession of foreign diplomats placing white roses before the giant granite stone that holds Fidel’s urn.

Maduro emphasized that he could not miss the tribute to Fidel since he had always been at the side of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and Venezuelan First Combatant Cilia Flores accompanied the heads of state in their tribute, which honored national hero Jose Marti, as well as Frank Pais Gracia, an army general who together with his brother lost his life during Batista’s dictatorship.

The group also paid homage to the revolutionaries who gave their lives on July 26, 1953, during an attack on the Moncada army barracks.

In a brief tour of Santa Ifigenia, Raul spoke to Maduro about Cuban history; explained why Carlos Manuel de Cespedes is considered the "Father of the Homeland"; recalled Mariana Grajales and Maria Cabrales, mother and widow of General Antonio Maceo, respectively; and talked about some of the officers of from the War of Independence.