Americas

US Vice President-elect, Lawmakers React to Castro Death

A Cuban flag flies at half-mast after the death of Fidel Castro, at the anti-imperialist tribune in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 26, 2016. Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of U.S. presidents during his half century rule, died at age 90 late Friday.

WASHINGTON — 

Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro, who led the country for nearly 50 years, died late Friday in Havana. He was 90.

On Saturday, members of Congress and the vice president-elect shared their thoughts on the Cuban dictator -- from hope for the future to the sacrifices of the Cuban people -- on Twitter.

Despite attempts on his life, a U.S.-backed exile invasion at the Bay of Pigs and five decades of economic sanctions, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, stepping down while George W. Bush was in office.