Fidel Castro Funeral: Final Tributes Led by Raul Castro at Santiago Ceremony

The final tributes to late Cuban leader Fidel Castro have been led by his brother, President Raul Castro, at a ceremony in the city of Santiago.

Tens of thousands of Cubans attended the event, as well as world leaders.

The Cuban president vowed to honor the socialist principles and goals of the revolution led by Fidel Castro, who died on November 25 at the age of 90.

Raul Castro also announced that Cuba would ban naming any monuments or roads after Fidel Castro, at the request of the late leader.

“The leader of the revolution strongly opposed any manifestation of cult of personality,” said Raul Castro.

No statues or busts of Fidel Castro will be erected in Cuba, he said.

The urn with his ashes will be interred on December 4 in Santiago, known as the birthplace as the Cuban Revolution.

It arrived on December 3 in Santiago, after a four-day journey from the capital, Havana.

Large crowds shouting “Long live Fidel!” and “I am Fidel!” greeted his funeral cortege through the streets of Santiago.

The leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia have attended the ceremony.

Fidel Castro was part of the small group of revolutionaries who launched an attack on the barracks on July 26, 1953.

The attacked failed, but it was considered the first act of the revolution that would depose the US-backed government of Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.

Opinion on Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century, remains divided.

Supporters say Fidel Castro returned Cuba to the people and praise him for some of his social programs, such as public health and education.

However, critics call him a dictator, who led a government that did not tolerate opposition and dissent.

Raul Castro took over when his brother’s health deteriorated in 2006.

Fidel Castro’s ashes will be placed in the Ifigenia Cemetery, where Cuban independence hero Jose Marti is buried.