Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has died, Cuban state television announced late Friday. He ruled Cuba as a single-party state for almost 50 years before handing over the powers to his brother Raul in 2008.
Fidel Castro: Through the Years

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This combo of three file photos shows Fidel Castro, from left; smoking a cigar in Havana, Cuba, April 29, 1961; speaking to the media while on a mission to collect Elian Gonzales in Washington, D.C., April 6, 2000; and at his Havana home on Feb. 13, 2016.

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Cuba's President Raul Castro announces the death of his brother, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, in a still image from government television in Havana, Cuba Nov. 26, 2016.

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FILE - Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro exhales cigar smoke during an interview at his presidential palace in Havana, Cuba, March 1985. Castro, a Havana attorney who fought for the poor, overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista's government on Jan. 1, 1959.

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FILE - In a Sept. 20, 1960 file photo, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev hug at the United Nations.