World Responds to Fidel Castro Death

Cuba is officially in mourning, Miami is unofficially in party mode, and much of the rest of Latin America and the world is split over the death of Fidel Castro. The Cuban government has announced that after nine days of national mourning, the 90-year-old leader will be interred at a cemetery in Santiago, close to where he grew up, reports ABC. In the days before the Dec. 4 ceremony, there will be mass gatherings in Havana and Castro's ashes will make a cross-country tour. A round-up of coverage:

• CNN reports that President Obama released a statement Saturday morning offering his condolences to the Castro family and promising that the US will be a friend to the Cuban people. "History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him," he said.
• Donald Trump's remarks were shorter: "Fidel Castro is dead!" he tweeted.

• The New York Times looks at what might lie ahead for Cuba, with Trump headed for the White House and Raul Castro now freer to plot his own course. Some analysts predict that Raul will accelerate his reforms.
• The Guardian looks at some of the many failed plots that the CIA and Cuban exiles devised to kill Castro. By his security team's count, there were no fewer than 634 attempts to assassinate the leader. One of the more ridiculous plots involved exploding molluscs.
• The Miami Herald reports on the reaction to the death across Latin America. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the "invincible giant has gone on to meet with Che Guevara," though some critics suggested the meeting would be happening somewhere very hot.
• The Los Angeles Times looks at the life and legacy of the Cuban leader, who clung to the very end to his "belief that his revolution had succeeded in lifting a nation above self-interest and material obsessions."
• The AP rounds up reactions from world leaders including China's Xi Jinping, who said Castro "made immortal historical contributions to the development of socialism around the world." Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was less flattering: "No one should rule anywhere near as long as Fidel Castro did," he said, slamming Castro's legacy as "one of repression at home, and support for terrorism abroad."
• NPR reports that Cuban-Americans from both parties in Congress issued statements denouncing Castro, including Sen. Marco Rubio, who called him an "evil, murderous dictator."
• The New York Times finds that in Havana, the death has laid bare a generation gap. "My grandparents' generation, which benefited a lot from him, will feel very strongly," says 31-year-old blogger Elaine Diaz. "In my parents' generation, there is also still a lot of loyalty. In my generation, you’ll see more differences," she added. "In a large portion of the young people, what you will see is apathy."

(More Fidel Castro stories.)