Thousands take to Santiago streets for Fidel Castro’s funeral as Cuban leader is laid to rest and Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona joins mourners paying their respects
Thousands of people yelled 'Viva Fidel' as his ashes were driven through the streetsCredit: Getty Images
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People wait outside the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia hoping to enter and see where the remains of former Cuban President Fidel Castro was entombedCredit: Getty Images
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A military jeep pulls a trailer with the flag draped chest containing the remains of the revolutionary leaderCredit: Getty Images
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A supporter holds an image of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro at a tribute in MalagaCredit: Reuters
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Workers fix the plaque with his name on Cuban leader Fidel Castro's tomb at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery Santiago de CubCredit: Getty Images
His remains travelled to the cemetery Havana to Santiago de Cuba where his band of guerrillas launched their a fight to topple US-backed president Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
Thousands of mourners gathered to greet the caravan at the mausoleum outside Santa Clara, the central town where Argentine doctor-turned-revolutionary Che Guevara derailed an armoured train in a battle that helped tip the war in the rebels' favour.
Members of the public were unable to attend the private ceremony but were later allowed to briefly enter the cemetery to pay their respects to the tomb.
Diego Maradona joined thethousands of mourners at the tribute rally.
The 56-year-old Argentinian and Castro were friends for years and appeared together on Maradona’s TV show in 2005.
Girlfriend Rocio Oliva, 26, joined him at Saturday’s event.
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Argentina's soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona and his partner Rocio Oliva arrive to the stage for a rally honoring deceased Cuban leader Fidel CastroCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Diego paid tribute to Castro with thousands of other mourners in Santiago de CubaCredit: Reuters
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People rest on a sidewalk while waiting for the cortege carrying the ashes to passCredit: Reuters
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People sit on roof tops while waiting for the funeral processionCredit: Reuters
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A child poses with a Cuban national flag, complete with the image of CastroCredit: Getty Images
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A former South Sudanese refugee in Cuba lights a candle at the memorial serviceCredit: Getty Images
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Castro's final journey was attended by thousandsCredit: AP:Associated Press
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The urn with the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro is driven through the streets of HavanaCredit: Getty Images
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The remains of the Commandante' are being transported by military vehicleCredit: Getty Images
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The urn with the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro leaves Revolution Square in HavanaCredit: Getty Images
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The ashes pass a poster showing other revolutionary leaders including Che GuevaraCredit: Getty Images
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People line the street leading to Santa Ifigenia cemetery as they wait at sunrise for the funeral processionCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Members of the Red Army and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) march to mourn for the former Cuban presidentCredit: Getty Images
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Mourners were not permitted to attend the private ceremony but waited outsideCredit: Getty Images
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A guard of honour remains in place whilst workers fix the plaque with his name on Cuban leader Fidel Castro's tombCredit: Getty Images
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Emotional scenes played out as thousands of people watched the ashes of the leader drive pastCredit: Getty Images
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The "caravan of freedom" will leave from Havana, making symbolic stops along a 590-mile routeCredit: Getty Images
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Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for an incredible five decadesCredit: Getty Images
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A woman weeps as Fidel's urn is driven through the streets of HavanaCredit: Getty Images
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The streets were lined with hundreds of thousands of flag-waving CubansCredit: Getty Images
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While some people desperately cried out to the procession, others said the funeral brought up distressing memories of Castro's ruleCredit: Getty Images
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Young people march around the Plaza de la Revolucion and chant 'Yo soy Fidel,' 'I am Fidel' in EnglishCredit: Getty Images
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Cubans attend the passage of the urnCredit: Getty Images
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People were reduced to tears during the final farewellCredit: Getty Images
Castro's final resting place is marked by a simple round stone, about 15ft high, with an emerald plaque bearing his name.
The tomb stands to the side of a memorial to the rebel soldiers killed in an attack that Castro led on Santiago's Moncada barracks on July 26, 1953, and in front of the mausoleum of Cuban national hero Jose Marti.
A dozen uniformed soldiers stood guard in front of his tomb.
But waves of Cubans who emigrated to South Florida to escape political repression or other hardships since Castro's 1959 revolution said many would feel "a lot of pain" watching the funeral.
Miriam de la Pena is the mother of a pilot killed in 1996 in Cuban airspace while trying to rescue people leaving the island. She says watching the coverage would be difficult.
She said: "It is not pleasant to watch because all the pain comes back, all the suffering that we have been through because of him."
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman confirmed today she would not be attending the funeral and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is also unlikely to go.
She was asked about her views on the revolutionary leader, and said that he was a “historic, if controversial figure”.
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A massive rally at Revolution Square in Havana in honour of late leader Fidel CastroCredit: Getty Images
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The streets were lined by mourners, with many saying they understood the family wanted a private ceremonyCredit: Getty Images
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The final journey of Castro was symbolic of his leadershipCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A sign on the building of the former Bacardi rum plant reads I am Fidel FidelCredit: Getty Images
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The convoy was flanked by thousands of mournersCredit: Getty Images
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Cuban military students chat before last nights tributeCredit: Getty Images
Earlier this week thousands of Cubans jammed the capital's Plaza of the Revolution as the presidents of Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and South Africa, along with leaders of a host of smaller nations, offered speeches paying tribute to Castro.
"We love the Commandante and I think it's our obligation to be here and see him out," said Mercedes Antunez, 59, who was bussed in by the state athletics organisation from her home in east Havana along with fellow employees.
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A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting the Cuban revolutionaryCredit: Getty Images
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A little girl poses holding a sign that reads in Spanish "I am Cuba. Fidel revolution"Credit: AP:Associated Press
