On Saturday night, tens of thousands of Cubans are expected to turn out for a final farewell to Castro at the Antonio Maceo Plaza on the eve of his internment at Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. He announced to a few close colleagues at a New Year’s Eve party in 1958 that he was leaving the country, and Fidel Castro and his followers triumphantly drove into Havana to take control of the country on January 1, 1959.
The remains of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro are interred beside independence leader José Martí.