Venezuelan President Pays Tribute to Marti and Fidel Castro in Cuba

Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has paid tribute to Cuban National Hero, Jose Marti, and the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery, local press reported.

According to Granma newspaper, Maduro was yesterday at that cemetery located in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, accompanied by his Cuban peer, Raul Castro, on occasion of the 91st birth anniversary of the Commander-in-Chief.

Both presidents, along with Cilia Flores, wife of the Venezuelan president, and Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, witnessed the guard-change ceremony in the tombs where the remains of Marti and Fidel lie.

They also laid flowers for the 'Maestro', as Marti is also known, and in front of the granite stone that hold Fidel Castro's ashes. They also paid tribute to the July 26 martyrs and those fallen in internationalist missions after the triumph of the Revolution in January 1959.

During a brief tour of Santa Ifigenia, Raul Castro talked to Maduro about the national history and explained why Carlos Manuel de Cespedes is considered the Father of the Fatherland.

He reminded Mariana Grajales and Maria Cabrales, mother and widow of General Antonio Maceo, respectively; and told Maduro about some Cuban officers of the War of Independence.

They also laid flowers at the tomb of Frank Pais; and then the Cuban president recalled this courageous young man, who was killed as his brother Josué, by the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship.