Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has died at age 90, according to Cuban state media, confirms NPR.
Castro, who took power in the Cuban Revolution in 1959, led his country for nearly 50 years.
After undergoing intestinal surgery, Castro had ceded power in July 2006 to his younger brother Raul, who announced his death late Friday on Cuban state television.
Under Fidel Castro's direction, Cuba became the one and only communist state in the Western Hemisphere.