world ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. 4:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast and one day after the death of cuba's fidel castro. a sharp mix of reactions. i'm george howell at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. his funeral is set for december 4th. the island nation declared nine days of mourning as preparations are under way there for world leaders to visit cuba to pay respects. again, this is a figure that people either admired or people

despised. to the president of venezuela, castro was seen as an inspiration. nicolas maduro visited the former leader of his country, hugo chavez. maduro declaring days of mourning in solidarity with cuba. a different reaction in the united states. take a look at the scene in miami, florida. many in the exiled communities, the cuban exiled community came together to celebrate in little havana. some even dancing in the streets marking the ket of fidel castro as a victory for change. in cuba itself, the mood is somber in havana. many grieving the death of castro. patrick ottoman has more on what's next in the cuban capital? >> cuba entered a nine-day period of mourning. the news came suddenly on friday

night when raul castro took to the airwaves to announce that his older brother fidel castro had died even though he had been in ill health for over a decade and rumors of his death, it was still a shock for many cubans that i spoke to. they seemed stunned. they were uncertain about the future and already we've seen a massive beefing up of security on the island. military taking to the streets. reporting a spike in arrests. what happens now during this nine-day period of national mourning? first, fidel castro will be cremated. early next week his ashes will be placed in the center of power havana's revolution square. that's where he gave some of his most iconic speeches where hundreds of thousands of people attended. during these darks cuys, cubans

will -- from there, his ashes will be transported down the island 700 miles to the santiago decuba and expect many cubans to pack the roadways to see off this man who is either beloved by some as revolutionary hero or hated by others. he will be laid to rest. this is the region where he hailed from. we certainly expect many heads of state to attend. cuban government is making preparations to have everything ready. this is going to be a worldwide event. even though castro will be laid to rest, the controversy over his legacy, over his impact of the island will continue. quite simply, he's a man who forever changed cuba and cubans.

patrick oppmann reporting from cuba. the only u.s.-based correspondent in cuba. patrick, thank you for that report. the reaction from miami. many residents there, cubans living in exile, they say his death as closure. owe showed you the aerials. you see there on the ground where hundreds of people came together and met in miami's little havana district. many people screaming with joy. banging pots and pans, celebrating the death of castro. here's more. >> we're outside -- this is the epicenter of the cuban american exiled community here in miami. there are literally hundreds of

people celebrating the death of fidel castro. there's music playing, people banging pots and pans and lots of chanting. wufbt chants we've heard is fidel you tyrant, take your brother with you. it's kind of dark to think that people are celebrating someone's death. people are saying this is something they've been waiting for, for a long time. he was perceived as somebody incredibly repressive and stole their homeland away. he was in power since 1959. these are very different generations of people, young and oiled, that have come out to show their joy and their hope that this can mean a new chapter for the island of cuba. of course, the other thing to consider is that there are many personal stories here, there are many people that wish that their families could be alive to see this. i spoke to a gentleman who said

his mother died about two years ago and one of his hopes was that she could live to be here and enjoy this moment. it's an emotional and sad moment for him. but he still is joyous. as you heard, boris sanchez, in miami's little havana. >> thank you for that report. now to spain. some cubans living in that nation. a reaction to learning of castro's death, a mix of sadness and shock. >>. >> translator: i felt an immense pain. a pain that cannot be explained with words. i couldn't fight the tears because of such strong emotion. a great revolution has died. the greatest one. the one who has taught us, educated, who has given us freedom, education, health and conviction. these are very important things that a human should never lose.

that change will owe your when the blockade is lifted from cuba. that is what has screwed us. it is not the system of cuba. it is the political economic blockade which we have been subject to for more than half a century. >> translator: i am here for the sad and unfortunate news of the death of commander in chief fidel castro. a lot of pain and sadness and also with a lot of strength to keep going. >> translator: for me, it is something shocking. rather for his figure. but it does not sadden me. as president, 90% of the population never liked him for everything he did and has divided so many families. 80% of the cuban population that has had to emigrate and look for a life because of the politics, politics that force you to leave cuba and cuba, you're a professional and you don't have the possibility of practicing as a professional. from now on, there won't be any

changes. with his brother as president, politics will remain the same. there's zero freedom of expression and those that think something will change, it's like an illusion, it doesn't exist. as long as the castro family has the power, the change will never be favorable. >> from spain to the united states to venezuela and in cuba itself, a mix of reaction. let's talk b. more about the reaction and the implications of fidel castro's death. bringing in joel ross. the latin american analyst at the risk management firm and live in london with us. thank you so much for your time today. let's talk, first of all, about what we just heard. i don't know if you heard some of the reactions from the many people around the world and, look, this is a person who you either loved or hated him. you look at the president much venezuela describes him as a visionary. at the same time, people say he

cannot be forgiven for human rights abuses, jailing and murdering people. what are your thoughts? >> absolutely. he was a very controversial figure throughout his career. he led a revolution, and in order to lead a revolution, you have to enforce major change. for some people, that meant that was going to rub a lot of wrong ways, definitely. for others, that metropolitan he was leading something that never happened before. in general, his legacy -- he enacted a lot of reforms, universal health care, his universal education. but he absolutely human rights and did not allow freedom of speech. a mixed record. >> history would absolve him

some would say. but many weighing in on this divisive leader. let's talk about raul castro. cuba's laeter no longer in the shadow of fidel castro and in the process of planning his success imt do you plan to see a -- do you plan to see an aggressive shift to the right or left? >> it's important to say that fidel castro has been out of politics for the last years. he's been a guide, he's still been alive. but raul has been in charge for many years and he's recognized the need to open up the model slightly. he knows that the economic model was unsustainable and really was only propped up by -- >> pardon me me for interjecting. i want to ask you. even though raul castro has been in charge, he has been in the shadow of his brother. his brother has been active and

has written his displeasure for the improved relations with the united states, has made sure he has had a guiding hand on this nation. >> yeah. but it's also important to recognize that the changes brought about since raul came to power. that reflects the fact that he's the man in charge. he has allowed some reforms to be enacted that fidel would never have been okay with. the fact that allowing them to happen while raul was the leader reflects the fact that he is the man in chafrjt i agree, now that fidel is gone, there may be a broadening, a quickening of the economic reform, raul may feel that perhaps while his brother was still around, he didn't feel able to increase the pace of that economic reform as quickly as he would have liked. maybe that will allow the voice

within the group that rules cuba, allow the voice from the side of the reformers that modernizes and allow more economic progress. so perhaps that will be the shift now that fidel is gone. my point remains that raul has been in charge and you can see that over the last ten years. >> joel ross, giving us context and background live from london. joel, we appreciate you being with us. we'll stay in touch. i'm sure we'll have a lot more to talk about in the days x weeks and months to come. >> absolutely. thank you very much. one of the cubans mourning the death of fidel castro is elian gonzalez. as a young boy in 2000, he became the focus of an international custody battle. remember this image. his mother fled with the boy to the united states. but she died when their boat capsized. he was recovered and taken to live with the family in miami. but his father in cuba wanted him back. u.s. federal agents eventually seized him at gunpoint and he

was returned to cuba. now, in his early 20s, gonzalez has become a castro supporter. he said this about the leader's death. >> translator: he is a father. who like my father, i wanted to show him everything i achieved. that he would be proud of me. that's how it was with fidel. if i learned something and wanted to show him and there are still many things i want to show him. >> just as joel ross pointed out a moment ago, fidel castro made many enemies over his time and power. he became a birth adversary and survived many assassination attempts, outliving many opponents. our rafael romo has this look at our leader's final years. >> castro knew his days were dwindling telling cuban communists that soon i will be

like everyone else. after a near fatal illness in 2008, castro turned the reins of power over to his younger brother raul and as cuba's new president began taking tentative steps toward reform, the u.s. began to ease restrictions. fidel castro was suspicious writing in january 2015 that although he doesn't trust u.s. policies and had not exchanged a word with them, this does not mean i would oppose a peaceful solution to conflicts or threats of war. in september last year, fidel met with pope francis, they talked about common problems of humanity that the pope condemned what he called cuba's authoritarian and corrupt regime. in march this year, american president barack obama visited cuba seven months after the two countries re-established diplomatic relations. he met with raul castro, but not fidel. at his 90th birthday party in

august this year, a frail fidel castro appeared at a theater named for karl marx and was shown in occasional photos with foreign leaders. he came to power inspired by marx. as he died, castro was watching his revolution change in a way beyond his control. rapha rafael romo, cnn. still ahead here on "cnn newsroom," there is sadness and celebration over castro's death. ahead, reaction from some lawmakers and leaders in the united states. including the president-elect. pope francis is showing sadness despite the former leader's once rocky relationship with the catholic church. stay with us.

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go long™. ♪ . welcome back. we're following the political reactions to the death of fidel castro. here in the united states, the president of the united states, barack obama, struck a neutral tone. here's part of his statement.

at this time at fidel castro's passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the cuban people. we know this people fills cubans in cuba and the people in the united states recalling the countless ways in which fidel castro altered the course of individual lives, families and of the cuban nation. much more terse response coming from the president-elect donald trump who has openly opposed restoring ties with cuba. he called him a brutal dictator saying that while cuba remains a toe tal arian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long and toward a future in which the wonderful cuban -- ted cruz has ties to cuba and he said fidel castro's death cannot bring back his thousands of

victims shall nor can it bring comfort to their families. today we remember them and honor the brave souls who fought the lonely fight against a brutal communist dictatorship he imposed on cuba. the political response frp russia in stark contrast to that in the united states. the russian president says that castro was a "strong and ways man." putin saying that castro will live in the hearts of russians. from russian president vladimir putin to average russians, there was a lot of nostalgia for fidel castro. an ally for more than half a century. president putin called him a symbol of an era and a sincere and reliable friend of russia. here in moscow, over at the cuban embassy, russian he is went by laying flowers and candles in memory of fidel

castro. some of them even crying, saying that they remember him from their childhood. they remember him as an old revolutionary to stuck to his guns and also as a leader of a small island that stood up to the big united states. russian tv, meanwhile, had nonstop coverage showing old black and white footage of the relationship showing video of fidel castro as a revolutionary up in the mountains, showing him with a variety of russian leaders and the cuban missile crisis, even an implied comparison between fidel castro and president vladimir putin. one russian politician saying that sanctions didn't work and international isolation didn't work when you have a strong leader. jill doherty, moscow. jill, thank you.

fidel castro found allies in countries across central and south america. now, some latin american leaders are mourning his death. shasta darlington has more from rio de janeiro. >> condolences are pouring in from across latin america where fidel castro was considered an idol by many, especially during the darkest years where military dictatorship seized power in many south american countries. fidel castro was the prototype of a rebel leader fighting from the jungle for something he believed in. of course, he won. he wept on to become the prototype of a pop list president railing against the super power. even after cuba lost the ussr collapsed, fidel castro managed to reinvent himself as the godfather of a new generation of leftist leaders in latin america from venezuela to bolivia and

ecuador. during my seven years living in cuba covering in cuba, there was a constant stream of presidents and leaders from across latin america, across the political spectrum, really. paying their respects to a man they admired each after he was no longer the president, that's because he stood up to the united states for decades. this is important in a region that gris ld at being america's backyard. that's why all these messages from today. from viva cuba. in bolivia to here in brazil, the center right president, calling fidel castro a man of conviction. of course, in venezuela, nicolas maduro declaring that it's our turn, we'll keep the revolution alive. of course, that's a bigger challenge as latin america shifts further to the right and away from fidel castro's memory.

shasta darlington, cnn, rio de janeiro. when it comes to cuba and the catholic church, fidel castro saw it as an enemy during the early days of his rule. a breakthrough came when pope john paul ii met with castro and relations more last year when pope francis visited the island nation. ben wedeman has more on the vatican's reaction on castro's death. >> he sent condolences to raul cass tree on the death of his brother. fidel castro had a complicated relationship with the catholic church in 1961 when cuba declared itself a socialist country and shut down the catholic university there, closed 350 catholic schools and ex appropriated hundreds of catholic churches. nonetheless, as time passed and as the soviet union collapsed,

cuba was desperately in need of friends in 1996. fidel castro visited pope john paul ii in the vatican and two years later pope john paul went to cuba on a historic visit and it was pope francis, who mind the scenes played a key role in re-establishing relations between the united states and cuba. >> ben wedeman reporting there for us. again, this is a figure that people either loved or hated. castro's death being celebrated by many, like the people you see here on the streets of miami. but for some castro opponents, his demise is bittersweet. more on that still ahead. gloria estefan, emotional reaction as she learned of fidel castro's death.

welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." it's good to have you with us. i'm george howell with the headlines we're following this hour. er necessary coe is urging bangladesh to stop -- they protested on saturday after they say pollution from that plant could destroy a forest. that is a unesco heritage site and the largest mangrove forest in the world. hillary clinton said it would participate in a recount of presidential ballots in wisconsin. it was initiated by the green

party which raised millions of dollars in order to pay for it. no other evidence of election tampering has been discovered. donald trump, though, dismissed the recount as "a scam." uk football club alexandra is launching an independent investigation into child sex abuse allegations. police say a growing number of people have come forward with claims against former coach barry dough nell. he has previously spent time in jail for child sex offenses. for now, on the death of fidel castro casting a large shadow over cuba and over the world and reaction has been sharply divided. in havana things are quiet as the nation begins a nine-day period of mourning. in the meantime, a different scene in miami, florida. cuban exiles there came together to celebrate new hope, hope for change in their home country.

but one of the biggest recent stages, the reopening of diplomatic ties with the united states could be in jeopardy under a new donald trump administration. earlier, my colleague and rafael romo talked about what to expect. >> the greatest thing about an executive order is that it doesn't -- only takes one person do that. the worst thing about an executive order is that the next guy in turn, the next president, president-elect donald trump can by himself decide to do away with a lot of the executive orders that president obama has put in place. in this case, we're talking about this period of easement of relations between cuba and the united states. let's remember that a lot of cuban exiles in miami and elsewhere were not very happy about the fact that president obama on his own without taking congress into consideration decided to go into cuba, reopen the embassy and re-establish

relations with the island. so my expectation that as soon as president-elect trump gets to the white house, he's going to do away with all of that. it's going to be a matter of time. >> rafael romo there. castro's enemies accused him of violating human rights. that's the reason many people turned out in the streets of miami to celebrate his death. at the same time, some castro opponents are more somber morning loved ones who didn't live to see his demise. anna navarro is a former ambassador to the human rights -- she spoke earlier with pamela brown about why so many castro enemies have mixed emotions over his death. >> bittersweet because -- it's sweet because on the one hand it is the day that this crude death spot who ruled cuba with an

oppressive regime has come to his death, 57 years without democracy in that country. 57 years of firing squads, of political prisoners. of going after attacking beating political dissidents of people taking to -- to flee that regime. 57 years. think of that. it's bitter. because so many people have died waiting to see this day. it reminded me of all my friends who have died without being able to set foot in a cuba without a fidel castro. who wished they could have seen this day. i drove down 8th street today in miami and i passed a cemetery and i saw many people going in and putting little cuban flags on the tombstones of their parents, of their loved ones, because it is something that anybody who has lived in miami, anybody who has been part of the cuban american community understands the pain and suffering that this community

and the people of cuba have suffered for so very long. >> it is deeply personal for so many, many people. cuban-born singer gloria estefan fled the country with her family when castro came to power there. she was just a toddler at the time. estefan shared an emotional response on -- next to a photo on what appears to be cuban exiles on a raft. the singer is celebrating the symbolic death of the destructive ideologies that castro espousedment although the grip of his regime will not loosen overnight, she thinks positive change is ahead for the cuban people. some of the strongest reactions against fidel castro, he was a ruthless dictator, but to be fair, many others are mourning his death. for his fans, the former cube ab an leader was a hero. christiane amanpour has more

from london. >> fidel castro was revered and reviled around the world depending what part of the world you came from. specific litsch during the cold war, he was a revolutionary hero that many took as their hero to cast the shackles off and colonialism. that's this part of the world. in latin america, many right wing dictatorship were turned over, they became left wing, some quasi democracy, took him as their godfather. a lot of those in venezuela and others are beginning to go out of power. the balance of power that fidel castro represented has sort of been crumbling the last several decades. the vatican expressed condolences. pope francis was one of the mediators, one of the go-betweens between havana and the united states two years ago

now. even havana was the place where the colombia rebels, the farc rebels and the government there came together to negotiate the end of that 52-year war. so they've played quite important roles, havana in recent times. of course, if you go back to the cuban missile crisis, back to the bay of pigs, all these exceptionally difficult and dangerous confrontations, dween this communist island and the united states just 90 miles away. cuba, obviously, wants to see a lifting of the embargo despite diplomatic relations, that won't happen without an act of u.s. congress. many people have been reporting on cuba say with the death of fidel, the death of the oath ideologue of this movement, the own of the revolutionary era, with his death, it may make it much quicker and faster to institute reform. even in march when president

obama went for a a visit there, even then castro, fidel castro, each though he wasn't president, he insisted on being hauled out to preside over their party congress and he was very hard line, no to reform, no to what the empire has to tell us, talking about the united states. whereas his brother raul is much more apparently willing too establish reform. this is going to be interesting to see if now released from his older brother's shadow, raul can enact more freedoms and democratic and economic reforms. we'll all be watching. because this week will be all revolutionary. we've heard all the media is going to be about patriotism and history and the revolutionary reality being shown again. afterwards, after the mourning where is cuba going to go next? crist tan amanpour. still ahead, a british football club launches an

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in u.s. politics, hillary clinton's campaign says it will participate in a rekouchbt of presidential votes in the u.s. state of wisconsin. a campaign spokesman says an internal investigation found no evidence of tampering or hacking. but the campaign decided to back the recount to, quote, ensure that it is fair to all sides. wisconsin, as you'll remember, is one of three states where the green party is trying to get recounts. the other two are michigan and pennsylvania. even if recounts are done in all three states, the outcome of the election is not expected to

skmang. that prompted u.s. president-elect donald trump to dismiss the recount effort as a fundraising scam. mr. trump sent out this tweet after the clinton campaign decided to back the recount in wisconsin. the green party scam to fill their coffers by asking for impossible recounts is now joined by the badly defeated and demoralized dems. jill steindismissed the criticism saying that all money raised is going into a fund for the recount. now, moving on to france. the conservative party there is choosing its presidential candidate. a second round of voting in the primary began a few hours ago, two former prime ministers are in the running. conservative -- moderate -- he's the front-runner after the first round of voting. he received 44% of the vote last

sunday compared to ju pay's -- nicolas sarkozy cast his vote as well. he came in third in the first round of the primary voting last week and asked his supporters tobacco owe british football club crew alexandra is launching an independent investigation into child sex abuse allegations. several former players came forward with claims against form a former coach who previously spent time in jail for sex offenses. a hotline has been set up. it received more than 50 calls in the first few hours. switching now to weather. unusual rain causing flooding in some parts of qatar. derek van dam is here. >> sometimes i look towards my social media feeds to find the interesting weather stories that we tell here at cnn international. one of my friends coming out of qatar was posting photos and videos of him in the middle of streets with flooding up to his

ankles. because that's a part of world that typically doesn't receive a lot of rain. they reeve 3.3 millimeters of rain in november and they quad ruped that in a short period of time. i want to show you the satellite imagery out of the area. the total 75 millimeters of rain. look at the totals that made their way across the country. just on saturday alone, 35.3 millimeters of rainfall. that was in a 24-hour period. that's nearly 50% of the yearly average for the country at doha international airport. a new airport replaced it. they still have reporting stations there. 23.3 millimeters of rain. there's still more rain on the way. flooding still a potential. qatar meteorological agency

warning to look out for flooded roadways. swift water rescues have taken place. no fatalities or injuries. but an anomaly to see this amount of rain across this part of the world. you can see part of the country being blanketed by another 5 to 10 millimeters of rainfall in the next 24 hours. a wet sunday and early parts of monday as well. taking to the pacific northwest where they have seen a significant amount of rain, we have to do a comparison here. we know that the north american, the western side of north america is significantly wetter than what we would see in qatar. nonetheless, look at these totals. astoria, oregon, 5.86 inches of rainfall. that's over 100 millimeters of rain. that was just over the past four days. we continue to get battered by storm system after system. piling up some snow at some of the favorite ski resorts out there.

mt. baker, whistler into british columbia and towards the sierra nevada mountain range as well. yellowstone park in wyoming, fresh coating of snow. we always like to see that. we're going to get into the mood of christmas across this part of world. it sure looks like it. >> i know you especially like that. >> i love showing these photos. >> skier here. >> that's right. snowboarder. >> corrected. >> thanks, george. still ahead on "cnn newsroom." fidel castro was a thorn in the side of every u.s. president since 1959. we look back at his long and controversial decades in power. stay with us. what the??? you're welcome. i just helped you dodge a bullet. but i was just checking my... shhh... don't you know that checking your credit score lowers it! just be cool. actually, checking your credit score with credit karma doesn't affect it at all. are you sure? positive. so i guess i can just check my credit score then?

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fidel castro created serious problems for the united states soon after he took control of cuba in 1959 for the leader of such asa small country, he created a large shadow for the united states and foreign policy. more on his controversial

legacy. >> depending whom you talk to, he was a revered revolutionary legend or a despised tyrannical dictator. there is little middle ground. >> castro came to power in 1959 in a widely popular revolution overthrowing cube's then dictator batista. the new government gained the recognition of the united states. but wasn't long before the bearded rebels left the ideology put him on a collision course with america, especially when he allied himself with the soviet union. seeing a threat 90 miles, the u.s. -- first launched a trade embargo, followed by the failed cia bay of pigs invasion and several assassination attempts on castro. all this, while the cuban leader allowed. soviet union to secretly build

missiles on the island. the cuban missile crisis then brought us to brink of nuclear war. thousands of well to do cubans flet the country. it was a state led by one man, him search. >> translator: he imposed the idea that those who didn't like it could leave. he divided families. >> many saw positives, education and health care for all. racial integrations. >> translator: what fidel achieved in the social order of this country has not been achieved by any poor nation or by rich countries despite submitted to enormous pressures. >> critics say it came at a terrible cost. >> translator: the freedom turned into the nightmare we live today because we have a toe tal arian regime.

>> he never reached economic -- castro always blamed the united states and its embargo. many blame the man himself. his unwavering belief in inefficient socialist model. castro had little tolerance for -- opponents were often dpis missed as traitors, imprisoned or exiled. as more and more dissidents were under arrest, castro became the target of international condemnation. like so many times before, castro never backed down, proudly defending his record of human rights. >> there hasn't been a single case of death squads here. never has a single person disappeared in cuba, which has been common practice in latin america. we feel proud of our clean record. >> call it proud or selective reasoning, but castro never lost faith in the revolution. opponents concede that his popularity diminished as his

beard grew whiter. he still -- he outlived many critics. outlasted ten u.s. administrations. in the end, it was illness, not washington, that forced him to retire. passing cuba's leadership to his younger brother raul. in his last years, he appeared occasionally, mostly in photos looking frail. the times he tried to play the role of elder statesman but more and more he seems inconsequential. >> translator: the cuban government has slowly removed him from the scene. it would be one thing if he died july 31st 2006. instead his importance slowly faded. >> he insists that death was not something he feared. >> i have never been afraid of death. >> translator: i never been concerned about death. ifo owe not feel attached to

positions. not to feel attached to that which -- >> that latter statement seems ironic coming from a man who single handed dictated over cuba for nearly half a century. that was cnn's martin savage reporting for us. thank you for being with us this hour. i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta. i'll be back with more news after the break. i really ce

the guy has been a monster. >> the cuban people are feeling sad because of the loss of our commander in chief, fidel castro. we wish him wherever he is, that he's blessed. you hear a mix of reaction it to castro's death. hundreds of people took to the streets in miami to celebrate his death. while many in cuba are mourning the loss of their former leader. plus this -- >> i was born in havana, cuba in april of 1953. my life started basically about the same time as cuban revolution did. >> life under castro's rule. a cnn executive producer