Fidel Castro thanks Cubans for 90th birthday wishes, lambasts US
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HAVANA - Fidel Castro thanked Cubans for their tributes to mark his 90th birthday on Saturday in a meandering column carried by state-run media in which the iconic leftist revolutionary also lambasted old foe United States.
Cuba went into overdrive this month honoring the retired "El Comandante" who spearheaded its 1959 revolution and built a Communist-run state on the doorstep of the United States, surviving what it says were hundreds of assassination attempts along the way.
Thousands danced to Latin beats along Havana's curving seafront Malecon boulevard throughout the night from Friday to Saturday. It was a giant street party in his honor, with a live band playing "Happy Birthday" on the stroke of midnight and fireworks exploding on the other side of the bay.
