Fidel Castro has died aged 90, his brother confirmed in the early hours of Saturday. 

A former president of Cuba and the leader of the Communist revolution, he ruled his nation as a one-party state for half a century.

"The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22.29 hours this evening [3.29am Irish-time Saturday]," President Raul Castro said, the BBC reports.

Raul took over from Fidel's 50-year long rule in 2008 and is his younger brother by five years.

Although in recent years his health and age meant he had all but retired from public life, in April Fidel gave a rare speech on the final day of the country's Communist Party congress.

In April, Fidel Castro told party members that he would soon die and urged them to fulfill his communist vision https://t.co/65XBtoSPaX pic.twitter.com/30aFR4cleD

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 26, 2016

His supporters say he gave Cuba back to its people, and there will now be several days of mourning on the Caribbean island. 

Still, the Wall Street Journal today highlighted that while Castro "animated millions with his promises of justice and progress," he also "presided over an oppressive state".

Born in August 1926 in the south-eastern province of Oriente, Castro survived many assassination plots and was the longest serving non-royal leader of the 20th century.