Havana, July 27 (RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez voiced on Monday his heartfelt condolences on the death of former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur at a hospital in Bridgetown.

The top Cuban diplomat said on Twitter that the people of the island will remember his friendship, and conveyed his condolences to his family and friends.

The economist and historian died in the early morning hours of  July 27, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a victim of heart conditions that had kept him hospitalized for two weeks. He was 70.

Arthur left the leadership of his Democratic Labor Party in 2008 after that organization lost the general election, but he kept his seat in Parliament.

However, he returned to lead the organization in 2010 until 2013, when his party failed again in that year's election.

Since then, he kept a low profile and withdrew from public life in 2018.

Owen Arthur governed Barbados for three consecutive terms (1994-2008).