Havana, July 21 (RHC)-- Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro and President Raul Castro sent messages to Nicaragua on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in that country.

In his message, Fidel saluted the Sandinista victory on July 19, 1979 and described Nicaragua as a bastion of the anti-imperialist struggle. He also said that President Daniel Ortega is a crucial figure for the fight of the countries of this continent.

Meanwhile, Raul Castro sent fraternal congratulations to the Nicaraguan people on the occasion.

Following the reading of the two messages at the centrally located La Fe Plaza in Managua where hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans packed for the celebrations, Cuban Vice President Ramiro Valdes recalled that the Sandinista victory marked the starting point in a long way of transformations in the Central American nation.

With the victory of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) against the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship, the Nicaraguan people conquered their sovereignty and right to participate in the construction of a fairer society, said the Cuban Revolution Commander.

Valdes stressed that since the FSLN returned to power in 2007, the country registered economic growth with the generation of new jobs and the implementation of social programs, as well as important achievements in social security and the reduction of poverty.

The celebrations, headed by Daniel Ortega, were attended by presidents Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela; Salvador Sanchez, from El Salvador; Juan Orlando Hernandez, from Honduras, as well as by Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu and the president of the Ecuadorian parliament, Gabriela Rivadeneira.