Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and his high-ranking delegation paid a visit on Saturday morning to the Cu Chi Tunnels - a network of underground tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi District that were used by Vietnamese troops in wartime. 

The Cuban PM is on a four-day official visit to Vietnam from Wednesday to Sunday at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh.

Located about 60 kilometers from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, the Cu Chi Tunnels were built by Vietnamese soldiers as shelter from U.S. troops during the American war in Vietnam.

The tunnel complex also served as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weaponry storage, and living quarters.

More than 120 kilometers out of the 250 kilometers of the tunnels’ length has been preserved for tourism purposes.

A note left by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Hong Van / Tuoi Tre

At the end of the visit, the Cuban leader wrote in a scrapbook at the venue “Thank you Vietnam, a nation where the people are all ready to stand up to fight for the fatherland."

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and his entourage are scheduled to visit the High-Tech Park in Thu Duc City on Saturday afternoon before joining a meeting with Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen at the Reunification Hall on the same night.

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz watch Cu Chi Tunnels workers make Vietnamese soldiers' rubber sandals at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz visits the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz leaves a note at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Colonel Nguyen Tuan Bao (left), deputy political commissar of the Ho Chi Minh City Command, presents a broad-brimmed cap and a Vietnamese traditional checkered black and white shawl to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz observes a tour guide get into a tunnel at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz visits the Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 1, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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