Salvadorean President Salvador Sanchez Ceren paid tribute to his party's historical leader and former guerrilla fighter Schafik Handal on Sunday, for the 10-year anniversary of his death.

“Schafik left his idea of socialism as a legacy, and his example is crucial because he dedicated all his life to struggling for the most modest and poorest people,” Sanchez Ceren told Prensa Latina from the cemetery Los Ilustres.

En cementerio Los Ilustres conmemorando 10 años de la partida fisica de Schafik Handal. "La lucha continúa" pic.twitter.com/7eiiuh8DzH

— 46 (@raulalfaro0610) 24 Janvier 2016

“Los Ilustres cemetery commemorating 10 years since the death of Schafik Handal – ‘the struggle goes on.’”

Leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and presidential candidate in 2004, Handal “defended his ideas and died for them; now that we are governing the country, this path has enlightened us,” the president added.

In his public speech before the tomb, Sanchez Ceren ackowledged the difficult situation of families and communities, often forced to flee to North America, and repeated his commitment to fight insecurity after the country became the most dangerous of the world.

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FMLN leaders and militants also attended the ceremony, as well as the ambassadors of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, who formed a guard of honor in front of the tomb.

Guardia de honor y entrega de ofrenda floral a nuestro compañero Schafik Hándal, a 10 años de su partida. pic.twitter.com/oT6OfQNhas

— ALMA CRUZ (@ALMAACRUZ) 24 Janvier 2016

“Guard of honor and a wreath of flowers for our mate, Schafik Handal, at 10 years since he died.”

Handal left the armed struggle in 1973 and became the general secretary of the Communist Party, which later helped to found the FMLN in 1992 along with four other political forces, after the guerrilla group signed a peace agreement with the government that formally ended the dictatorship.

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