Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel opened a Twitter account @DiazCanelB on Wednesday that gained nearly 9,000 followers just hours after he issued his first tweet.

Diaz-Canel tweeted about attending celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Cuban War of Independence against Spanish colonialism.

"We are in #LaDemajagua, the place where with the most patriotic sentiments #WeAreCuba and #WeAreContinuity," said the president.

Diaz-Canel, 58, took office in April, representing a generational sea change as the first post-revolutionary Cuban leader who did not take part in the 1959 overthrow of the dictatorship.

However, he is committed to the ideals of the revolutionary leaders Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro, as he makes clear in his Twitter profile.

In July, Diaz-Canel told local journalists, "by December, I'm on Twitter."

His presence on social networks was seen as a positive step by state daily Granma.

"The Cuban president's presence on Internet will ... serve to strengthen ties with Cuban communities abroad, which will now have a simpler and faster way to interact with one of the most far-reaching political decision-makers on the island," the daily said.

He later tweeted from the province of Pinar del Rio, where recovery efforts were underway following Hurricane Michael.

In Latin America, Twitter has become a popular means for regional leaders and politicians to communicate directly with constituents.