Fidel Castro Resigns As Cuba's President, Brother Raul Castro Take Over

An ailing, 81-year-old Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he will not accept a new term when parliament meets Sunday.

The end of Castro's rule _ the longest in the world for a head of government _ frees his 76-year-old brother Raul to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. President Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition.

Keep reading about the details here.

President Bush spoke about Castro and the future of Cuba while on his trip through Africa:

President Bush, asked about the news in a public appearance during his trip to Africa, said "the question really should be what does this mean for the people in Cuba. They are the ones who suffered under Fidel Castro."

Bush said he hoped this would be "the beginning of a democratic transition for the people of Cuba . . . An interesting debate will arise. Some will say let's promote stability. In the meantime, political prisoners will rot . . . This should be a transition to free and fair elections. And I mean free and fair. Not these elections that the Castro brothers rig."

Watch Bush's statement as well as reaction from Miami.

Hillary Clinton released a statement on Castro's resignation:

"As you know, Fidel Castro announced that he is stepping down as Cuba's leader after nearly 50 years of one-man rule. The new leadership in Cuba will face a stark choice -- continue with the failed policies of the past that have stifled democratic freedoms and stunted economic growth -- or take a historic step to bring Cuba into the community of democratic nations. The people of Cuba want to seize this opportunity for real change and so must we.

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"I would say to the new leadership, the people of the United States are ready to meet you if you move forward towards the path of democracy, with real, substantial reforms. The people of Cuba yearn for the opportunity to get out from under the weight of this authoritarian regime, which has held back 11 million talented and hardworking citizens of the Americas. The new government should take this opportunity to release political prisoners and to take serious steps towards democracy that give their people a real voice in their government.

Read the full text of Clinton's statement here.

Barack Obama released a statement on Castro's resignation:

"Today should mark the end of a dark era in Cuba's history. Fidel Castro's stepping down is an essential first step, but it is sadly insufficient in bringing freedom to Cuba.

"Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an anti-democratic successor regime. The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past. It's time for these heroes to be released.

"If the Cuban leadership begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change, the United States must be prepared to begin taking steps to normalize relations and to ease the embargo of the last five decades. The freedom of the Cuban people is a cause that should bring the Americans together."

John McCain, R-Ariz., also issued a written reaction to the media.

"Today's resignation of Fidel Castro is nearly half a century overdue. For decades, Castro oversaw an apparatus of repression that denied liberty to the people who suffered under his dictatorship.

"Yet freedom for the Cuban people is not yet at hand, and the Castro brothers clearly intend to maintain their grip on power. That is why we must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections.

"Cuba's transition to democracy is inevitable; it is a matter of when -- not if. With the resignation of Fidel Castro, the Cuban people have an opportunity to move forward and continue pushing for the moment that they will truly be free. America can and should help hasten the sparking of freedom in Cuba. The Cuban people have waited long enough."

Castro's successor is his brother youngest brother Raul, the man who has been the de facto ruler of Cuba since 2006.

Who is Raul Castro? According to Wkipedia:

Raul Modesto Castro Ruz (born June 3, 1931) is the President of Cuba and Acting President/First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State. The younger brother of former Cuban President Fidel Castro also occupies the positions of First Vice President/Acting President of the Council of Ministers, Acting First Secretary/Second Secretary of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and Acting Commander in Chief Maximum General of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force), second only to the Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro.

Raul Castro fought alongside his brother in the 1953 assault on the Moncada barracks. He was jailed, along with Fidel, for 22 months. It is Raul who is said to have befriended Che Guevara and introduced him to Fidel. In 1959 the Castro brothers, Guevara and their guerilla army returned to Cuba and overthrew Fulgencio Batista's government in 1959. Older brother Fidel assumed leadership and officially ruled until today.

Below is a photo of Fidel and Raul Castro taken in July 2004.

Comments

[JohnKemp]

Whoa, wait just a damn minute.

There's not enought chardonnay to get the libs thru this one.

Castro is everything that libs love, worship & admire; a brutal dictator, a complete censor & a tyrant who run all things Cuban with an iron fist.

With poverty & centralization the result.

It's just too much for them.

[MichaelCorleone]

Amazing.

You just described George W. Bush to a tee... though you'd have to add inept to the list.

And, like Castro, English is *not* his native tongue.

[amanda85]

"And, like Castro, English is *not* his native tongue."

But, unlike Bush, Castro has one, and he knows how to use it VERY well...

[HLMerkin]

Bet you voted for the Bolsheviks in 2000 and 2004.

[BWonka]

Aww... poor delusional, Koresh-loving WOW-boy. The sad dumbass thinks a liberal likes communism.

Still ignorant even at his age... WOW! Talk about (sic)!

[Danind]

American government doesn't have the ability to wield the kind of power castro did over its people, and for that he is appropriately named a dictator? I think Bush cares much less for America than Castro cared for Cuba.

Castro is proof that the only way you stop a poor hispanic country from becoming Northern Mexico or simply another Cozumel is by giving the Americans the finger for 50 years.
I am all for a democratic Cuba, as long as the Americans stay the hell out of their business, which is impossible for the republicans and certain shameless capitalists.

[MajorKong]

"Castro is everything that libs love, worship & admire; a brutal dictator, a complete censor & a tyrant who run all things Cuban with an iron fist."

Kind of like Musharraf, Suharto, Marcos, Pinochet, the Shah, Somoza, Rios Montt, Franco, Duvalier, Noriega and all the other right wing tyrants we helped prop up over the years.

Some day you'll maybe figure out that it's not the tyrant part that bothers us. It's whether or not they do what we want. We're just fine with an iron fist so long as it's OUR iron fist.

[IranianDude]

Dear Americans,

Just f-ck off!

Thanks,
The Rest Of The World

[MaxTaylor1]

Dear Iranianfuck,
same to you and your momma
regards,
the Unrepentant Imperialists

[abbiehoffmansghost]

If ignorance is bliss you must be ecstatic.

[Tankan]

Old, decrepit, undefeated!

Fidel Castro bows out with his stiff middle finger in Americas face!

[driven989]

Haha...very true.

Almost 50 years of the U.S./CIA trying to assassinate him, overthrow the government, and sabatoge the economy...and Fidel Castro says good-bye with his middle-finger flashing and a big "F_CK YOU Gringos!"

[JohnKemp]

And the Cuban people so much the better for it.

First Stalin, then Mao & now Castro.

Damn, you libs better have an extra glass of chardonnay with your valium tonight.

[basta]

We really need to keep that embargo going. It worked. Only 48 years and Fidel is outa there. Pow, bong, kaboom. We showed him.

[doctordawg]

First, Fidel Castro won. He stood up to the great and mighty Oz and retired on his own terms. We, as the great and mighty domocracy of Oz should be ashamed and humiliated.

What do the politico's do? Hillary "would say" something to Raul, McCain says Cuba "should" do something, as does Obama. No one says "I'll be meeting with Raul next week to guide him and his country towards democracy quicker." A lot of fist pumping at a pivotal time, but no action. Why? Because our bone-headed politocos would rather posture than eliminate a useful enemy.

Interestingly, McCain calls for the empowerment of labor unions in Cuba, while the Dems overlook us again...

[amanda85]

"We, as the great and mighty domocracy of Oz"

"dummocracy" sounds better... ;)

[Ramirez]

From
"Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant" by Humberto Fontova
****

“Very selfless and moral. One of the world’s wisest men.” –Oliver Stone.

“Cuba’s Elvis.” –Dan Rather.

“Castro is at the same time the island, the men, the cattle, and the earth. He is the whole island.” –Jean Paul-Sartre.

“A dream come true!” –Naomi Campbell.

“If you believe in freedom, if you believe in justice, if you believe in democracy, you have no choice but to support Fidel Castro!” –Harry Belafonte.

“A genius.” –Jack Nicholson.

“Fidel, I love you. We both have beards. We both have power and want to use it for good purposes.” –Francis Ford Coppola.

“The first and greatest hero to appear in the world since the Second World War.” –Norman Mailer.

“Socialism works. I think Cuba might prove that.” –Chevy Chase.

“Castro is an extraordinary man. He is warm and understanding and seems extremely humane.” –Gina Lollobrigida.

http://www.amazon.com/Fidel-Hollywoods-Favorite-Humberto-Fontova/dp/0895260433

[who38]

Was Castro known for torturing the Cuban population? Was he seen as more of a tyrant than Bautista? What countries currently have large economic investments in Cuba? How many of those countries receive foreign aid from the U.S?

[ceasenake]

WOW!

If only we had a one party system with the same guy in charge for 50 years, all opponents jailed or executed, the entire population living in poverty and people so deperate to leave they would jump on a raft to try and escape to ANYWHERE else.

[amanda85]

"If only we had a one party system"

Actually, you do. You can only choose between conservatives and ultra-conservatives. Sounds like a one-party system to anyone who knows even a little about the world...

------------------------------------------

"American democracy is buying a big house you can't afford with money you don't have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, American democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties. ... American democracy is welcoming people from other lands and giving them something to hold onto -- usually a mop or a leaf blower. It means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing the government a huge amount of money. ... American democracy means free television, not good television, but free. ... And finally, American democracy is the eagle on the back of a dollar bill, with 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on a branch, 13 tail feathers, and 13 stars over its head. This signifies that when the white man came to this country, it was bad luck for the Indians, bad luck for the trees, bad luck for the wildlife, and lights out for the American eagle."
-- Johnny Carson

[ceasenake]

Communist ...royalty?

[Marichu]

This could be a pivotal point in US –Cuban relations. If handled correctly by our government, we could start normalization with Cuba. After 40 plus years of enforcing an ineffective and inhumane embargo against Cuba, the US has an opportunity to gradually mend fences. All it takes is a willingness on our part to treat Cuba as we would any other nation. Meeting Raul Castro halfway, showing him that we want to establish a dialogue, will be beneficial to Cubans and Americans. Why the US government treated Cuba in such a shabby manner, considering that we have normalized relations with Vietnam with whom we fought a bloody war, is perplexing.

[johnnyjust]

Poor libs...trying so hard to prove what a paradise Cuba is when its own people, risking their lives to escape on a piece of wood, speak so much more eloquently.

[JohnJames]

Poor repubs ... trying so hard to keep the Tacos from climbing fences in their elegant Mexican way.

[Ramirez]

No hypocrisy here...

[MajorKong]

Meanwhile the ones from Haiti get sent back so fast you could water-ski behind the boat...

[Georgiapundit]

Good! Maybe now, America can have that little piece at the base of Florida back.

[Issak]

Ironic isn't it? what's the dictator wearing? an Adidas outfit! hahaha, what did Noriega wear? Ray Ban glasses and a Rollex- hummm can any of the apologist for thse nefarious assholes spell -hypocrisy?

[steamboat]

Issak, he has several mansions, several limo's at his disposal. Yep communism sure is equal....oh, and all these 'lefty's' on this blog cry about 20 years of Bush's and Clinton's. We can't have families keep at the top of power. Yet, they praise Castro and Cuba. Who've passed-on power to his BROTHER. And in N.Korea (Robert Scheer's favorite country) they pass on power from the father to the son. Yeah, real equality.

[amanda85]

"in N.Korea they pass on power from the father to the son"

George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are North Korean? ;)

[RogerHWerner]

I would like someone to explain rationally what this comment or the comments offered by those blogging to this thread have to do with anything relating to Raul Castro. Whatever happens in North Korea or Cuba has nothing to do with America and visa versa. These are independent countries: An important question to ask is what right does the US have to interfere with their internal affairs. Is it because we don't like the leadership or think the government is bad (by our definition); these seem the reason. Regretfully, in my opinion, these reasons are invalid.

We have a treaty of alliance with South Korea and should help to defend that nation as long as they want our help. Calling the leader of North Korea names and behaving in a manner that threatens that country is hardly helpful and that's all Bush seems to have done over the past few years. With respect to Cuba, the Cuban Crises had little to do with Castro and everything to do with US and USSR with Cuba in the middle. US attempted Castro's assassination and an invasion of the country; as far as I can tell, Cuba have never seriously threatened America directly. Cubans have supported various revolutions in South and Central America and while some may argue this indirectly threatened America, we ought to ask ourselves who our government was supporting: Governments that slaughtered their own people and kept them in poverty while permitting US commercial interests to exploit natural and human resources. Both Cuba and America are guilty of many things, and, so consequently, existing US policies towards Cuba have never made sense since they are based on the belief that Cuba is the bogyman: This is a onesided and inaccurate assessment that leads nowhere.

[rollingdivision]

Betting Fidel Castro is dead.

[bick]

all right, bush defeated communism! just like reagan defeated communism. and bush 41 defeated communism. wow, look at all the republicans that defeated communism!

will somebody tell china that communism has been defeated? send them an e-mail and cc a billion people that they're not communists anymore.

[Georgiapundit]

This is just great. Leave it to the government to impose a useless embargo upon Cuba, and sell our souls to China.

[humuhumunukunukuapuaa]

If Castro lasted this long in power is by no small measure due to the fact that Cuba has no oil.

[humuhumunukunukuapuaa]

So what will the US do when the people of Cuba freely and democratically decide to tax the rich so they can keep their universal health care?

[innerpeace]

Same thing we do when any country taxes the rich in order to have universal health care.Why?

[connorin]

you mean like how we bombed London and Montreal and Paris and