Fidel Castro, the aging leader of communist Cuba, announced this morning that he would not seek another term as political and military commander-in-chief. He first seized power 49 years ago, according to this Reuters story. Fidel Castro gave power to this brother Raul about two years ago when Fidel became too ill to work.
The US has long accused Fidel Castro of human-rights abuses.
President Bush was in Rwanda visiting a memorial for the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide when he was informed of the resignation.
Both Bush and the exiled Cubans in Miami were surprisingly subdued in reaction to the news. The New York Times reported that Bush is concerned about what will happen next in Cuba — whether any potential elections will be fair.
The Reuters story quotes a man in Little Havana in Miami to explain the subdued reaction among the exiled Cubans:
“It’s very good that Fidel resigns. But if Fidel dies, it’s better,” said Juan Acosta, a Cuban who left the Caribbean island in 1980, as he stopped for a newspaper on Calle Ocho, Little Havana’s main street.
“The system there is almost over. You are seeing the end,” said Acosta, who like many Miami Cubans has relatives on the island, in this case his mother and sister. “The dictatorship is over.”