Fidel Castro Resigns

He never got his face on a popular T-shirt, but Fidel Castro is unquestionably the most iconic of the world’s communists. The 81-year old leader of Cuba — having suffered health problems since July 2006 — has officially resigned his position as president. His brother, Raul Castro, has been running the country since Fidel fell ill and is expected to be officially appointed as successor. In fact, Fidel hasn’t even been seen in public since he underwent intestinal surgery on July 31, 2006. According to one Cuban exile living in Spain:

We haven’t seen the Cuban dictator in the flesh since he withdrew through illness. This leads me to think that he may have died already.

The announcement was made overnight, and come dawn, most Cubans were still unaware that Castro had stepped down. AP reports that it wasn’t until 5AM that the announcement was made on the radio, hours after it had been posted online.

As controversial as he is charismatic, Castro ruled Cuba since 1959. Reaction to the news, as you’d expect, is radically mixed.

“It is like losing a father,” said Luis Conte, an elderly museum watchman. Or “like a marriage — a very long one that is over.”

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush is stoked about the prospect of turning the nearby island nation into America’s tropical playground once again, saying he hoped to “help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” For a price of course. Regardless of what it means for Cuba’s future, the landscape of international politics has certainly become a little less interesting.

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