Fidel Castro resigns at 82
Fidel Castro relinquished his presidency of Cuba on Tuesday morning, thus ending his 49-year tenure, one of the longest in modern history. Castro became president in 1959 after an armed revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista. Since then, he was the target of over 600 assassination attempts, the more exotic of which included exploding cigars and a fungal-infected scuba-suit. But it was an acute colon infection that finally incapacitated Castro in late July 2006. Since then he has been in and out of surgery, handing over power to his younger brother Raul. Fidel continued to influence policy from behind the hospital curtain, but after a letter published in Cuba’s Granma newspaper he has conclusively let go of his presidency, adding “It would betray my conscience to occupy a responsibility that requires mobility and the total commitment that I am not in the physical condition to offer.” However, it is unlikely that the US will lift the trade embargo on Cuba any time soon, according to deputy secretary of state John D. Negroponte.
Fidel Castro Resigns as Cuba’s President, NYTimes.com
Message from the Commander-in-Chief, Granma.cu