Cuban President Fidel Castro announced that he is resigning.
The Cuban Parliament meets Sunday. Castro’s written announcement said,
“I will not aspire nor accept — I repeat I will not aspire or accept —
the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief,”
read the letter signed by Castro and published quietly overnight
without advance warning in the online edition of the Communist Party
daily Granma.
Read there translated letter here.
From The Miami Herald:
- Interactive | Fidel Castro: Health Check
- Interactive | Fidel Castro: Health Check
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Letter from Castro published in Cuban state-run online media
Miami Media Coverage
- WPLG (ABC)
- WFOR (CBS)
- WSVN (Fox)
- WTVJ (NBC)
- Univision
- Telemundo
- The Miami Herald
- The Miami Herald’s Cuba page
- El Nuevo Herald
- El Nuevo Herald’s Cuba page
- Radio Marti (U.S. government-financed radio and Web site)
Cuban Media
- Radio Reloj, government-run news radio (link opens stream of radio)
- More Cuban TV and radio streams
- Granma, the official news outlet of the Cuban Communist Party, in English and Spanish
Blogs
- Miami’s Cuban Connection blog from The Herald
- Babalu Blog
- The Real Cuba
- Cuban-American Pundits
- KillCastro
- Mi isla al mediodía (My Island at Noon)
1.2 Million Cubans Living in the U.S.
Most are concentrated in a handful of states, according to City University of New York (2000 Census data):
New Jersey 77,337
California 72,286
New York 62,590
Cuba Stats
Life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality and such from the CIA World Factbook.
Castro’s Rule
- See a timeline of Castro’s rise to power.
- This searchable database of Castro speeches and interviews (in English) includes, in many cases, full texts of his lengthy addresses.
- From CNN’s profile on Castro:
into a large, prosperous Cuban farming family in Mayari, near Brian,
Cuba, on August 13, 1926 or 1927, Castro attended Jesuit schools and
later studied law in Havana. During his student years, he was a
political activist. Upon receiving his degree in 1950, he established a
private law practice and joined the reformist Cuban People’s Party. In
1952 he planned to run for a parliamentary seat. However, Gen. Batista
overthrew the government and canceled the election. Castro first
challenged the Batista regime in court, but in 1953 organized an
unsuccessful rebel force. Castro was arrested, tried and put in jail
until 1955. He next went to Mexico to organize a new force, one that
became known as the 26 of July Movement. In 1956 this group launched
its attack, again meeting a bloody defeat. Castro and his followers
next began a guerrilla war against the corrupt and by now very
unpopular Batista regime. They quickly built a large following, also
thanks to an effective propaganda campaign. On January 1, 1959, Castro
triumphantly took power.
Human Rights Violations
Castro’s government has been the target of human rights groups complaints for decades.
Diplomatic links
The U.S. and Cuba do not have diplomatic relations, but they do have “interest sections” in each others’ capitals.
- U.S. Interest Section in Havana
- Cuba Interest Section in Washington, D.C.
U.S.-Cuba Trade
Despite a 40-year trade embargo, there is some trade currently going on between the U.S. and Cuba. This list details exactly what agricultural goods can be shipped to Cuba. As for cigars, not only are U.S. citizens prohibited from buying Cubans, they’re not allowed to smoke them anywhere in the world.
Current Travel Rules
There are many restrictions on who can travel from the US to and from Cuba. You’ll find the current U.S. government regulations regarding Cuba here, with a summary of travel and export rules here.
