It seems like every second or third post that’s come across the feed reader has the news of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro as it’s subject. Here is a small roundup.

Blogs

The Jawa Report:

In December 2007, a Cuban television news anchor read a letter reportedly written by Fidel Castro promising he would not “cling to office” or be an impediment to rising young leaders.”Impediment” he calls it. Castro rose to overlordship of Cuba largely through imprisoning and murdering any “rising young leaders” who got in his way.

Captain’s Quarters:

Raul Castro will almost certainly take over the family business. If Fidel died, the machinery of the Cuban state might have decided to take another direction, but Fidel remains alive and a threat. No one in the Cuban government will cross the Castros as long as Fidel lives, retired or not. Therefore, the government direction and policy won’t change a bit, and the US will face the same issues it always has with Fidel’s rule. Cuba will simply be more of the same.

Blue Crab Boulevard:

Some will want to use this non-change as a reason to ease up on Cuba - that would be the wrong move. Until the jails are emptied and the Cuban people are really free, there is no reason to make any accommodations with Castro’s hand picked successor. None at all.

American Thinker (Rick Moran):

It is a mystery to most of us who are rational why this man captured the souls of so many leftists in America and elsewhere all these years. Like most liberals, the guy could talk your ears off without saying much of anything. And perhaps Castro gave them a safe outlet for their anti-American feelings.

Whatever the reason, historians 100 years from now will look back and marvel at the left’s utter moral bankruptcy and stupidity in placing Castro on such a pedestal.

Gina Cobb:

For now, however, Communism remains in Cuba — the same failed social, economic and political system that continues to bring misery to people in Cuba and wherever it has been tried on earth.

For a system of government that is supposed to be egalitarian, Communism puts far too much power in the hands of the one or the few. It seems nice in theory, but it’s tyrranical and cruel when put into practice.

Of course the blog to go to for information and reaction is Babalu Blog. As of this writing they have at least a dozen posts. To get a real sense of what this news means to the Cubans in America, take time to read the posts and the comments there.

News Reports

AFP:

The United States said Tuesday it had no plans to lift the decades-old embargo on Cuba “anytime soon” even after its longtime nemesis Fidel Castro resigned as president.

By quitting with little fanfare, the ailing 81-year-old Castro may have marked an anti-climactic end to an era that began in the Cold War, but he has left a deep thorn in Washington’s side that may prove hard to remove.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte indicated as much when, asked by reporters if Washington planned to lift sanctions, he stated: “I don’t imagine that happening anytime soon.”

The Hill:

Capitol Hill greeted the news of Fidel Castro’s resignation Tuesday with muted cautiousness, with several members warning that the long-expected ascension of Castro’s brother Raul is no cause to celebrate.

“Just because the dictator is now named Raul instead of Fidel, it doesn’t mean that the regime’s repressive rule will automatically change,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a child of Cuban immigrants and member of the Cuba Democracy Caucus and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

AP:

Republican John McCain underscored that “freedom for the Cuban people is not yet at hand” despite Castro’s resignation.

“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,” the Arizona senator said in a statement.

“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.”

Fox News:

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami-area Republican who was born in Havana, called for Castro’s indictment and said his resignation was irrelevant because his regime had already “done great harm to the suffering Cuban people.”

“It matters nothing at all whether Fidel, Raul or any other thug is named head of anything in Cuba,” she said. “What the people want is freedom to vote in multiparty elections that are internationally supervised and freedom to express their dissent from the oppressive regime. The Communist machinery is enslaving them so it doesn’t matter who the thug of the moment will be.”

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Tags: Cuba, fidel castro, Raul Castro