Cuba Without Fidel: Will Raul Castro Leave Power?

[DonViejo]

CUBA WITHOUT FIDEL: WILL RAÚL CASTRO LEAVE POWER AS TRUMP ERODES OBAMA-ERA RELATIONS?

BY ROBERT VALENCIA ON 11/25/17 AT 7:00 AM

On November 25, 2016, a somber Raúl Castro announced on Cuban state television the passing of his brother, Fidel, who ruled Cuba for nearly 50 years. Today, many of Fidel's followers describe his demise as a “transition to immortality.”

A year after Fidel’s death, some wonder whether Castro is willing to leave power on February 24, 2018—as he promised in 2013—especially in the face of President Donald Trump's crackdown on U.S. business and travel to the island. The sanctions, which took effect earlier this month, prohibit Americans from doing business with 180 entities linked to the Cuban military, intelligence and security services.

Given the current state of U.S.-Cuba relations, this may be an incentive for Castro to extend his term. “The fatherland is in danger; it is facing very difficult economic circumstances plus the threat of aggression from a historical enemy. Facing difficult circumstances, revolutionary leaders don’t back down,” Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence analyst who lives in Miami, told The Miami Herald.

Most recently, Cuba and the United States have been in the crosshairs with respect to the alleged sonic attack against U.S. embassy staff in Havana, which led to the removal of 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington in early October. Earlier this month, the U.S.—alongside Israel—voted against a U.N. resolution that underlined the need to lift the embargo against the island. The measure was overwhelmingly approved in the U.N General Assembly by a 191-2 vote.

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http://www.newsweek.com/cuba-without-fidel-will-raul-castro-leave-power-trump-erodes-obama-era-722234

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