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Raul Castro ousts top Cubans loyal to Fidel Castro

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  • Raul Castro ousts top Cubans loyal to Fidel Castro



    HAVANA – President Raul Castro abruptly removed some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, putting a personal stamp on the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago.

    The changes replaced some key Fidel loyalists, including the longtime foreign minister and the secretary of the Council of State, with men closer to Raul. They also reduced the enormous powers of a vice president credited with saving Cuba's economy after the fall of the Soviet Union.

    But analysts saw no immediate indication that the changes are related to hopes for closer U.S.-Cuban ties now that both countries have new presidents.

    The abrupt shakeup, which also consolidated some of Cuba's many ministries to create a "more compact and functional structure," was the first major reorganization under Raul Castro. It was announced at the end of the midday news, after the weather and sports.

    The most prominent of those ousted, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, was the youngest of Cuba's top leaders and had been widely mentioned as a possible future president. Perez Roque, 43, had been Fidel Castro's personal secretary before becoming foreign minister almost a decade ago.

    "He was someone who was very close to Fidel Castro and built his career working directly for Fidel Castro," said Phil Peters, a Cuba specialist at the Lexington Institute near Washington.

    Perez Roque was replaced by his own deputy, Bruno Rodriguez, who once served as Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations.

    Peters said it was too early to say whether the changes could affect relations with the new administration of President Barack Obama, whose proposals for easing U.S. restrictions on Cuba have created hopes for the resumption of negotiations between the two countries on ending decades of hostilities.

    "There is nothing that indicates it's a reaction to anything in the United States," Peters said, noting that Raul Castro has long spoken of streamlining Cuba's government.

    Vice President Carlos Lage, 57, apparently kept his job as vice president of the ruling Council of State, but was replaced as Cabinet Secretary by Gen. Jose Amado Ricardo Guerra, who had been a top official in the military that Raul Castro ran for decades.

    Lage was credited with helping save Cuba's economy by designing modest economic reforms after the Soviet Union collapsed. Peters said there was no sign Lage's economic role was being reduced.

    Longtime Economy Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez was replaced by Internal Commerce Minister Marino Murillo Jorge; Finance Minister Georgina Barreiro Fajardo was replaced by Lina Pedraza Rodriguez of the Communist Party's secretariat; and Labor Minister Alfredo Morales Cartaya was replaced by Vice Minister Margarita Marlene Gonzalez Fernandez.

    Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since July 2006, when he underwent emergency intestinal surgery.
    Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
    "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
    He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

  • #2
    ...ahhhh. There's nothing like life in a workers' paradise.

    Fidel must be non-functioning for Raul to have the guts to do this.

    Comment


    • #3
      What I found interesting...
      It was announced at the end of the midday news, after the weather and sports.
      Kind of like when our govenment makes an announcement late on Friday after the early evening news has run.
      Keep on Civin'
      RIP rah, Tony Bogey & Baron O

      Comment


      • #4
        "Oh, and by the way, ... "
        Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
        "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
        He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

        Comment


        • #5
          Ha! The CIA finally got him.
          Long time member @ Apolyton
          Civilization player since the dawn of time

          Comment


          • #6
            Good. After all our current economic woes, the U.S. needs another Batista type ruler to govern a for-the-rich playground.
            I'm consitently stupid- Japher
            I think that opinion in the United States is decidedly different from the rest of the world because we have a free press -- by free, I mean a virgorously presented right wing point of view on the air and available to all.- Ned

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            • #7
              Replacing the head of the Council of State with a General. Okay...how does that lead one to believe this could be a move in the right direction?
              "I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003

              Comment


              • #8
                Yeah, the smile by Slow is premature. This may be (and likely) is a worse turn of events.
                “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
                - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Ming View Post
                  What I found interesting...
                  What I found interesting...

                  The abrupt shakeup, which also consolidated some of Cuba's many ministries to create a "more compact and functional structure," was the first major reorganization under Raul Castro.


                  Nothing else sez dictatorship like "consolidation" of power.
                  I'm consitently stupid- Japher
                  I think that opinion in the United States is decidedly different from the rest of the world because we have a free press -- by free, I mean a virgorously presented right wing point of view on the air and available to all.- Ned

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Lancer View Post
                    Ha! The CIA finally got him.
                    Yep. Clever devils, they took a page from the Russian Army playbook: Retreat and wait for snow to freeze your enemy.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui View Post
                      Yeah, the smile by Slow is premature. This may be (and likely) is a worse turn of events.
                      Would you like to bet a dollar?
                      Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                      "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                      He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        You're thinking his brother is more incompetent, right? And that's a good thing?

                        It's not...
                        <Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
                        I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          How could Cuba be worse? I guess there could be genocide of some sort, but other than that, how?
                          Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                          "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                          He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            There was a hope that after Fidel some things could be better for Cubans and the relationship between the two countries. Seems like that's not going to happen. That's worse.
                            “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
                            - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by SlowwHand View Post
                              How could Cuba be worse? I guess there could be genocide of some sort, but other than that, how?
                              They could have an American healthcare system?
                              “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
                              "Capitalism ho!"

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