Is Fidel Castro Gravely Ill? Miami Prepares for Chaos If Castro Dies

[tekisui]

Is 80-year-old Castro gravely ill? Rumors circulate periodically yet now they seem to have a bit of verity. Thus police in Miami are creating strategy to deal with possible street celebrations and a probable influx of refugees, according to the Miami Herald.

The University of Miami's Any Gomez, advisor to the U.S. Task Force on Cuba, tells the Miami Herald that "high sources in Washington are saying that reliable sources have said that he (Castro) has taken gravely ill."

Castro has not appeared in public in a long time. Other signs he may be very ill include that he has not published an essay since December 15 or met with visiting presidents according to the Miami Herald. Also, El Pais of Spain reports that Castro may have had a heart attack.

The White House released a statement about Cuba: "Cuba marks 50 years of one of the cruelest dictatorships....All Cubans have the right to be treated with dignity so they can rise as high as their talents."

Hugo Chavez has recently stated that Castro "would never return to public life and would live on beyond physical life," according to the Miami Herald.

more: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1391717/is_fidel_castro_gravely_ill_miami_prepares.html

[EFerrari]

1. Why did you post this obviously right wing stuff to DU?

:shrug:

Fidel Castro will be mourned by millions of people when he dies. :shrug:

[tekisui]

3. I was looking for recent articles on his health.

And, the rumors are swirling quickly now. I didn't take into consideration the RW slant of it. I realize many will be mourning. I was looking for info on his current state, and over looked the 'chaos causing' aspect. Sorry about that. It will likely sink soon enough.

[EFerrari]

4. Got it. I've been trying to find something real, too. n/t

[Patsy Stone]

2. I will be so pissed off if they annouce his death on Tuesday. nt

[SoCalDem]

5. Truthfully..No.

The people who came here as adults in the 60's (like MY family) are gone now.. Their children/grandchildren only "know" Cuba from the angry tirades of their parents/grandparents, and from the tattered little square, ruffled-edged black & white photos they brought with them.. Most of them have never SEEN it up close & personal.

They are Americans, schooled & raised here.. To them, Cuba is as "real" as Narnia..

The wealthier ones who escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs (MY family), may long for the "good ole days" that they left behind, but those days will not miraculously reappear when Castro dies, and the property they lost, will not be returned to them, just because they think it's rightfully theirs (see Israel-Palestine..page 1478 in the handbook))

The rightwingers have fed off the Castro-hate for decades now, and once he dies, I suspect that not a lot will change, except that Americans will once again be able to go there, but the "new Cubans" will be about as welcome here as Haitians:(.

People forget that during the intervening years, the island of Cuba has become increasingly "darker" and poorer, as much because of the "ruling/whiter classes" fleeing, as from any real influence of Castro himself.

Another thing we conveniently forget, is that Canada and European countries have had a toe-hold on Cuba for a long time now, what WE do eventually is not nearly as "important" as it would have been had we relaxed the tensions a few decades ago..

To many Americans, Cuba is like an insect trapped in amber.. They know what it USED to be, but cracking the amber open will not revive it ..

[Vogon_Glory]

6. That's About My Impression Of Things

That's about my impression of things. I doubt that there will be that much commotion in Miami (Although many there will celebrate Fidel's death, just as many in Portuguese ethnic enclaves here in the US celebrated the end of the Portuguese dictatorship). I am certain that Fidel Castro's passing will NOT cause the Havana regime to collapse.

I think that Obama's election was a sign that political matters are changing in Florida. The hard-liners who hate Democrats as much as they hate Castro took a licking in November; they may still have their pet state legislators and congressmen, but they lost their ability to influence the US national elections the way they did in 2000.

I suspect that the US might recognize the Cuban government sometime during the next eight years, but that doesn't mean either Cuba's return to being a US neo-colony like it was in the 1950's or that the US and Cuba will have ties as warm and as close as the US has with Canada. Some Cuban-American descendants of the old elite may come to have ties with the Cuban government, but those will be the minority who recognize the changes since 12/31/1958.

Cuba is NEVER going to be the sort of Caribbean playground for American tourists the way it was in the 1950s; there is too much competition from other places. Cuba is going to find itself as a large, impoverished Caribbean island on its own.

[marchellojones]

7. Fidel still working

says Hugo Chavez who has changed his opinion regarding Fidel Castro´s health!
http://tinyurl.com/8pnpnx