USA: Thousands of Cubans in Miami celebrate news of Fidel Castro's illness

Thousands of Cuban Americans lined the streets of Miam's Little Havana, after hearing the news that Cuban leader Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished the Presidency to his younger brother Raul Castro because of an intestinal illness. Shouts of "Cuba Libre" and honking horns filled the air and residents waved flags and gave the victory sign. Cuban President Fidel Castro, one of the world's most enduring leaders, handed over power provisionally to his brother and underwent surgery, he said in a statement read out on state television on Monday. Castro, who has led Cuba since his unkempt guerrillas swept down from the Sierra Maestra hills to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, said he overexerted himself this month on a trip to a summit of South American leaders and celebrations of his 1953 assault on a military garrison. He delegated his posts as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party, commander in chief of the armed forces and president of the executive council of state to Raul Castro, 75, his younger brother and designated successor. Castro said he had overexerted himself on a trip to a summit of South American presidents and celebrations last week of his 1953 assault on a military garrison. "This caused an acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding," said the statement signed by Castro and read out by aide Carlos Valenciaga on national television. Castro said the operation has forced him to rest for several weeks. The president's health has been an issue since he fainted during a speech in 2001, raising uncertainty over the future of Cuba, the Western Hemisphere's sole communist country. His pace has slowed since he stumbled after a speech in October 2004, fracturing a knee and an arm.

ITN Source | August 1, 2006

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