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December 2, 2008 10:56:26 AM CST

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Fidel Steps Down After 50 Years

Posted Feb 19, 08 4:07 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Fidel Castro has resigned after nearly 50 years as Cuba's leader, the AP reports. "I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," the 81-year-old wrote in a letter published in the Communist Party's online paper today. His brother Raul is widely expected to succeed him as president.

Fidel hasn't appeared in public since a 2006 serious illness led to him temporarily hand power to his younger brother. He had been dropping hints about stepping down for months, although the revolutionary leader signaled that he has no intention of completely disappearing from Cuban politics. "I just want to carry on fighting like a soldier for our ideas," said the letter.

Source Associated Press

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In a file photo Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro is shown in Havana in this 1959 photo after he was told that his Army Chief Maj. Camilo Cienfuegos was still missing as Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos,...   (Associated Press)
Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, and his brother, Minister of Defense Raul Castro, attend a Cuban Parliament session in the Palace of Conventions in this July 1, 2004, file photo in Havana, Cuba. ...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo Cuban President Fidel Castro gestures during a three-hour speech Friday, Feb. 6, 2004, in Havana, Cuba. Official media in Cuba said Tuesday Feb. 19, 2008, that Fidel Castro has resigned...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo Cuban leader Fidel Castro stands talking to other leaders at the end of the opening session of the Barbados Caribbean Summit, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005. Ailing leader...   (Associated Press)
Cuban President Fidel Castro speaks after he had been re-elected president of the state council for the sixth term in this Thursday, March, 6, 2003 in a file photo in Havana, Cuba. Ailing leader...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo Fidel Castro exhales cigar smoke during a March 1985 interview at his presidential palace in Havana. Ailing leader Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president early Tuesday Feb . 19, 2008,...   (Associated Press)
Cuban President Fidel Castro salutes during a speech in Havana, Cuba in this May 20, 2005, file photo. Ailing leader Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president early Tuesday Feb . 19, 2008, saying in a...   (Associated Press)
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Cuba • Fidel Castro • Raul Castro • Communist Party • Cuban Revolution


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