Cuban President Fidel Castro Resigns

President Fidel Castro, the aging military dictator of Cuba, announced Tuesday, February 19, that he has resigned as Cuba's president and as commander-in-chief of the island nation's military forces. The letter of resignation appeared in the early morning edition of the state-run newspaper Granma. In it, Castro, ever the soldier of revolution, stated that he wished to go on as a "soldier of ideas." The letter was clear: "I will not aspire to, nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief."

Castro's resignation brings to a close almost five decades of personal rule. His government, which came to power through the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, has held a tight reign over Cuban affairs; suffered through attempted American interferences and oustings, a missile crisis, and numerous punitive trade embargoes; and refused to give in to its mighty northern neighbor on nearly every matter of state concerning the two nations. Although Castro effectively transferred power to his brother, Raul, when he began suffering from intestinal problems two years ago, he had never formally given up his position as president and commander-in-chief.

Fidel Castro has outlasted nearly ten American presidents and, during the Cold War, was a constant reminder that the United States could not and did not control the affairs of everything, most notably a small island nation just 70 miles off its Florida coast. Wars of words were common between each successive president of the United States and the president of Cuba. After the failed Guantanamo Bay (Bay of Pigs) invasion, an anemic military endeavor to oust Castro's young government during the Kennedy Administration, Castro and Cuba became the ultimate symbol of defiance for governments opposed to American interests, especially those with Marxist-Leninist leanings and diplomatic ties with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). Castro became famous for his fiery anti-American rhetoric.