Oh Brother Where Art Thou? (or, Is Castro Dead?)

This afternoon I was on the tube on my way to get some camera gear when a man sat in front of me holding a newspaper with the headline "Ailing Castro Gives Power To Brother" My heart skipped a beat and I asked the man if I could borrow the newspaper while as I grabbed it from his hands. He looked at me in shock and I said "I'm Cuban" He let out a sight of relief, as in "thank god she's not some psycho!" As I read the first few lines, my heart sank, ".....at least temporarily", said the article. I didn't read any further, I was disappointed, I guess I was expecting some more radical.

I called my mom in Florida as soon as I got above ground. Apparently there is a big commotion and Castro's health is "a matter of national security" according to the Cuban government. There are all sorts of speculations and conspiracy theories based on the facts that don't add up. One of the those "facts" is that according to the Cuban press, Castro signed the document giving power to his brother right after coming out of surgery for a gastric ulcer. That is very unlikely, people coming out of surgery are not normally coherent enough to talk much less to sign such document. According to my family in Cuba, there's cops all over the place in case riots break out. Some people think the Cuban government is giving the Cuban people time to come to terms with life without Castro before they drop the bomb. Some think said bomb is that he is in fact dead or at least very sick and close dying. Like millions of other people, I cannot wait to see what comes out of this.