America Foresees A Cuba Without Communism
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, which has long desired to see the end of Castro’s regime, said it has a plan to help Cuba make the transition to democracy after Mr. Castro.
“We can’t speculate on Castro’s health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba’s freedom,” a White House spokesman, Peter Watkins, said.
America has been open about the fact that it is prepared to go to some lengths to ensure the communist system Mr. Castro created goes with him.
It is official American policy to “undermine” Cuba’s planned succession from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul, to whom Fidel Castro temporarily transferred power on Monday.
The transfer marked the first time that Fidel Castro, two weeks away from his 80th birthday, had relinquished power in 47 years of absolute rule.
Mr. Watkins said the administration was “monitoring the situation.” Cuba itself has disclosed little about the dictator’s circumstances beyond Monday’s statement about Mr. Castro’s operation.
Mr. Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, resisted repeated American attempts to oust him and survived communism’s demise elsewhere.
Cuba has been under an American financial embargo since 1961, two years after Mr. Castro came to power.
