Cuba's Raul Castro is Resigning Communist Party Post

On Friday, Raul Castro said he is resigning as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of leadership begun by him and his brother Fidel that began with the 1959 revolution. The 89-year-old Castro made the announcement in a speech at the opening of the Eighth congress of the ruling party, the only one allowed on the island. He said he was retiring with the sense of having “fulfilled his mission and confident in the future of the fatherland.” While this is an end to the Castro reign, few are convinced the leadership shift will lead to sweeping change for the island nation or its relationship with the United States,