Vicki Huddleston, former chief of the US Interests Section in Cuba, who is now Visiting Fellow of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, presents a worse case scenario for Cuba in the event of Raúl Castro’s death.

A snippet of the article:

Raúl Castro died on Jan. 2, 2009, after serving less than a year as president of Cuba. José Ramón Machado Ventura, 79, stepped up briefly, but because of his poor health the National Assembly selected Gen. Abelardo Colome Ibarra, 70, and Gen. Julio Casas Regueiro, 74, as president and first vice president. Subsequently, they were given the top positions in the Communist Party. Fidel, who hasn’t been seen in live video footage for over three years, wrote an opinion piece praising the new leadership. President Colome promised early provincial and regional elections in 2011. Another transition — or succession — has taken place without internal upheaval, indeed, hardly a murmur. Colome has continued the economic reform program initiated by Raúl Castro. So far, the regime has been successful in improving the quality of the lives of average Cubans. Incomes have increased and there is greater access to information and the Internet. Reforms in the agricultural sector have reduced discontent in rural Cuba by improving prices and market access.

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Raj Desai, a visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution whose expertise is on the global economy and development, posits the question can Raúl Castro revive Cuba’s private sector?

Click here to read the policy brief [pdf].

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Via Mehr News Agency:

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Shipping Lines (IRISL) plans to initiate a weekly shipping line to Venezuelan and Cuban ports, the IRISL Europe line department Manager, Saeed Meghdadi said here on Wednesday. “This line was initiated in accordance to the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting and expanding non-oil exports and in response to the numerous requests made by merchants,” he explained, Mehr reported. The first shipment in this line will be from Bandar Abbas Port to Venezuela and Cuba on May 16. Seven containers will shipped from Iran’s Bandar Abbas via Malta (Malta), Barcelona (Spain), to Havana (Cuba) and Puerto Cabello (Venezuela).

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Via CanaNews:

Cuba will provide assistance to Jamaica in developing its agricultural sector, according to an agreement signed in Havana as Prime Minister Bruce Golding wraps up a three-day official visit.

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The National Park Service of the US Department of the Interior published in 2004 an Historic Resource Study on the Cold War in South Florida providing a brief overview of activities in the region associated with Cuba and other Latin American countries:

South Florida was the location of many important events during the Cold War period 1945- 1989. The region’s proximity to Latin America made it an operational center for both covert and overt activities as the United States pursued its policy of containing communism. From the 1950s until the end of the Cold War, government officials directed operations from south Florida military installations such as Homestead Air Force Base, Opa Locka Marine Air Station, and the various U.S. Navy facilities in Key West that affected events in Guatemala, Cuba, Nicaragua, and other nations throughout Latin America.

Click here to read the study [pdf].

[H/T: Cryptome]

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