Outside the Beltway

Cuban Defense Minister Dies

· Tuesday, September 6, 2011 · 3 comments

Via the BBC:  Cuban Defence Minister Julio Casas Regueiro dies

Cuban Defence Minister Julio Casas Regueiro, a veteran of the revolution, has died of heart failure, aged 75.

He oversaw the Cuban military’s economic activities until 2008, when President Raul Castro made him defence minister.

Julio Casas Regueiro was an accountant who fought under Raul Castro’s command against Fulgencio Batista, who was ousted in January 1959.

What strikes me about this is that the revolutionary generation is passing in Cuba, and even the days of the Castro brothers are numbered.

This also means that expatriate Cuban community in the US is aging and passing as well.  One wonders (and, indeed, hopes) that as both the revolutionaries and the expats all age and shake off this mortal coil that perhaps we can finally reach a rational place for US-Cuban relations.

Such stories also always make we wonder what US policy-makers in the 1960s would have thought if they have known what kind of longevity the revolution would have in Cuba.

And, speaking of Fidel:

Fidel Castro, who no longer holds any official positions, is 85.

He has not been seen in public since April and has not written any of his newspaper editorials for the past two months.

FILED UNDER: Latin America, US Politics, World Politics, , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Catfish says:
    Tuesday, 6 September 2011 at 12:26

    Cuba is on the edge of big change: more free enterprise and more personal freedom. This will accelerate when Castro and other remnants of the communist regime continue to fade away. Normalizing relations will hopefully bring American investors and developers into Cuba, such as Trump. Tourists will then flock to the beaches and resorts. The use of the internet and cell phones will hasten this change, much to the advantage of the long suffering Cuban citizens. It will certainly be a time of happiness and celebration.

  2. New York Cynic says:
    Tuesday, 6 September 2011 at 12:52

    @Catfish:

    Ending the ridiculous embargo would be a good start

  3. Catfish says:
    Tuesday, 6 September 2011 at 13:05

    @New York Cynic:
    Totally agree

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