After 49 years as leader of the "Republic" of Cuba, Fidel Castro finally announced his resignation today:

"I will not aspire to, nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief ... I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas ... Perhaps my voice will be heard."

Fidel's brother and current Cuban defense minister, Raul Castro, has been publicly named as his successor, although Cuba's leaders have not formally selected a replacement. The State Department reiterated that the Bush Administration's policy of economic embargo on Cuba would remain. "I can't imagine that happening in the near future", said U.S State Department Deputy Secretary John Negroponte in response to the possibility of the and end to the decades long embargo.

The Barack Obama campaign reacted to the news with this statement:

"If the Cuban leadership begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change, the United States must be prepared to begin taking steps to normalize relations and to ease the embargo of the last five decades. The freedom of the Cuban people is a cause that should bring the Americans together."