GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Cuban President Fidel Castro handed power to his brother Raul late Monday ahead of undergoing surgery, the first time he had relinquished control since the victory of the leftist revolution he led nearly 48 years ago.
In a letter read on state television by his personal secretary, Carlos Valenciaga, Castro said he had suffered intestinal bleeding brought on by the stress of recent travel. He visited Argentina last week for a regional summit and traveled to Cuba's southern coast for the July 26 holiday that celebrates the birth of his revolution.
Castro, who will turn 80 on Aug. 13, is reported to suffer from Parkinson's disease, although it has never been confirmed, and has looked frail in recent years during his rare forays abroad. The government released no immediate report on the results of the operation and said only that Castro was expected to be hospitalized and recovering for several weeks.
The announcement that Raul Castro, 75, would assume the leadership during the president's surgery and recovery underscored recent signals that Cuban officials have been contemplating how the country will be ruled after the charismatic strongman dies.
Castro's letter said his brother would assume his duties as president, commander in chief of the armed forces and head of the Communist Party. It also suggested that celebrations planned for his 80th birthday, including concerts and toasts by leading leftists from around the world, should be postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban armed forces.
In Washington, where opposition to Castro has been a political given for two generations, White House spokesman Peter Watkins said, "We can't speculate on his health at this time." But, he added, "we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom."
Reaction was less restrained in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, which has long been the center of anti-Castro political activism.
Cuban Americans flocked into Calle Ocho, the neighborhood's main thoroughfare. Motorists shouted, "Cuba libre!" and waved Cuban flags from sunroofs. Others beat pots and pans, flashed peace signs and took pictures with cellular phones.
"I'm praying to God to give us a miracle and let that man die," said Gabriela Burmudez, 64, as she stood in the middle of the street waving a huge Cuban flag.
Castro's death has long been a near obsession in some Miami exile circles. By contrast, in Cuba, the topic has long been taboo. The reticence began to lift when Castro fainted during a long speech in June 2001. Another glimpse of his mortality came when he fell and broke his arm and kneecap after a speech in October 2004.
Castro disparaged a CIA report last year that said he suffered from Parkinson's, saying Washington had "tried to kill me off so many times" and insisting that he had never felt better.
But Castro alluded to his mortality in an interview several months ago with a French journalist in which he acknowledged that his brother was also getting on in years and that leadership eventually would probably pass to younger Communist Party cadres.
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who is in his 40s and is among the most hard-line of the younger members of the leadership, and Vice President Carlos Lage Davila, in his early 50s, are often mentioned as potential successors once a transition leadership shepherds Cuba into a post-Fidel era.
Castro has kept himself relatively fit. He appears often on state TV to criticize the U.S. and rally his countrymen to the cause of solidarity amid economic hardships and what he portrays as imminent U.S. plans to invade and subjugate the island. But he has lately appeared fatigued and kept his travels abroad to a minimum.
During his trip last week to take part in the Mercosur trade bloc summit in Cordoba, Argentina, he basked in the admiration of other leftist leaders gathered to denounce U.S. trade policies. He took bows with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been offering like-minded Latin American leaders cheap oil to lift their economies.
But Castro became agitated during the Cordoba meeting, according to sources at the summit, when Argentine President Nestor Kirchner sought privately to resolve a years-old visa standoff that has prevented a Cuban doctor from visiting her son and grandchildren in Argentina.
Castro's propensity toward micromanagement and stubborn control over all political decisions has led to an atmosphere of suspended animation in Cuba. Those who back more liberal rules on travel, self-employment and private enterprise have simply been waiting -- with diminishing patience -- for Castro to depart the political stage.
