Cuban handover

CUBAN officials said yesterday that the country had set in motion a ‘peaceful succession’ — the first time words hinting at a permanent handover of power were used.

However, it was not clear whether his use of the term implied that Fidel Castro’s handover of power to his brother Raul will turn out to be permanent.

Roberto Fernandez Retamar, a writer and member of the Council of State, said the US government had expected chaos after Castro handed over power to his brother.

“They had not expected that a peaceful succession was possible. A peaceful succession has taken place in Cuba,” he told a news conference.

National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon expressed satisfaction that a potentially difficult situation had been handled smoothly.