US sources: Fidel dying of cancer

Time Magazine is reporting that unnamed "American intelligence officials" are claiming that octogenarian Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is dying of cancer, corroborating earlier reports from Brazilian sources. The Cuban government, of course, is denying everything. Should Fidel live to see February 16, he will have been in power for 48 years - two more than the late Kim Il-Sung of North Korea.

Fidel's younger, yet still elderly, brother Raoul is currently ruling in Fidel's stead, and is expected to be Cuba's new dictator once Fidel kicks the bucket. We have yet to hear any official statements from the US government on what they expect from US-Cuba relations after Fidel. Similarly, Venezuelan caudillo Hugo Chavez, who has visited his mentor in the hospital, hasn't said a word about what he expects when his despicable role model has died. Expecting that Raoul, who is now 75, stays close to Fidel's line politically, Fidel's departure may mean very little indeed.