President Fidel Castro has suffered severe intestinal bleeding and has been forced to submit to emergency surgery. His brother Raul Castro has assumed control of the country.
Castro fainted during a speech in 2001 and fell and broke his arm during a speech in 2004. He is almost 80 years old. He has ruled Cuba since 1959.
His revolution caused some of the most significant events in the 20th-Century: the Bay of Pigs, Operation Northwoods, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and probably the assassination of JFK.
It is uncertain how the country will react to Fidel’s death, if it occurs. His brother will probably assume the Presidency. Whether the U.S. can normalize relations with Raul Castro is an open question. Based on the profile from Newsmax it appears that he is considered an even more dedicated communist than his brother. I have no idea where he stands on the issues or how he might rule his country.