-  fifo Death Watch

For the second Friday in a row, we were all teased with the possible news that the bearded devil himself, castro, had finally descended into the fiery pits of hell to collect his well-earned eternal punishment. Late this evening, however, it appears that the rumors were just that, rumors, and we must live another day without the satisfaction of knowing that one of the deadliest dictators in modern history is finally gone. It is quite possible, though, that the tyrant has been dead for a while and is a human popsicle hidden in some freezer until raulito and his crew of merry men decide how and when to break the news.

I have always been inclined to believe that raul castro will be very careful releasing the news of his brother’s demise. Besides the fact that communist dictatorships have an intense fetish for controlling every bit of information that is disseminated regarding their governments, I believe it also has a lot to do with baiting any would-be challengers to raul’s power. When the news is eventually released, I do not believe anyone, including the Cuban government, will know for sure what the reaction will be among the population and the lower level leaders in Cuba. For that reason, raul will have to make sure that he has every base covered and that he has people he can trust in the right places at the right times. If the island erupts into chaos, that would be the opportune moment for some obscure (or maybe not so obscure) official to stand up and lead a rebellion against a dictator that is perceived to be infinitely weaker than the brother he replaces.

If such a thing takes place, and raul plays his cards right, he will be in a position to snuff out this potential challenger, or challengers, before they can do any damage to his dictatorship. One mistake, however, and it could mean the end of his very short career as the maximum despot.

If any leaks of information occur, they will be deliberate with the intention of flushing out any potential troublemakers. In the meantime, we will sit back and wait patiently, as we have done for 48 years, and await the news that the bastard’s (literally and figuratively) reign of terror on the Cuban people is finally over.

As I mentioned before, he could be dead already, but nothing less than seeing a bearded cadaver will make it official.