Reply #2: It's been quite a week for those of us who watch Cuba

[Say_What]

I was reading about the people who will be taking on added responsibilties in Cuba. One in particular caught my attention because for years I've seen him in photos and videos of Fidel. I always assumed because of his size that he was security. Turns out that he's Cuba's most powerful black leader, Esteban Lazo Hernandez. A good article ran this week in the SJ Mercury that provided information on who's who in the Cuban government. I'll post some info here for anyone interested.

On edit: Added Raul


Raul Castro Ruz, Defense Minister. On July 31, 2006, Raúl Castro assumed the duties of President of the Council of State in a temporary transfer of power due to Fidel Castro's illness. According to the Cuban Constitution Article 94, the First Vice President of the Council of State assumes presidential duties upon the illness or death of the president.


Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage is credited with helping save Cuba's faltering economy after the Soviet Union broke up, designing modest economic reforms that allowed foreign investment in state enterprises and legalized the use of the U.S. dollar. Those reforms have been rolled back as the economy improves. Trained as a pediatrician, Lage is a mild-mannered man with a balding pate and pleasant face often sent to represent Cuba at international gatherings. He has wide control over government administration and holds key positions in the Council of State and Politburo.(AP Photo File/Jorge Rey)


Ricardo Alarcon, President of Cuba's National Assembly, a veteran diplomat and Castro's point man on Cuba-U.S. relations, Alarcon is an elegant man with wispy white hair who speaks perfect English and smokes Cohiba cigars. Since Castro fell ill, Alarcon has been the only government official to speak publicly about the recovery of Castro.


Jose Ramon Balaguer, Health minister, a former ambassador to Moscow, spent a dozen years as the party's ideology chieftain, fighting to ensure the nation's adherence to Marxist principles as the island muddled through a crisis sparked by the Soviet Union's collapse.


Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque just 34 when appointed foreign minister in 1999. Perez Roque previously spent seven years overseeing Castro's personal schedule, becoming intimately familiar with the leader's thinking. A short, stocky man with a ready grin, Perez Roque kept a cool head and grabbed the microphone to calm tens of thousands of Cubans in 2001 when Castro fainted briefly during a speech.


President of Cuba's Central Bank Francisco Soberon, a fluent English speaker considered knowledgeable on economic matters. Will oversee funding of health, energy and education programs alongside Lage and Pérez Roque.


Jose Machado Ventura, left, marches next to Cuban President Fidel Castro, center, in this file photo taken on May 17, 2005, in Havana, Cuba. Machado Ventura, who oversaw health services for Castro's rebel army in the mountains and later was Health Minister and oversaw medical affairs for armed forces, is one of the 6 members of the Cuban Government designated by Castro in his cession of powers, when he was put under urgent operation the past July 31. (AP Photo File/Jorge Rey, file)


Esteban Lazo Hernandez, a huge man who projects a powerful presence in his tropical guayabera shirts, is charged with shaping Cuba's image abroad as head of the party's International Relations Department. Lazo is Cuba's most powerful black leader and is also now responsible for looking after the country's education programs.