HAVANA _ When Raul Castro introduced his No. 2 man this week, he recalled how Jose Ramon Machado Ventura was dispatched to Matanzas province in the late 1960s when inept Communist Party bureaucrats couldn't meet production goals.

Cuba's National Assembly on Feb. 24 selected Ral Castro, 76, as the new President of Cuba, marking the end of 49 years of leadership by Fidel Castro.

HAVANA _ Raul Castro, as expected, replaced brother Fidel as Cuba's president Sunday and made it immediately clear that he would continue to consult the longtime communist ruler on major decisions.

Raul Castro was elected as Cuba's new president Sunday, capping the island's first change of leadership in 50 years with a perfectly managed and carefully orchestrated succession of power that caused little stir in Havana or Miami.

HAVANA _ Nearly half a century after seizing power in a guerrilla war, the iconic and combative Fidel Castro quietly ceded command of communist Cuba Tuesday, ending his rule as the world's most tenured government leader.