United States Plan For Cuba Upon Fidel Castro's Death

President Bush is ready to flood Cuba with U.S. cash, food and medicine within days of Fidel Castro's death, hoping to end Communist rule on the island, a government report by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. President Bush pledged $80 million to anti-Castro groups over the next two years, followed by millions more in cash and aid once the Cuban leader is dead or incapacitated, the report said. It comes on top of $9 million the government spent on Cuba in 2005."We are offering support for the efforts of Cubans to prepare for the day when they will recover their sovereignty and can select a government of their choosing through free and fair multiparty elections," said Secretary of State Rice. The report outlines a media strategy and assistance program aimed at thwarting a Communist successor or followers of influential leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez from continuing the legacy of Castro, who turns 80 next month. "This critical 180-day period [after Castro's control ends] could mean the difference between a successful transition and the stumbles and missteps that slowed other states as they moved toward democracy," the report says.