Castro steps down – what's next for US and Cuba?

+ the history of eating out US Edition - Today's top story: What's next for Cuba and the United States after Raul Castro's retirement [View in browser]( US Edition | 20 April 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Cuba’s Castro dynasty has officially ended. Raul Castro, the younger brother of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party on April 16 – 60 years after Cuba's military triumph over a U.S.-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. Since then, U.S.-Cuban relations have “alternated between hostile and icy,” writes Cuba scholar Joseph Gonzalez. Castro’s resignation [isn’t likely to cause a sudden thaw](, says Gonzalez – but transformation may yet be on the horizon. Cuban society is changing, and that will ultimately influence relations between Washington and Havana. Also today: - [The ups and downs of European soccer]( - [Is it your ethical duty to get vaccinated?]( - [Why kids benefit from cross-class friendships]( Catesby Holmes International Editor | Politics Editor Today's newsletter supported by [MarketWatch]( With Raul Castro’s resignation as first secretary of the Communist Party, the Castro era is officially over in Cuba. Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images [What’s next for Cuba and the United States after Raul Castro’s retirement]( Joseph J. Gonzalez, Appalachian State University Just as Fidel Castro's 2016 death did not transform US-Cuba ties, his brother Raul’s exit from politics is unlikely to do so. But Cuba itself is changing. Eventually, Havana and Washington will, too. 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