At about 5 a.m. this morning, after 49 years as leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro officially resigned. At 81-years-old, Castro has been President of Cuba longer than any other head of state in the world, going unchallenged since 1959. In July 2006, Castro temporarily ceded his powers to his brother Raul when he underwent intestinal surgery. Since then, he has played it low, avoiding public appearances but always keeping a firm grip on the country where he once led a revolution. At 76-years-old, the younger Castro will now fully succeed his brother as President of Cuba.

The United States government has stated that they have no plans on lifting the travel ban or the trade embargo on Cuba. President Bush has, however, expressed hopes that the resignation will lead to the denunciation of that bad, bad, evil communism and the embrace of the perfect dopeness known as democracy.

So where does that leave El Jefe? Senor Castro will retain his very powerful position as first secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party, he’ll stay a member of parliament and he’ll most likely be elected to the 31-member Cuban Council.

I don’t know about you all but I was hoping to get a chance to visit Cuba before Castro kicked the bucket. I mean, he’s old. And sick. And way past the days of green hats, cigars and guerrilla warfare. I wanted a chance to see what a communist country was really like for myself. Now that he’s not dead but resigned, I’m not so sure what it’ll be like…

Thoughts? What’s next for Cuba? How will the resignation effect our current election and the next president’s policy on Cuba?

CNN. MSNBC.