Cuba's Raul Castro shuffles government

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-03 14:10

HAVANA – President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago.

The changes replaced some key officials, including the longtime foreign minister, as part of the "constant improvement" of the country's administration.

In an official statement broadcast on local TV, Carlos Lage, secretary of the Council of Ministers, was replaced by Brig. Gen. Jose Armado Ricardo Guerra, the former chief of secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry.

Vice Presidents Jose Luis Rodriguez Garcia and Otto Rivero Torres were ousted. Jose Luis Rodriguez Garcia also left his position as Economy and Planning Minister and was replaced by former Minister of Domestic Trade Marino Murillo Jorge, who was also appointed vice president.

Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla will be Foreign Minister to replace Felipe Perez Roque.

Castro also combined the Foreign Trade Ministry and the Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Ministry, and Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz was appointed as External Commerce and Foreign Investment Minister.

With that appointment Raul de la Nuez Ramires finished his responsibilities as Foreign Trade Minister.

The Food Industry Ministry and the Fishing Industry were combined and the minister will be Maria del Carmen Concepcion Gonzalez, while Alejandro Roca Iglesias and Alfredo Lopez Valdes were ousted.

Finance and Prices Minister Georgina Barreiro Fajardo was replaced by Lina Pedraza Rodriguez, and Iron and Steel and Engineering Minister Fernando Acosta Santana was replaced by Brig. Gen. Salvador Pardo Cruz, former general director of the Union of Military Industry.

Jacinto Angulo Pardo will be the Interior Commerce Minister. Pardo had been vice minister of the department.

Margarita Marlene Gonzalez Fernandez, former first vice minister of Labor and Social Security Ministry, will replace Alfredo Morales Cartaya to be the minister, while Jose Miyar Barruecos, former secretary from the Council of State, was named as Science, Technology and Environment Minister.

Homero Acosta Alvarez was temporarily appointed as secretary of the Council of state, pending ratification by the National Assembly of the People's Power, Cuba's parliament.