who is the current leader of cuba today?
Raúl Castro
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 In Cuba , the July 26 Movement seized power in January 1959 , toppling President Fulgencio Batista , whose unpopular regime had been denied arms by the Eisenhower administration . 

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 In July 2010 , he made his first public appearance since falling ill , greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to Mesa Redonda in which he discussed U.S. tensions with Iran and North Korea . On August 7 , 2010 , Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years , urging the U.S. not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a nuclear holocaust . When asked whether Castro may be re @-@ entering government , culture minister Abel Prieto told the BBC , " I think that he has always been in Cuba 's political life but he is not in the government ... He has been very careful about that . His big battle is international affairs . " 

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 Cuba 's economy grew in 1974 as a result of high international sugar prices and new credits with Argentina , Canada , and parts of Western Europe . A number of Latin American states called for Cuba 's re @-@ admittance into the Organization of American States ( OAS ) , with the U.S. finally conceding in 1975 on Henry Kissinger 's advice . Cuba 's government underwent a restructuring along Soviet lines , claiming that this would further democratization and decentralize power away from Castro . Officially announcing Cuba 's identity as a socialist state , the first National Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held , and a new constitution adopted that abolished the position of President and Prime Minister . Castro remained the dominant figure in governance , taking the presidency of the newly created Council of State and Council of Ministers , making him both head of state and head of government . 

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 Adopting a Marxist @-@ Leninist model of development , Castro converted Cuba into a one @-@ party socialist state under Communist Party rule , the first in the Western hemisphere . Reforms introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent . Abroad , Castro supported anti @-@ imperialist revolutionary groups , backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , and sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur War , Ethio @-@ Somali War , and Angolan Civil War . These actions , coupled with Castro 's leadership of the Non @-@ Aligned Movement from 1979 – 83 and Cuba 's medical internationalism , increased Cuba 's profile on the world stage and earned its leader great respect in the developing world . Following the Soviet Union 's dissolution in 1991 , Castro led Cuba into its " Special Period " and embraced environmentalist and anti @-@ globalization ideas . In the 2000s he forged alliances in the Latin American Pink Tide – namely with Hugo Chávez 's Venezuela – and signed Cuba to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006 he transferred his responsibilities to Vice @-@ President Raúl Castro , who formally assumed the presidency in 2008 . 

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 Following the end of Rajoelina 's term , the French government lifted its sanctions against him and 108 other HAT members . He and his family have since maintained a discreet profile , traveling to France , Dubai , South Africa and other foreign destinations . He has also made occasional visits to Madagascar . Rajoelina has declared an interest in presenting himself as a presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential election . 
