Cuban defence chief, top aide to Raul Castro, dies

Cuban Defence Minister General Julio Casas Regueiro, the right-hand man of President Raul Castro, died of a heart attack in Havana on Saturday, state media reported. He was 75.
Casas Regueiro, one of Cuba's most powerful men though his influence was wielded largely behind the scenes, is replaced under national regulations by his first deputy, General Leopoldo Cita Frias.
Casas was one of Cuba's five vice presidents, and had served on the Communist Party's policymaking politburo since 1991.