Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has died at age 90, according to Cuban state media, confirms NPR. Castro, who took power in the Cuban revolution in 1959, led his country for nearly 50 years. After undergoing intestinal surgery, Castro had ceded power in July 2006, to his younger brother Raul, who announced his death late Friday on Cuban state television.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) says he supports normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba as a step towards expanded trade with the country, which he believes would help hasten the overthrow of the Castro regime.

This hour on Focus, we talked with Venezuelan native and Political Science Associate Professor Damarys Canache about Hugo Chavez’s death. Then for the second half of the hour, Theodore Piccone, Deputy Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution joins the show to talk about what changes in Venezuela mean for Cuba.