Short of Castro dying, there won’t be much celebration among the Cubans in South Florida at the news of him stepping down.

Many Cuban Americans expressed optimism tempered by caution Tuesday after awakening to news that Fidel Castro is stepping down as Cuba’s official leader after nearly a half century.

”In a year or so, I think, we will see some change,” Luis Garcia, 75, said as he stood in front of the Versailles Restaurant, a landmark in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. “Fidel no longer has the ability to run a country. He’s very ill.”

Regina Botello, another customer at the restaurant, said: “It’s the best thing that could have happened on this 19th of February. It’s the first step toward real change.”

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