Five Cuban generals die in September... And what about the one with the "foot in the stirrup"?

The death this Tuesday of Army Corps General Ramón Espinosa Martín, first deputy minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), adds to that of four other generals of the Cuban army who died throughout September.

Despite the regime's propaganda efforts to present General (r) Raúl Castro Ruz as an active leader, always ready to face difficulties, devise strategies, and march at the forefront of the "revolutionaries," the truth is that the "foot in the stirrup" of the nonagenarian leader is beginning to falter under the weight of the calendar.

The former minister of the FAR - and ruler of Cuba by the whim of his brother, the dictator Fidel Castro Ruz - has seen five comrades-in-arms depart in recent days.

The death of Espinosa Martín (85 years old) adds to those of four other Cuban generals: Romárico Vidal Sotomayor García (85 years old), Juan Antonio Hernández Hernández (91 years old), Jorge Luis Guerrero Almaguer, and Juan Israel Cervantes Tablada, whose ages were not made public in the official announcements.

At 93 years old, General Raúl Castro is watching his trusted men depart. In addition to the previous ones, in May he said goodbye to Reserve Division General Leonardo Ramón Andollo Valdés (79 years old).

On September 4th, Castro attended the burial of the remains of Vidal Sotomayor, but not the other three funerals of generals who passed away this month. Having a "foot in the stirrup" just to attend a funeral procession was not part of the plans of the regime's propagandists.

The old general's grief was further exacerbated by rumors that declared him dead or in very delicate health. From having "one foot in the stirrup," the general went in social media gossip to having "one foot in the grave."

Immediately, the cyber fighters went out to shout that RaúlEsRaúl, but the general has not been seen since he placed a white rose in front of Vidal Sotomayor's urn, accompanied by his inflatable dolphin, the bewildered leader of the "continuity" set up by the rooster.

With the arrival in Cuba this Wednesday of the President of Vietnam, To Lam, many are waiting for the appearance or absence of Raúl as a sign of the end of an era in the history of Cuba.

The totalitarian and dictatorial regime forged by Fidel Castro and his brother faces the inexorable passage of time, and although power remains in the hands of the "heirs," the deaths among the old guard, social unrest, and the growing dissent paint a picture of change.