MIAMI, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Officials in Washington warned Friday the death of President Fidel Castro could result in social chaos, shortages and a refugee crisis in Cuba.
A top U.S. official and several public health experts issued the warnings at a meeting sponsored by the University of Miami Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.
Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International development, said, "There's a real possibility of a complex emergency" after Castro's death.
He also said there would be "a high risk of chaotic migration," The Miami Herald reported.
Health experts Richard Garfield and Frederick Burkle said Cuba's healthcare system, reportedly the best in Latin America, was in fact fragile, and short of essential medicines.
Natsios is participating in a commission chaired by Secretary of State Colin Powell to determine ways to get humanitarian aid to Cuba.
