Cuban-Americans in Miami aren't expecting much change as President Miguel Diaz-Canel takes over from Raul Castro.
Many in South Florida who either fled the Cuban Revolution themselves or are related to people who did, have long been hostile to the government.
But, this latest development isn't the kind of change they wanted.
65-year-old Lourdes Diaz tells The Associated Press she sees nothing to distinguish the 57-year-old new president from his predecessor.
The political adviser who left the island with her mother before Fidel Castro says life on the island will be "exactly'' the same under the new leader.
Julio Cesar Alfonso, president of Solidarity Without Borders, calls the change of leadership a "farce.''
Attorney Wilfredo Allen who left Cuba in 1961 notes that Raul Castro will still control the Communist Party.
Still, he says, "sometimes a cosmetic change becomes real.''
Russia and China are among the countries sending congratulations to Cuba as a new president takes office on the island while the U.S. expressed "disappointment'' over the event.
Cuban-state media said Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President Miguel Diaz-Canel and thanked the outgoing President Raul Castro for the many years of co-operation between the two countries.
Official media also said Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his country's friendship with Cuba expressed interest in deeper ties.
But the U.S. State Department said Cuban citizens "had no real power to affect the outcome'' of what spokeswoman Heather Nauert called an
"undemocratic transition'' that brought Diaz-Canal to the presidency.
The spokeswoman said the U.S. was not surprised by the outcome, but "nevertheless disappointed.''
Fidel and Roul Castro ruled Cuba for almost 60 years.
- With files from the Associated Press