Cuban President Fidel Castro remains in the hospital Tuesday night after undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding.

The Cuban government has not issued any new statements on the health of the their president, that has forced him to temporarily hand over power to his younger brother Raul.

Fidel Castro has ruled with absolute power in Cuba since 1959, while his 75-year-old brother controlled the country's armed forces as Cuba's defense minister.

Cuban exiles eye change in Cuba

The provisional transfer of power in Cuba from Fidel Castro to his brother, Raul, is not expected to result in any immediate easing of communist control of the island nation.

But it has accelerated planning by Cuban exiles and others for a post-Castro Cuba. And it is raising concerns about whether the emerging transition in Cuba will remain peaceful or turn violent.

The announcement on Cuban television that Mr. Castro was about to undergo surgery and had temporarily turned over control of the government to Defense Minister Raul Castro sparked jubilant celebrations in Miami. Hundreds of Cuban-Americans took to the streets in Hialeah and Little Havana Monday and Tuesday, waving Cuban flags, cheering, and dancing. They included three generations of Cuban-Americans, the original exiles from the early 1960s, their children, and their grandchildren.

"It has been 50 years of dictatorship, so Cubans in Miami and all over the world are excited about the possibility that finally there can be change," says Camila Ruiz-Gallardo of the Cuban American National Foundation. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel."

As news of Fidel Castro's illness broke, less than two weeks before his 80th birthday, Cuban expatriates celebrated in the streets of Little Havana in Miami, causing traffic gridlock in that section of the Florida city.

Gov. Bush: State would try to prevent mass migration

Gov. Jeb Bush said today that state and federal officials would try to prevent a mass migration from Cuba if Fidel Castro dies from his current medical complications or the situation becomes more chaotic on the island.

Bush said he urged the creation of a national plan four years ago, which would include the Coast Guard halting Cubans fleeing their home country in hopes of convincing other Cubans not to take to the open seas.

"You don't want to have mass migration that creates the loss of life and creates tremendous hardships for local communities and for our state," Bush said. "We've already seen what the impacts of mass migration are. Better to have an orderly process and a focus on the transition."

By early this afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard was simply monitoring the situation along coastal waters and abroad, Petty Officer James Judge said.

"In the event of a mass migration, we would be picking people up at sea" as well as delivering water and offering medical attention, Judge said.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, the Senate's only Cuban-born member, said today that he believes news of Fidel Castro's transfer of power marks the end of his reign over Cuba.

The U.S. government has been closely monitoring the health of Fidel Castro for some time now, quitely preparing for his death.

"We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom," White House spokesman Peter Watkins said today