Some think Fidel Castro is already dead. Others say news of the dictator's resignation as president of Cuba is only a glimmer of the end of the old regime.

While no one is dancing in the street, phone lines buzzed in Atlanta as the metro area's far-flung Cuban-American community digested the news that Castro resigned sometime Monday night. The decision opens the way for his brother, Raul Castro, to become the next president.

RENEE' HANNANS HENRY/Staff (ENLARGE)

Jose Neme (from left), from Uruguay, Ivan Kusky from Chile, Pedro Rodriguez from Cuba, Fernando Peguero from the Dominican Republic and Roberto Gerdes from Mexico City all think Fidel Castro is already dead.

CASTRO RESIGNS Longtime reign ends Articles • Cuban leader steps down • Local Cuban-American reaction subdued • Raul Castro: Fidel lite? • Castro long defied U.S. • Q&A: What's next? • Cuban exiles cautious • Text of Castro letter • Bush expresses hope Photos: • 50 years of power Timeline: • Communist revolutionary Video • Review of leader's life • Bush reaction • Excerpt of newscast • More international news

"I hate to be a pessimist," said Rene Diaz, head of Atlanta-based Diaz Foods. "Nothing radical is going to happen with him transferring the power over to Raul. I'm not bringing out the Dom Perignon and popping the cork just yet," said Diaz, who left Cuba when he was 6 years old.

Many others in Atlanta's Cuban community echoed those sentiments.

"Raul is just as much an assassin as Fidel," said Doraville resident Ana Maria Montero, who left Cuba in 1960. She thinks he's already dead, noting the dictator has not been seen in public for more than a year.

State Rep. David Casas (R-Lilburn), has the same view. He sent out an e-mail from his Blackberry this morning to about a dozen colleagues.

"It is a great day in the world and for all Cubans everywhere!," Casas wrote. "The news says resignation, but we all know that is communist talk for death," Casas wrote. Jennifer McCoy, a professor of political science at Georgia State University and the director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, said she was not surprised by the move.

"I think this is part of a long transition, and Fidel has wanted to make it a controlled transition. This will clarify Raul Castro's authority," she said. Castro first transferred power to his brother on a temporary basis when he fell ill in July 2006. "I expect Raul will want to carry out more economic reforms."

"I do not expect major political changes overnight," McCoy said. "I expect this will be an opportunity to have better relations with the U.S., if the U.S. is receptive."

Enrique Dorta, interim president of the Atlanta Cuban Club, said Castro is "still the strong man."

Even though he's been sick with intestinal problems for a year and a half, Castro has been writing articles from his hospital bed.

"Most Cubans that remain on the island believe in Castro more than they do in communism," Dorta said. "They go by what the master says."

While not decisive, the news created a ripple of excitement for some exiles.

Atlanta Braves catcher Brayan Pena said the news gave him hope he might be able to go back to Havana to visit friends and family he hasn't seen in years. Pena defected eight years ago, when he was 17 years old. The baseball player is optimistic that Raul Castro will bring positive change. "That's exactly what we need," Pena said.

Others, like Dorta, were less optimistic.

"Of course, we care," Dorta said of the news.

"But it's the same thing over and over again. Until something really happens, we don't need to get excited."

— Staff writers Chris Quinn and Carroll Rogers contributed to this article.