In a Miami Bunker, an Emergency Plan is Dusted Off

When news of Fidel Castro's imminent surgery broke on Monday night, Miami officials convened in a hi-tech command bunker to review a secret blueprint for handling an upheaval that could engulf the region.

The "Change in Caribbean Government Plan" lists possible responses to a potential outbreak of anarchy in the event of the fall of the Castro regime. The plans include coastguard action should a fleet of small boats be launched from Cuba to escape unrest or a flotilla of Miami's Cuban exiles head off in the other direction.

"We activated the emergency operations centre on Monday night and it was in operation until 5 o'clock yesterday [Tuesday]," said Cynthia Martínez, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade county authorities. "We took out the plan and dusted it off, in case we needed it."

Ms Martínez said details of the contingency plan were classified, but official statements and reports from the last time Mr Castro's demise seemed imminent (when he fainted in 2001) give some clues to scenarios being considered in Miami, home to more than 650,000 Cuban-Americans.

The coastguard would step up patrols to intercept rafts coming out of Cuba if unrest on the island triggered an exodus. If necessary, the navy would be called in. A sea invasion in the other direction is also possible if Cuban exiles could not wait to set foot on their homeland again and set sail to look for relatives or reclaim their old homes, a likely cause of conflict with current occupants.

The Miami-Dade emergency centre, a reinforced room bristling with television and computer screens, is normally used to deal with hurricanes. but for 24 hours it was braced for regime change. One part of the plan was a rumour hotline, a number Miami residents could call for updates on Mr Castro's health or news of roads closed for celebrations.