Fidel Castro's scornful words lashing out at President George W. Bush
and the U.S. government are classic "Fidel." "The most genuine
representative of the system of terror that has been imposed upon the
world by the technological, economic and political superiority of the
most potent power in the world is, without question, George W. Bush," he
writes in a letter published in Cuba's official newspaper, Granma.
In the letter, Castro is reacting to the decision by U.S. District Judge
Kathleen Cardone to release his arch enemy Luis Posada Carriles on bond,
blaming Bush for the release of a man he calls a "monster."
Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative who participated in the Bay of
Pigs, has been held in the U.S. for two years on charges of entering the
country illegally. He came here from Panama, where he had been jailed
for possession of weapons, then pardoned by former President Mireya Moscoso.
He is wanted in both Cuba and Venezuela, where he is accused of
masterminding the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73
people, but an immigration judge refused to extradite him, saying he
would surely be tortured. To many of Castro's foes, Posada is considered
a hero of sorts, but elsewhere he is seen as a terrorist. The CIA claims
to have terminated its relationship with Carriles decades ago.
Whether he'll be allowed to run around free in the U.S. in the middle of
a war on terror is yet to be seen. For now, his release has been blocked
by an appellate court. But the real story here is not Posada's future,
but Fidel Castro's comeback. The scathing letter on the possible release
of Posada is the third document signed by Castro since he fell ill eight
months ago and temporarily handed power over to his younger brother,
Raul, and other high-ranking Cuban officials.
The celebrations in Miami's Little Havana began immediately after the
news that Castro had undergone emergency intestinal surgery in July
2006. Cuban exiles thought it was the moment they had been waiting for,
for more than 46 years. Some started packing their bags, preparing to
return to their homeland.
Castro's condition and the cause of the operation were state secrets,
which led to speculation that the Cuban dictator had terminal cancer or
that he was already dead and that the communist government was getting
ready to take control in case the masses came out to celebrate - or
protest - in the streets of Havana.
The U.S. government met with Cuban exile leaders and mapped out their
vision for a new and democratic Cuba. The news media prepared massive
coverage of Castro's imminent demise.
He turned 80 at the hospital. He missed his own birthday celebration, as
well as important national holidays and political events in which he
normally would have been at the helm.
The only signs of Castro for months were pictures of him looking thin
and frail in red pajamas in conversations with his friend and protege,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
More recently, he was pictured outdoors with Colombian Nobel Prize
author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
A few weeks ago, he made a phone call to Chavez during Chavez's weekly
radio show. Then came the letters. The first two criticized Bush for
promoting ethanol as an alternative to oil with Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, then the third letter chastised Bush for the
potential release of Posada Carriles.
It is widely believed now that Castro's ailment is diverticulitis. Cuban
officials have been saying that Castro's health is improving. He is on
top of the country's official business, they claim.
He's even gaining weight, says his foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque.
But perhaps the biggest sign that Fidel Castro is making a comeback is
that good ol' anti-Yankee rhetoric in his letters, which for decades has
made him a champion of anti-American forces around the world. Cuban
exiles might have to hold on to their bags and wait a little longer
before they can see the end of Castro's communist regime and return to
their beloved homeland.
Maria Elena Salinas is the author of "I am my father's daughter: Living
a life without secrets." Reach her at mariaesalinas.com.
April 16, 2006
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/04/16/opinion/041607c.txt
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