Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro said his country was not afraid of dialogue with the US nor interested in continued confrontation with its powerful neighbor.
The comments came as a group of US lawmakers visited Cuba this weekend to try to end nearly half a century of mutual distrust and amid reports that US President Barack Obama was planning to ease economic sanctions on the island, including travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans.
“We’re not afraid to talk with the United States. We also don’t need confrontation to exist, like some fools like to think,” Castro said in an article on the Cubadebate Web site on Sunday.
Castro said the 47-year-old US economic embargo on Cuba was a “total failure” and agreed with Indiana Senator Richard Lugar’s recent proposal that the White House appoint a special envoy to review relations with Cuba.
“Those who can quietly analyze the facts, like the Indiana senator, have an indisputable argument: After nearly half a century, the US measures against Cuba are a total failure,” Castro said.
“We exist precisely because we believe in our ideas and we’ve never been afraid to talk with our adversary. It’s the only way to achieve friendship and peace between peoples,” he said.
In a separate article on Sunday, Castro challenged Latin American countries to support an end to Cuba’s isolation at a regional summit this month that will include Obama.
Castro said an upcoming Summit of the Americas would be a “trial by fire” for the region as they discuss Cuba’s half-century-old dispute with Washington.
The revolutionary icon said a draft of the text set to be discussed by leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean and Obama was “unacceptable” and would result in Cuba’s continued isolation.
Cuba will be blocked from attending the April 17 to April 19 summit in Trinidad and Tobago, part of a long-standing US attempt to bar the country from regional meetings.
Castro’s call won almost instantaneous backing from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
“We cannot accept that the United States continues to harass Cuba. This is still a question of honor,” Chavez told state television. “We should ask ourselves: If we are all friends of Cuba, why does this country not exist? But we are not going to keep our mouths closed — even the rocks will be speaking in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Almost all governments in the region support an end to the US embargo on Cuba, but most have shied away from imperiling ties with the US.
While campaigning for the presidency last year, Obama said he was open to dialogue with Washington adversaries including Havana. As president, he has moved to lift some of the restrictions on US citizens traveling to Cuba and ease cash transfers to the country.
Fidel underwent gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006 and turned the reins of power over to his younger brother, Raul Castro, who officially became president in February last year.
The seven US lawmakers, headed by Representative Barbara Lee, are on a five-day visit to Cuba and have so far met parliament president Ricardo Alarcon on Friday and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Saturday. Lee said the group hoped to meet Raul Castro as well.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese