Fidel mistrusts U.S. but favors ‘negotiated solution’ to problems
Without going into specifics and without even mentioning the recent talks in Havana between Cuban and U.S. diplomats, Fidel Castro went on record Monday (Jan. 26) to say that, although he does not trust United States policy, he does not reject “a peaceful solution of the conflicts or dangers of war.”
His message appeared Monday evening in an open letter to the University Students Federation, thanking its members for celebrating the 70th anniversary of his admission to the University of Havana.
The letter was read by a university leader at the University of Havana during a ceremony honoring five Cuban intelligence agents who were imprisoned in the United States in 1998. Two of them served out their terms; the other three were released by the U.S. last year.
After some musings that included ancient Greece, the world’s overpopulation, higher education in Cuba, and the war in Angola, Castro took aim at his neighbors to the north in rather broad language.
“I do not trust United States policy and have not exchanged a word with them, without this meaning in the least a rejection of a peaceful solution of the conflicts or dangers of war,” he wrote in the final paragraphs.
“To defend peace is everyone’s duty. Any peaceful and negotiated solution to the problems between the United States and the peoples or any people of Latin America that does not imply force or the use of force should be treated in accordance with international principles and norms.
“We shall always defend the cooperation and friendship with all the countries in the world and among them those of our political adversaries. That is what we are claiming for everyone.
“The President of Cuba has taken the pertinent steps according to his prerogatives and the powers vested in him by the National Assembly and the Communist Party of Cuba.
“The serious dangers that today threaten mankind would have to give way to norms that are compatible with human dignity. No country is excluded from those rights.”
Castro closes by saying, “With this spirit I have struggled and will continue to struggle till my last breath.” The letter is dated Jan. 26, 2015, at 12:35 p.m.
