HAVANA, (Reuters) – A U.S.-developed video game that lets players try to kill Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro sparked an angry reaction from Cuba yesterday, the latest charge in the long history of bitter U.S.-Cuba ties.
“What the United States government did not achieve in more than 50 years, it now tries to do virtually,” said a story on government-run website www.cubadebate.cu.
It said the game — “Call of Duty: Black Ops” by California-based Activision Blizzard Inc — glorified actual U.S. attempts to kill Castro and “stimulates sociopathic attitudes” among American youth.
The game, some of which is set during the Cold War, sends players fighting their way through Russia, Vietnam and Cuba. While battling in the streets of Havana, they fire away at enemy combatants while in pursuit of Castro.
The game reflects reality, according to Cuban officials, because of what they say have been more than 600 attempts by the United States to kill Castro since he took power in a 1959 revolution and turned Cuba into a communist state.
The island is just 90 miles (145 km) south of Florida.
Despite the complaints, the latest game in the popular “Call of Duty” series by Activision is expected to be a big seller after its launch on Tuesday.
