HAVANA, (Reuters) – Former Cuban President Fidel Castro lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday for suggesting bilateral relations could improve if Cuba became more democratic, and he said the communist nation would not bow to U.S. pressure.
He also said Obama was being “stupid” over the case of five Cuban agents imprisoned for spying in the United States, who Cuba believes have been treated unjustly.
In his latest opinion column published in Cuba’s state-run media, Castro said his country, which is in the midst of economic reforms, will change in the future, but not because of pressure from Obama and the United States, its longtime ideological enemy.
“Many things will change in Cuba, but they will change by our own effort and in spite of the United States. Maybe before that empire falls,” he wrote.
Obama said on Wednesday the United States was ready to improve relations with Cuba if the communist-led island embraced democracy and gave its people more freedom.
“If we see positive movement then we will respond in a positive way,” Obama said.
