Castro takes another swipe at McCain
HAVANA (AFP) — Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, whose political future is to be clarified this month, took another swipe at Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain, in an editorial published Wednesday.
Fidel Castro, 81, wrote in the Communist Party newspaper Granma that McCain was in the pocket of conservative Cuban-Americans, most of whom live in Florida and strongly oppose his policies.
"It is incredible that at this point in history, the Republican candidate, decorated as a hero, would become the pawn of that mafia. No one who believes in himself would commit such a serious ethical mistake," Castro wrote in his third in a series of articles picking apart McCain.
Thusfar, the other US presidential contenders have managed to avoid the wrath of Castro's pen.
The Cuban leader earlier slammed McCain for saying that when Cuba is free, he would like to find the Cubans who tortured some of his friends from the Vietnam War. In an editorial Monday, Castro denied that was the case.
"His years in prison and the wounds he sustained ... do not excuse him from the moral duty of telling the truth," Castro wrote.
Raul Castro said January 20 the National Assembly would elect Cuba's next president on February 24, amid speculation ailing Fidel Castro might not be its choice for the first time in almost five decades.
Raul Castro, 76, took over from his brother Fidel Castro on a "temporary" basis while his elder brother recovers from intestinal surgery he underwent in July 2006. Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since.
What remains to be seen on or by February 24 is whether Fidel Castro will agree to be reelected president and perhaps stay on in a ceremonial capacity, keeping Raul Castro on as interim leader.
Or, experts say, Fidel Castro could opt to step aside and allow Raul Castro to become president permanently.
Perhaps a longer shot, some Cuba-watchers say, would be for Fidel to step aside and allow a younger leader to take on the job now, opening the door to extending the Americas' only one-party communist regime well into the future.
On January 20, Raul Castro stressed that Cuba was facing "different situations and great decisions."
source: Google News: Fidel Castro Speaks Out Against McCain
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