By Jim Burns. CNS News
Senior Staff Writer. April 16, 2001
(CNSNews.com) - Cuba's defense minister believes the United States hasn't
abandoned the idea of a military attack against the communist nation.
Raul Castro, the younger brother of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, told
reporters that because of that threat, Cuba is full of subterranean tunnels that
can hold large numbers of troops. He did not say when he expected a U.S.
invasion to occur.
Cuba, through its Radio Havana broadcasts has been saying since the early
1980s that the U.S. eventually would invade Cuba. At one time, Radio Havana said
America was gathering troops on Costa Rica to launch an invasion against Cuba.
Castro said even though Cuba's army has dwindled since the 1980s, the
country still has "armed forces very large for the size of our country and
for our economy."
Raul Castro insisted that the United States should work out its political
differences with Cuba while his older brother is still alive, because Fidel has
"the power to convince" the Cuban people.
Meanwhile, Radio Havana reported Raul Castro and other military and
provincial leaders addressed a rally that attracted more than 30-thousand Cubans
in the town of Ranchuelo on Saturday to commemorate the Bay of Pigs victory
against the United States.
Castro and the others told the rally the Cuban Adjustment Act and the
Helms-Burton and Torricelli laws against Cuba should be eliminated. They also
called for the United States to end its economic blockade against the communist
nation.
On Monday, a rally is set for downtown Havana to commemorate the 40th
anniversary of what the Castro government is calling the "proclamation of
the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution." The commemoration will be
held, according to Radio Havana, at the corner of 23rd and 12th streets in the
Cuban capital where Fidel Castro made the pronouncement 40 years ago.
The Castro government hopes Monday's rally will demonstrate that "socialism
continues to be in force, in today's world." | 