CNN. January 25,
2001.Web posted at: 10:17 AM EST (1517 GMT)
HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro this week fired his first
verbal shot at President Bush since he took office, saying he hoped his new
adversary in the White House is "not as stupid as he seems."
In a Sunday speech shown late Wednesday on state television, Castro said
that "someone very strange, with very little promise, has taken charge of
the leadership of the great empire that we have as a neighbor."
"That gentleman has arrived there, and hopefully he is not as stupid as
he seems, nor as mafia-like as his predecessors were," the Cuban leader
said. He added, however, that he was not troubled by Bush's presence, saying "he's
there, and we are calm over here."
The United States "cannot invent anything against us," said
Castro.
Bush is the 10th American president to serve since the 1959 triumph of
Castro's revolution.
The new U.S. president has expressed support for the four-decade American
trade embargo on Cuba. He has said he envisions no change in U.S. policy toward
the communist island unless free elections are held and political prisoners are
freed.
During last year's presidential campaign, Castro described Bush, a
Republican, and Democratic candidate Al Gore as "boring and insipid."
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