US challenges Castro to have dialogue with people

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (AFP) - The United States on Monday challenged ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro to hold dialogue with his people, following his much publicized live media appearance with his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez.

Cubans heard Fidel Castro on Sunday joking and chattering on a television show hosted by Chavez, his first live broadcast in Cuba since he was sidelined after major intestinal surgery 15 months ago.

But the United States, communist Cuba's arch rival, said Castro should have the same dialogue with his people.

"I am delighted that Fidel Castro has an opportunity to have a chance to discuss things with his good friend President Chavez," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.

"It is too bad that in almost half a century of misrule in Cuba, he's never had the same kind of conversation with his own people," Casey told reporters.

Castro spoke by telephone with Chavez for an hour and 22 minutes on a variety of topics, including the state of his health and the challenges of life in the shadow of the United States.

"Everyone is electrified to hear you," Chavez told the convalescing Cuban leader on his program "Hello Mr. President," broadcast for five hours Sunday in both Cuba and Venezuela.

Castro has not appeared in public since undergoing intestinal surgery and ceding power to his brother Raul in July 2006, communicating through regular articles in the communist regime's official newspapers.

Castro and Chavez also joked about their joint foe, US President George W. Bush, in their conversation.

Switching to a more serious tone, Castro said "the tyrannical power" -- a term he usually reserves for the United States -- "is now facing new multiple Vietnams."