HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Cuban President Fidel Castro has criticized Forbes magazine for the “infamy” of listing him among the world’s richest people, with a net worth of $550 million.
“Once again, they have committed the infamy of speaking about Castro’s fortune, placing me almost above the queen of England,” Castro said in a speech to top officials of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party, military and police.
“Do they think I am (former Zairian President) Mobutu (Sese Seko) or one of the many millionaires, those thieves and plunderers, that the empire has suckled and protected?” he said in reference to his capitalist archenemy, the United States.
“What they should be doing is looking for the money of all those people,” he said.
…The magazine said Castro derived his fortune from a web of state-owned companies that include retail conglomerate CIMEX, pharmaceutical company Medicuba and a convention center near Havana. (more…)
So the crown jewel of the Liberal world is finally being exposed for what it really is: A poor nation ran by a rich dictator.
I have always been amazed how so many people here in the states have smothered this tiny country with compassion–not for its people, but for its dictator ( This is the same country that imprisons AIDS-infected people–how’s that for looking out for the little guy!).
These same people will also overlook the fact that hundreds of people from this tiny country teem our shores every year WHY? To escape oppression (something that many of us here in the US know very little about–we just use their experience to boost our own agenda). Ask many Liberals to explain why so many people are willing to risk their very lives to come to this country and the usual response you will get will almost ALWAYS will somehow suggest that these people are either insane or just not getting with the program in Cuba. How cruel and insensitive! Mind you, many of these same people that share this belief have never seen a day of “real oppression in their lives”.
Hopefully this will cause the “bleeding hearts for Cuba” among us to rethink our view of Cuba and its dictator.
Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath.
Related blog from someone who once lived in Cuba:
Here is just a sampling of what goes on in this “crown jewel” for the Liberal cause:
“Today is the second anniversary of the crackdown on and arrest of the 75 writers, librarians and journalists in Cuba. I’ve written about their plight many times, including last year’s first anniversary post here…” (more…)
The same soft Americans that want to portray Castro as some innocent, defenseless leader of a poor country against the evil American empire would be crying “freedom of speech” under these conditions. One thing–they don’t have freedom of speech!!
