Al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia, December 25, 2005 Front Page (translation from the Arabic)

Venezuela joins the African Union

Castro:  Rice is a crazy woman in a circus

Havana . Caracas a.f.p. Fidel Castro, president of Cuba described Condoleezza Rice, American Secretary of State as “crazy,” and defined Michael Parmly, the head of the US interest section in Havana as a small-time gangster.  Castro’s severe attack came in response to a meeting Rice held at the beginning of the week with a US government commission whose aim is the preparing of a “democratic” transition in Cuba in the post Castro era.

President Castro, addressing a  meeting of the National Assembly, said “the famous commission is a group of despicable people who don’t deserve the respect of the world.  Whatever the crazy woman said about the process of transition is irrelevant.  The Council is a real circus of corrupt politicians who don’t deserve sympathy.”

In (79-year-old)Castro’s opinion American “imperialism” recoils from the fact that his revolution “cannot be stopped.” He added, “We are in a transition stage toward socialism and communism.” He said that “it is ridiculous for the United States to offer guidance on how to make a transition plan” while his regime had been able to overcome severe difficulties, like the economic collapse which followed the disintegration of the former Soviet bloc.  

Castro expressed his conviction that any U.S military strike against Cuba would fail.  Last Thursday(Dec. 22), he described the head of the US interests section in Havana, Mr. Parmly as “a little gangster,” because of his criticism of the Cuban system in a speech he gave during the celebration of International Human Rights Day.  Castro said, “I don’t know who is worse, the little gangster or (his predecessor) the former gangster James Cason.

. . .and on another front, the assistant foreign secretary of Venezuela for African affairs, Renaldo Bolivar, that the African Union had accepted the membership of his country, an ally of Cuba, as a non African member.  He added that, “the membership of Venezuela in the union has a special importance, given our historic ties.  We wish to cooperate in the areas of trade and energy.”  He pointed out that this would facilitate the entry of other countries into the union.