Fidel Castro demands America pay 'numerous millions of dollars' for decades of embargo
It may be Fidel Castro's 89th birthday, but it looks as if old age hasn't settled him down. Writing for his local media on Thursday — the day before Secretary of State John Kerry will raise the flag at the U.S. embassy in Havana — Castro got a little feisty concerning the embargoes that the U.S. slapped on communist Cuba back in 1962, AFP reports.
"Cuba is owed compensation," Castro wrote, listing the damages as "numerous millions of dollars."
This isn't the first time a Castro has sought such compensation. Back in January, Fidel's brother Raúl also asked the U.S. to pay Cuba damages. Likewise, U.S. lawmakers have sought $6 billion for assets seized from U.S. citizens and businesses following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, according to Fox News.
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Fidel stepped down as Cuba's leader in 2006 after suffering from ill health; it was Raúl who negotiated a rapprochement with the U.S. Until Congress decides otherwise, however, the economic embargo remains legally in effect.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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