Human Rights Activists Warn U.S. Not To Interfere With Cuba
Mary K. Brunskill - All Headline News Staff Writer Havana, Cuba (AHN) - Human rights activists and leftist intellectuals from around the globe signed an open letter Monday asking the United States not to interfere with Cuba while Fidel Castro recovers from surgery for internal bleeding. Four hundred people signed the letter, many of whom are from Latin America. A number of Nobel Peace laureates signed, including Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of South Africa, and Rigoberta Menchu, an activist from Guatemala. On Monday Cuba's Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon warned the U.S. its interference would result in serious consequences. "It's going to become a hell for them from the first day," Alarcon said in an interview from Havana with the Venezuela-based television station Telesur. "We will guarantee them total failure once again," he added, apparently referring to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, which the U.S. supported. Roberto Fernandez Retamar, a major writer in Cuba, announced the letter at a news conference. He said Cubans are sure Castro will be back in power soon. Castro's younger brother, defense minister Raul Castro, is currently acting in Castro's place. Retamar said, "In a few months, we'll have him back with us." On Sunday United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. has no intention to invade Cuba while Castro is ill but said the U.S. wants to help Cubans get re |
