Royal couple could meet Castro as they start Cuba visit
THEY have already been accused of playing into the Cuban regime’s propaganda machine with their royal visit.
Now there is a chance Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall may come face to face with Fidel Castro’s brother Raúl after royal aides last night refused to rule out an appearance by him.
Although there are no official plans for the royal couple to meet the former president, who remains First Secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party, there is speculation he may turn up during their three-day trip, part of a wider Caribbean tour.
Mr Castro succeeded his brother as president in 2008 and was in charge until last year, when Miguel Díazcanel, his chosen successor, took over.
There is nothing to stop Mr Castro, as Cuba’s most senior politician, showing up unannounced at one of the 21 events planned for the royal couple.
The tour – which will take in Havana and Cienfuegos on Cuba’s south coast – includes a visit to a boxing gym as well as meeting the musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club and one of Cuba’s most famous exports, Carlos Acosta, a former principal with the Royal Ballet.
Tonight, the royal couple will dine with the president and his wife at the Palacio de la Revolucion. Any talk of human rights will be off the menu, however, according to a Foreign Office spokesman who said: “Human rights is a subject that we discuss governmentto-government with the Cubans.”
The visit, which has been heavily criticised by Republicans and Cuban exiles in the US, comes as Donald Trump is threatening to tighten US sanctions against Cuba.