Fidel Castro surprised to be alive
HA ANA (AF ) Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that he decided to step down and transfer power to his younger brother, aul, because he was diagnosed with a fatal illness in .
n an article published to mark his th birthday, Fidel Castro said he didn’t expect to survive the stomach ailment and live for so long.
“ was far from imagining that my life would extend for another seven years,” he said.
Castro had been in power since the Cuban evolution in .
The long article was published by official newspaper Granma on Wednesday, a day after his birthday.
Castro left office for treatment in but only formally resigned as commander-in-chief and president of Cuba in February .
Meanwhile, Castro credited North Korea Wednesday with supplying Cuba with free weapons in the s after the Soviet Union said it could no longer defend the island against a US invasion.
Castro’s reminiscence in an article published Wednesday came as UN experts were scrutini ing a shipment of Cuban arms to North Korea to determine if they violated a UN ban.
Castro has dismissed the discovery of the undeclared arms aboard a North Korean freighter transiting the anama Canal as an attempt to smear Cuba.
n an article marking his th birthday, Castro did not mention the case but praised North Korean leader Kim l-sung for coming to Cuba’s aid near the end of the Cold War.
Castro said then Soviet leader uri Andropov had told him that Cuba would have to defend itself it were invaded by the United States.
“He told us that if were attacked by the United States we would have to fight alone,” he said.
“We asked him if they could supply us with weapons free of charge as they had in the past. He responded that they would.
“We then communicated to him Don’t worry. Send us the arms and we will take care of the invaders ourselves.”
Castro said North Korean leader Kim l-sung, “a veteran and unimpeachable combatant, sent us , AK rifles and (ammunition) without charging a cent,” he said.
Andropov, a former K B chief, was the Soviet leader from until his death months later in as the Soviet Union entered into a period of crisis that ended with its collapse in .
Kim l-sung died in . His grandson now rules the Stalinist state.
Castro stepped down as Cuba’s president in , handing over the reins to his younger brother aul after becoming ill.