Castro, Putin Denounce U.S.

Russia's President Valdimir Putin lost no time while on his visit this week to Cuba in firing verbal warning shots across the bow of the new United States president-elect.

Later in the day Thursday, after he had sent a diplomatically correct letter of congratulation to George W. Bush, Putin joined Cuba's President Fidel Castro in blistering rhetorical attacks on the United States that were reminiscent of the era in which Cuba was the Western Hemisphere ally of the Soviet Union.

That economic-political-military alliance, with Soviet missiles on the communist island targeting American cities, came within a whisker of precipitating a nuclear world war during the administration of President John F. Kennedy.

According to Agence France-Presse news service:

Greeted warmly by Castro dressed in his familiar olive-green fatigues, Putin received almost a hero's welcome as he began a three-day visit to Cuba that was billed as a trade mission.

Trade was on the agenda, but the pair's public utterances were more in the nature of ominous strategic warnings to Washington.

And it was not lost on Cuba watchers that Putin scheduled a symbolic visit to a Moscow-funded electronic listening station outside Havana that monitors U.S. submarines in the area.

Accompanying Putin on that visit was Valentin Korabelnikov, head of the Russian General Staff's military intelligence unit that oversees the listening station.

Putin made it clear he and Castro foresee – and welcome – the collapse of U.S. stature as the world's superpower.

"Similar attempts at world domination were made numerous times throughout the course of history," Putin warned, "and it is well known how they all ended."

His remarks were underscored by the presence of Russia's No. 1 military and diplomatic officials at his side.

Castro echoed Putin's denunciation of the United States, accusing it of "forcing neo-liberal globalization" and lashing out at U.S.-supported international trade bodies as "the kiss of death."

"Even in the age of colonialism and slavery," Castro said, "the poor were not stolen from by the rich like this."

After Cuba and Russia had signed five trade and diplomacy agreements, Castro and Putin pledged to support "sovereignty, self-governance, non-intervention, independence and territorial integrity" in a joint declaration.

"On almost all issues," Castro said, "our positions converge."

Putin granted Cuba a $350 million line of credit to complete work on a nickel smelter. All profits from that joint venture are to go toward paying off Cuba's $11 billion debt to Moscow left over from the Cold War era.