Fidel Castro Reacts To Obama Historic Cuba Visit; Says Island Has 'No Need Of Gifts' From US

It's been 88 years since a U.S. president stepped foot in Cuba, but that all changed when President Barack Obama visited the island earlier this month. The mission of the historic trip, according to the president himself, was to engage directly with the Cuban people, build new ties between the two countries, and for him to lay out his vision for a future that's brighter than the past. In his nearly three-day long visit, Obama met up with Cuban President Raul Castro, but not with former president and revolutionary Fidel Castro. Fidel, however, has broken his silence and penned an open letter following Obama's visit to the caribbean island.

Castro's 1,500-world letter titled "El Hermano Obama," which was written in El Granma ---the official state newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party--- targeted topics such as "the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the role of both countries in ending the apartheid in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent", according to Politico.

“Native populations do not exist at all in the minds of Obama. Nor does he say that racial discrimination was swept away by the Revolution; that retirement and salary of all Cubans were enacted by this before Mr. Barack Obama was 10 years old," Castro expressed in the letter. The 89-year-old Cuban politician also brought up the Bay of Pigs invasion that happened in the '60s. "Mercenary force with cannons and armored infantry, equipped with aircraft...trained and accompanied by warships and aircraft carriers in the U.S. raiding our country. Nothing can justify this premeditated attack that cost our country hundreds of killed and wounded," he stated.

In his letter of disapproval, Castro suggested that Obama "reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics." Cuba "has no need of gifts" from the United States, Castro said. "Our efforts will be legal and peaceful, because it is our commitment to peace and brotherhood of all human beings living on this planet," he concluded.