Castro May Attend U.N. Summit

H A V A N A, Cuba, Sept.1 -- Cuba’s President Fidel Castro intends to make a rare visit to his arch-enemy, the United States, at the head of his nation’s delegation to the United Nations “Millennium Summit” in New York next week.

“This morning, we communicated to the U.S. government that the delegation would be presided by Comrade Fidel,” a Cuban Foreign Ministry communique said today.

It would be Castro’s first trip abroad since a mid-1999 summit in Brazil, and, according to Cuban officials, his fourth visit to the United States since the 1959 Cuban Revolution and the ensuing cutting of diplomatic ties with Washington.

Castro, now 74, was last in New York in 1995 for the 50th U.N. anniversary celebration. On his first visit months after the revolution, he caused a sensation by staying at a downbeat Hotel Theresa in Harlem.

The Cuban leader frequently stresses his enemy is the U.S. government, not the American people. In a reminder of the frosty official relations, Havana today implied that U.S. authorities may have doubts over Castro’s intended visit.

“Now everything depends on the attitude taken by the U.S. government. Let’s see if the Alarcon situation is repeated or not,” the communique said, referring to Washington’s refusal to grant a visa to Cuban National Assembly head Ricardo Alarcon for this week’s meeting of world legislative representatives.

Alarcon is also included in the Cuban delegation for the Sept. 6-8 U.N. meeting.

U.S. Considers Visa Application

In Washington, a U.S. official source said a visa application for Castro was under consideration. The United States could deny a visa only on the grounds that Castro’s presence would be “prejudicial to security.”

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who also hopes to attend, brushed aside Thursday reports that anti-Castro Cuban exiles were pressing the U.S. government to deny Castro a visa or to arrest him for “crimes against humanity.”