Anti-U.S. rhetoric loud at Cuba summit

HAVANA — Cuba took over leadership of the Nonaligned Movement Friday, but with Fidel Castro too sick to promise an appearance, his younger brother and his close friend Hugo Chavez of Venezuela were left to mete out the anti-American invective.

The meeting hosted by Cuba brought together some of the staunchest U.S. foes — the presidents of Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Cuba's Acting President Raul Castro, who was presiding over the meeting of more than 50 leaders, said the world today is shaped by irrational American desires for world dominance.

"When there no longer is a Cold War, the United States spends one billion dollars a year in weapons and soldiers, and it squanders a similar amount in commercial publicity," he said. "To think that a social and economic order that has proven unsustainable could be maintained by force is simply an absurd idea."

In the United States, President Bush's administration tried Friday to hasten the end of the Castro government, proposing that Cubans hold a referendum to decide if they want to be ruled by Raul Castro. The suggestion faced certain rejection by the island's communist leadership, but Cuban officials did not immediately address it at the summit.

The big question was whether 80-year-old Fidel Castro would be healthy enough to show up for the summit dinner, let alone guide the group during Cuba's three-year chairmanship. The ailing revolutionary leader is under doctors' orders not to preside over the summit but could still make an appearance, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the assembly.

Castro temporarily handed power to his 75-year-old brother and a handful of other top officials after emergency intestinal surgery in July. And while Cuban officials raise expectations of a return to power, Fidel Castro has appeared only in photos and video in state media, wearing pajamas while meeting Venezuelan President Chavez and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Raul Castro has settled into his new leadership role, giving several speeches calling for unity against U.S. policies. And Chavez, still campaigning for Venezuela's bid to join the U.N. Security Council, has repeatedly asserted himself as the natural heir to Castro, who remains a hero to leftists around the world.

"To be radical is not to be insane, it's to go to our roots. Let's go to our roots; let's be truly radical," Chavez told diplomats and leaders from two-thirds of the world's countries. He concluded by chanting "Patria o Muerte!" — "Fatherland or Death!" — a favored Castro rallying cry.