Castro greets rescue of Betancourt and other hostages

Jul 4, 2008, 15:45 GMT

Havana - Cuba's retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro greeted the liberation from Marxist rebels of Ingrid Betancourt, three US contractors and 11 Colombian security officials, stressing that 'they should never have been kidnapped.'

But he also complained that the success of the precision-planned Colombian commando mission on Wednesday was being exploited by imperialist forces, a term usually employed by Castro to mean the United States.

'The civilians should never have been kidnapped, and the military officers should never have been kept as prisoners in jungle conditions. Those were objectively cruel facts. No revolutionary purpose could justify it,' Castro said in an article that was made public Friday.

'Out of an elementary humane feeling, we were glad about the news that Ingrid Betancourt, three US citizens and other captives had been freed,' the former Cuban leader said.

Castro, set to turn 82 next month, formally gave up the Cuban presidency in February for health reasons, but he continues in his rhetorical role for the communist government of the Caribbean island.

In a comment on the state website Cubadebate, Castro denounced that 'imperialism' is 'trying to exploit what happened in Colombia to hide and justify the horrendous crimes of genocide against other peoples and to deviate international attention from their interventionist plans in Venezuela and Bolivia.'

'Ingrid Betancourt, weakened and ill, like other captives in precarious health conditions, could hardly hang on for much longer,' he said.

Castro stressed that communist Cuba has been involved in efforts for peace in Colombia 'for more than 20 years, as the most convenient thing for the unity and liberation of the peoples' of America.