The Hemisphere: Oh, to Punch Khrushchev

It was one of those late-at-night talkathons in Havana, and Fidel Castro sat toying with a popgun that shot pingpong balls. "We are the only judge of what is right for our defense," he told the visiting reporter. "I said this to Mikoyan when he was sent by Khrushchev." Castro laughed, and added: "If Khrushchev had come himself. I would have punched him."

The bearded Cuban talked on for seven hours to Claude Julien. 37. foreign news chief of Paris' influential Le Monde. When Julien published the interview last week, it stirred a missile crisis all its own in Havana. Fidel might have been kidding about wanting to bust Nikita in the snoot, but he obviously felt that his Moscow comrade Khrush had played him for a double sucker last October—once when he planted the missiles in Cuba, and again when he took them out without consulting the bearded Maximum Leader in advance. "We had envisaged the possibility of asking the Soviet Union for missiles," said Castro, "but had reached no decision—when Moscow proposed them to us without prompting." Apparently Castro did not think they were really wanted for Cuba's sake: "They told us that by accepting them we would strengthen the socialist camp throughout the world. We decided to accept them to defend international socialism."

"Khrushchev should never have with drawn his rockets without consulting us. They were Soviet rockets, but they were on Cuban territory. I went down into the streets and talked to the people. Their reply was always the same: 'We should keep the rockets.' Some wanted to prevent by force the withdrawal of the rockets." Worse yet, complained Castro, "what support did we get when we were on the verge of a major catastrophe? Where were the demonstrations in our favor? The great so-called revolutionary parties didn't move. They are satellites. Whenever Khrushchev makes a decision, these satellites applaud. When Khrushchev criticizes abstract painting, the satellites here ask me to outlaw abstract art. And I say to them, our enemies are capitalism and imperialism, not abstract painters."

Moscow was obviously displeased, and before long Havana was issuing denials that any such interview had taken place. Actually, Castro acknowledged having had an informal talk "about different topics" with Julien, but added nervously: "It is not true that in any instant I expressed myself in an unfriendly manner toward Prime Minister Khrushchev."