December 12, 1978
East German Record of Conversation with Fidel Castro after Tenth Interkit Meeting in Havana, December 1978
Havana
vvs 282/78—Lightening
Comrade Honecker
Comrade Axen
The final meeting for delegations to the China Consultation was with Comrade F. Castro for two and a half hours together with Comrades Blas Roca and Machado Ventura, as well as Secretaries Valdes Vivo and Antonio Perez Herrero. Comrade Castro's speech was very warm. Comrade Castro showed that he was familiar with the contents and course of the consultation. The draft stenograms and theses had been reported to the [Cuban] P[olit]b[uro]. Comrade Castro emphasized the importance of the China consultations among the fraternal parties that always brings in new materials for the re-evaluation of the situation. He greeted the inclusion of the Vietnamese at the next meeting and considered developments in Vietnam as a big defeat for the Chinese leaders.
Comrade Castro pointed out:….
The real danger that the Imperialist powers [will] do the same with China as the Western powers did at Munich with Hitler….
Comrade Castro asked after developments in Kampuchea and noted his fears that if the revolutionary front worked with the Chinese intervention then the regime might be saved.
The extensive comments of Comrade Castro about the Cuban exiles lead one to suspect that Castro and the entire leadership are very concerned with this issue, especially with the strong institutional bond of this group to Cuba.
We must make better use for the revolution of the exiles' feelings for Cuba, he said.
He said it is better to have a “Trojan horse” over there in America than in Cuba and that dissatisfied Cubans who move to the US could contribute to friction between the exiles and the US government….
Langer
Mahlow
14.12. [1978]
vvs 282/78—Lightening
Comrade Honecker
Comrade Axen
The final meeting for delegations to the China Consultation was with Comrade F. Castro for two and a half hours together with Comrades Blas Roca and Machado Ventura, as well as Secretaries Valdes Vivo and Antonio Perez Herrero. Comrade Castro's speech was very warm. Comrade Castro showed that he was familiar with the contents and course of the consultation. The draft stenograms and theses had been reported to the [Cuban] P[olit]b[uro]. Comrade Castro emphasized the importance of the China consultations among the fraternal parties that always brings in new materials for the re-evaluation of the situation. He greeted the inclusion of the Vietnamese at the next meeting and considered developments in Vietnam as a big defeat for the Chinese leaders.
Comrade Castro pointed out:….
The real danger that the Imperialist powers [will] do the same with China as the Western powers did at Munich with Hitler….
Comrade Castro asked after developments in Kampuchea and noted his fears that if the revolutionary front worked with the Chinese intervention then the regime might be saved.
The extensive comments of Comrade Castro about the Cuban exiles lead one to suspect that Castro and the entire leadership are very concerned with this issue, especially with the strong institutional bond of this group to Cuba.
We must make better use for the revolution of the exiles' feelings for Cuba, he said.
He said it is better to have a “Trojan horse” over there in America than in Cuba and that dissatisfied Cubans who move to the US could contribute to friction between the exiles and the US government….
Langer
Mahlow
14.12. [1978]
Short summary of an East German meeting with Fidel Castro. Castro discusses China and the recent Interkit meeting, as well as the issue of Cuban exiles in the United States.
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SAPMO-BA document on Parallel History Project on Cooperative Security (PHP) website. Obtained by Bernd Schaefer and translated for CWIHP by David Wolff.
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