• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 01 / 12 / 2011

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HAVANA, CUBA: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro on Monday condemned the recent mass shooting in Arizona and said Latin America can live without the United States.

In Castro's latest 'Reflection' article, the 84-year-old Cuban leader begins by describing the Arizona shooting as "atrocious." The shooting happened on Saturday at a supermarket in Tucson where U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was hosting her first "Congress on Your Corner" of the year. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, opened fire, killing six people and injuring 13 others.

Among the fatalities were 9-year-old Christina Greene and U.S. District Judge John Roll. U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who appears to have been the target, was critically injured as a result of a gunshot wound to her head.

Castro continued to focus his article on violence, saying that thousands of Latin American immigrants are arrested every year in their attempt to enter the United States illegally and escape their native but underdeveloped and poor countries. "Money and merchandise can cross borders freely," Castro says. "Human beings cannot."

As a constant critic of the United States, Castro went on to call the U.S. the "largest drug consumer in the world, as well as the biggest arms distributor."

"Even though it hurts our modesty, it is a bitter responsibility to state that our blocked, threatened, and calumniated country has shown that Latin American communities can live without violence and drugs. They can can even live, as it has happened for over half a century, without relations with the United States," Castro stated.--BNO News

Source: www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-121514.html