Castro: Miami Cubans Want Me Dead

Cuban President Fidel Castro said Friday that a U.S. Cuban exile group is plotting to kill him, and has smuggled weapons and explosives into Panama, where he is attending an international summit.

At a news conference held at the hotel where he is staying during the 10th Ibero-American summit of Latin American and European leaders, Castro said the Miami-based U.S. Cuban-American National Foundation "has sent people to Panama with the purpose of eliminating me physically."

"They are already in Panama and they have introduced weapons and explosives," he said.

Ninoska Perez, a spokeswoman for the Cuban-American National Foundation in Miami, said the group has no one in Panama and that Castro "should get a new story."

"He has accused us of everything in the book. There is no reason why we should have to respond to unfounded accusations," she said. "He is the terrorist. They are accusations without proof. Where are the people he's talking about?"

"Fidel Castro's like an aged rock star that needs to attract attention somehow," she added.

Castro said the squad plotting to kill him was directed by "the infamous Luis Posada Carriles, a cowardly man totally without scruples." The Cuban-American National Foundation said it has no links to Posada.

Castro repeated previous claims that Posada organized the 1976 bombing of a Cubana de Aviacion jetliner that killed 73 people, as well as several other plots against his own life.

Castro said Cuban officials had earlier informed "people who should be informed" in Panama about the case and said they would make a formal report to Panamanian authorities.

Panamanian Interior Minister Winston Spadafora said he had learned of the allegation earlier in the day and said Panamanian intelligence chief Pablo Quintero Luna had been sent to speak with Cuban security about the issue.

He said Castro "has had his advance security in Panama for several months. He has been offered all security and all cooperation."

Castro's manner veered between the grim and the almost playful as he joked about the "about 600" attempts on his life. Asked why he was wearing a military uniform, he jokingly said, "Brother, we're in a state of war."

Castro said his agents "almost, almost" had located Posada and that they would cooperate fully with Panamanian officials.

"We feel that Panamanian authorities have the duty to locate the terrorist leader and his accomplices, keep them from escaping," he said.

Castro's statement overshadowed the start of the Ibero-American summit of 19 Latin American countries along with Spain and Portugal.

In brief remarks earlier on arrival, Castro, 74, praised Panama for achieving "full sovereignty" with the December 1999 handover of the formerly U.S.-owned Panama Canal and the departure of U.S. troops, who maintained a presence in te country for 97 years.

With Panama a stronghold of U.S. influence, Washington's least-favorite Latin leader had never visited the country since taking power in 1959, though he made a brief stop here in 1948 on the way to a student conference in Colombia before taking up arms against Cuba's old government.

"Today everything has changed," Castro said after shaking hands with President Mireya Moscoso. "There are no troops shooting on students and the people of Panama own its canal and administer it excellently."

The Ibero-American leaders planned to adopt resolutions attacking exploitation and other problems affecting children before ending their summit on Saturday.

They were expected to promise to dedicate more resources to aid children in a region where many live in poverty and must drop out of school.

Two presidents said they would not be able to attend: Peru's Alberto Fujimori and Nicaragua's Arnoldo Aleman.

El Salvador proposed a resolution condemning political violence, especially that of the Basque separatist group ETA in Spain, but Cuba reportedly balked at singling out ETA.

Panama's foreign minister, Jose Miguel Aleman, said the foreign ministers at the summit had not discussed the U.S. presidential election.

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