HAVANA — Fidel Castro says the only “arms” that China has sent Cuba in recent months are rice, beans and cloth for making uniforms.
U.S. State Department officials last week expressed concerns about reports that China was shipping military equipment to Cuba, although the State Department later pulled back from the statement.
Castro said late Tuesday that the three Chinese shipments to Cuba over the past year contained items such as cloth, needles, thread and buttons for making uniforms, and also material for making explosives for nonmilitary uses in Cuba’s construction and mining industries.
“Yes, those are arms for killing!” Castro said ironically. “Look at the munitions!”
Castro said that Havana had not acquired any armaments from China in 34 years, nor had it spent “a single cent” on arms from any nation in a decade.
The Cuban leader also said that no agreement was signed implying the sending of arms during a visit last December by high-ranking Chinese military leaders.
Castro offered a detailed accounting of the three Chinese shipments during an appearance on the government’s regular weeknight public affairs show, down to the number of sewing needles — 97,500 — on a May 10, 2000, shipment from Shanghai.
Under U.S. law, economic sanctions must be applied to countries that transfer lethal military equipment to nations on the State Department’s list of countries that sponsor international terrorism. Cuba has been on the list for years
