Fidel Disses 'Comic Strip' Spy Charges for US Couple

But he commends those who help Cuba

By Amelia Atlas, Newser User

Posted Jun 7, 2009 5:04 AM CDT

(Newser) – Fidel Castro has dismissed the charges against an American couple charged with spying for Cuba as baseless, reports Reuters. While he has not confirmed or denied the accusations against former State Department official Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Castro wrote on his website that he had no memory of meeting the couple in 1995, as the US Justice Department contends.

"Doesn't this Cuban espionage comic strip seem pretty ridiculous?" Castro wrote. He went on to emphasize that Cuba had never paid or tortured to obtain information, and commended those who have sought to protect Cuba "at the initiative of their own conscience."

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Retired State Dept. worker Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn, have been arrested on charges of spying for Cuba for three decades. One official described the breach as "incredibly serious." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Fidel Castro poses for a photo during a meeting with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, in Havana early this year. (AP Photo/Argentinean Presidential Press Office)

Fidel Castro speaks during a meeting with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro last year. (AP Photo/Juventud Revelde)

Clinton has ordered a damage assessment after learning that a retired State Dept worker with a top-secret security clearance and his wife have been charged with spying for Cuba for 30 years. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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At the time I met with thousands of North Americans for different reasons, both individually and in groups ... so I can hardly be asked to remember details of a meeting with just two people. - Fidel Castro

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Fidel Disses 'Comic Strip' Spy Charges for US Couple