Of course, the Castro regime is denying it. But as history has shown time and again, whenever the Cuban dictatorship denies something, it means they actually did it.
Via Reuters, and check out the portrait hanging on the wall in the accompanying article photograph:
No conditions for pope on Cuba trip – envoy
(Reuters) – Cuba has not made any demands on Pope Benedict for him to condemn the 50-year-old U.S. embargo on the island when he visits next month but would welcome a new pronouncement if he decides to make it, Cuba’s ambassador to the Vatican said on Wednesday.
In a wide-ranging interview, Ambassador Eduardo Delgado Bermudez also said a possible meeting between Benedict and Fidel Castro was not on the programme “for now” but could not exclude it. He said Castro was in “excellent” overall health.
So they don’t “demand” it but “would welcome” it. Semantic bullshit. The pope knows they expect it, and he’ll deliver.
Even if the pope were to “forget” to condemn the embargo, Ortega would be sure to “remind” him.
The photo may have been taken in Delgado’s office, in which case everything fits. However, if a picture of Fidel is on display in the Vatican’s Havana embassy, we have a serious problem, as in dangerously close to blasphemy.