Castro says Bush guilty of 'authorising and ordering' his death

Fidel Castro today accused US President George Bush of both “authorising and ordering” an attempt on his life, but said he believed neither former President Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton ever tried to kill him.

Cuba’s 80-year-old “Maximum Leader” wrote in a long essay that ex-US President Gerald Ford signed an order banning official assassination and that Carter never wanted to kill him. He said he “couldn’t attribute” an attempt on his life to Clinton, but that the current White House resident has other ideas.

Recovering from an undisclosed ailment, Castro has not been seen in public in the 11 months since announcing he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and stepping aside for a provisional government headed by his younger brother Raul.

In the meantime, he has penned a series of essays.

In one, on May 29, Castro alleged that Bush, when asked recently about his Cuban policy, replied “I'm a hard-line president and I’m only waiting for Castro to die.”

“I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, who Bush has ordered to be deprived of life,” Castro wrote then, offering no details of the alleged conversation.