Fidel on the Betancourt Rescue

Most of the planet is rejoicing over the dramatic rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages held by the FARC. Not to be left out of the celebration, Fidel Castro has weighed in (whoops, left out the link, found here. Thanks Richard!):

...by a basic sentiment of humanity, we were gladdened by the news that Ingrid Betancourt, three American citizens and other captives had been liberated."
The Colombian guerrillas "never should have kidnapped the civilians or held the military men prisoner under the conditions existing in the jungle," Castro wrote. "Those were objectively cruel actions. No revolutionary purpose could justify them. In due course, it will be necessary to analyze the subjective factors in depth. In Cuba, we won our revolutionary war by granting immediate and unconditional freedom to our prisoners. We turned over to the International Red Cross all soldiers and officers captured in each battle, keeping only their weapons.

Shameless. I suppose it's possible that he is getting senile, and forgotten the hundreds he executed before firing squads. He may have also lost his memory of the political prisoners kept for so long they are called los olvidados, the forgotten. Perhaps literally forgotten by Castro, now?

Sadly, it appears Fidel will die of old age and avoid the firing squad himself. In the meantime he's still trying to fool people, to hide the fact that the brutal FARC is his direct ideological and moral heir.