In a letter published last Friday, Mr Castro poked fun at US presidential candidates for their calls for a change to multiparty democracy in Cuba. ''Change, change, change!' they shouted in unison,' he wrote. 'I agree. 'Change!' But in the US.'

The letter published in official newspapers was the first word from Mr Castro, 81, since he announced his retirement on Tuesday. It also asserts that what the United States really wanted was to annex the island.

'We will never return to the past, say our people. 'Annexation, annexation, annexation!' the adversary responds. That's what he thinks, deep inside, when he talks about change.'

NYT