Castro Has 14 Homes, Fleet of Yachts, Defector Charges
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WASHINGTON — President Fidel Castro has a home in each of Cuba’s 14 provinces, a fleet of yachts and a Swiss bank account he uses to satisfy his whims, according to a high-ranking Cuban defector.
In an interview with Radio Marti, Florentino Azpillaga, a veteran intelligence agent who defected two months ago, also said that Castro has four children studying in Moscow. Only one child, 37-year-old Fidelito, has ever been officially acknowledged.
The State Department confirmed Monday that Azpillaga, 40, had defected on June 6 by slipping across the border into Austria from Czechoslovakia, where he had served as chief of Cuban intelligence. Spokesman Charles Redman would give no further details on Azpillaga or his whereabouts, although defectors often are debriefed in the Washington area.
Radio Marti, the Voice of America broadcast operation for Cuba, made available a summary of its Aug. 3 interview with Azpillaga.
Azpillaga said that when Castro turned 60 last year, an intelligence agent with an illicit business sent him a $4.2 million gift for his Swiss bank account.
Azpillaga maintained that a recent anti-CIA campaign in Cuba was the result of his defection.
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