Mar. 21, 1963 - Premier Fidel Castro (pictured right in 1960) said in an interview published in Paris today that if Premier Khrushchev (left) had come to Cuba after his withdrawal of Soviet missiles last fall, “I would have boxed his ears.” In an interview with the Paris newspaper Le Monde, Premier Castro was critical of Mr. Khrushchev’s action in the missile crisis, declaring “he avoided war, but he did not win the peace.” “He should not have removed his missiles without consulting us,” Premier Castro was quoted as having said. “Cuba does not want to be a pawn on the world’s chess board. Cuban sovereignty is a reality. I cannot agree with Khrushchev promising Kennedy to pull out his rockets without the slightest regard to the indispensable approval of the Cuban Government.
