Havana, March 28 (RHC).- Former president and leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro said Cuba "has no need of gifts" from the United States, in an opinion piece Monday. The comments came days after U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba.

In a piece titled "El Hermano Obama" which translates to "Brother Obama," Fidel Castro lashed out at the U.S. president's call in Havana on Tuesday "to forget the past". The Cuban leader takes note of the effects of a U.S. economic circle that nears 6 decades, of the many deaths caused by mercenary attacks and sabotages to Cuban ports, ships and planes, and goes on to assert that Cubans are able to produce the food and material wealth Cuba needs with the effort and intelligence of its people. “We do not need the empire to gift us anything,” says Fidel in the article, published in Cuba’s Granma daily newspaper.

In late 2014, Cuba and the U.S. announced that they would begin to normalize relations, after more than 50 years of U.S. non-engagement and hostility. The two countries established embassies in their capital cities in July 2014.

President Raul Castro has ¨highlighted the need for the two countries to learn to live with their differences, in a civilized way, as the process of normalization of relations unfolds. The Cuban government has also asked that President Barack Obama exercise his executive powers to further dismantle sanctions contained in the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.