Back in August 2006, Andres Oppenheimer saw Castro in Argentina and wrote Castro's image of bravery doesn't match reality.
Castro is a coward:
"Unlike every other Latin American and Caribbean leader, Castro has not had the guts to allow a free election in 47 years;
Unlike all other Latin American and Caribbean leaders, Castro is the only leader in the region who doesn't have the courage to allow independent political parties. In his island, only one party -- his -- is allowed, and whoever doesn't join it is suspected of being an "anti-social" element. According to the latest Amnesty International report, there are nearly 70 prisoners of conscience in Cuban prisons, while Human Rights Watch puts the figure at 306.
Unlike all other regional leaders, Castro doesn't have the confidence to allow a single independent newspaper, radio or television station, or to allow people with different ideas to even appear on Cuban media. Cuba's laws specifically bar anybody in Cuba from publishing "non-authorized news" abroad, making those who do it liable to "enemy propaganda" charges that carry several years in prison."
Castro is afraid of press conferences:
"When Miami's Channel 41 reporter Juan Manuel Cao asked him at an improvised press conference in Argentina about Hilda Molina, a renowned Cuban doctor who is being denied a permit to visit Argentina to see her son and grandchildren, an infuriated Castro asked the reporter, "Who is paying you?" and later accused him of being "a mercenary" for President Bush."We know who this man is. He is a coward and a liar. I'm sorry but I cannot say anything good about this despicable character.