AFP Castro "Joked" Communism Doesn't Work, But Was It A Joke?

So was it a joke, or is AFP stroking out that Castro has denounced the "Cuban model?" The story is that Fidel Castro told an American journalist "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore." Now that is quite a story, but maybe even bigger is the AFP trying to defend the "Cuban model," known to most of us as Communism. Here is the screen shot of the AFP caption under the photo on Yahoo News.

    

I looked for the September 3rd date, thinking Castro spoke and made the "joke" other than stating the fact over lunch with Goldberg, but could find nothing. I also looked for the original APF story but no luck. 

Goldberg's story in The Atlantic shows no humor in Castro's statement. Think about it, Castro is not long for this world. He has never been accused of being stupid, so perhaps these days he gives a bit more thought to speaking to the Almighty when he leaves this earth, and knows the opportunity to knock on the pearly gates will not be fruitful. Perhaps he is thinking of the legacy he will leave behind with the Cubans who have endured hunger, no fuel, few autos, and imprisonment for all who opposed him. Perhaps he knows he will not be remembered fondly.

So what do you think about the AFP's had in mind when they said Castro joked about the "Cuban model" not working?

Posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook