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Jose "Pepe" Mujica, the 81-year-old former president of Uruguay who has been involved in politics his whole life and seen a parade of leaders come and go, thinks U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has “powerful enemies” and won't be around for long.
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Mujica said that Trump may very well damage bilateral relations between the U.S. and Cuba but the effect would be temporary.
“I bet the (Cuban) Revolution lasts longer than Trump,” Mujica told Uruguay Radio from Havana, where he is taking part in events commemorating the late leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.
“The revolution has shown signs of resilience,” added Mujica.
On the other hand, the former Uruguayan president thinks Trump has a difficult four years ahead of him.
“Trump has powerful enemies, who are not the ones who are (immediately) apparent, they are the new global plutocracy, the multinationals," said Mujica. "That won't be an easy match."
Trump has threatened to reverse the progress made in U.S.-Cuba relations during the Obama administrations, tweeting last week that the would terminate the "deal" with Cuba. His chief of staff, Reince Priebus, has also made similar comments.
When news broke of Fidel's passing, Trump issued an odd tweet that seemed to suggest he was celebrating the death of Fidel.
The U.S. president-elect on Saturday simply tweeted "Fidel Castro is dead!" but later he issued a longer statement calling Fidel a "brutal dictator" and yearning for a “free Cuba.”
Mujica was not the only regional leader to take exception with Trump's attitude. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa called Trump “ignorant.”
“The words of an ignorant (person) … an example of what Latin America can expect,” said Correa.
Bolivian President Evo Morales also criticized Trump.
"Almost everyone cries … but the president-elect of the United States with a group of people are celebrating,” Morales said in a speech Sunday.
Fidel Castro's ashes are traveling on a cross-country tour from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, where he will be honored with a state funeral Sunday and put to rest alongside Cuban national heroes.
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