Cuba Offers Peru Rebels A Deal

Cuban President Fidel Castro, saying he was fulfilling a “moral duty,” offered asylum Monday to Peruvian guerrillas still holding 72 hostages in Lima.

Castro’s offer came after Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori made a surprise visit to Cuba, seeking Castro’s help in ending the hostage crisis in which rebels have been holding 72 top Peruvian officials since December.

“This is a moral duty, not a position taken merely for advantages,” Castro told reporters after seeing off Fujimori, who returned to Lima late Monday.

While his comments appeared to open a door to a possible solution, it is not clear if the Tupac Amaru rebels demanding freedom for 300 jailed colleagues will agree to go to Cuba.

Cuba and Jamaica have been named as possible havens for the rebels if a deal can be reached to end the standoff.

Earlier Monday, the Tupac Amaru spokesman in Europe, Isaac Velasco, rejected the suggestion of exile for the guerrillas.