From Herald Wire Services

  Fidel Castro characterized President Bush as Adolf Hitler and Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar as his fascist attendant during a speech to a congress on college education in Havana.

  The speech lasted three hours and 20 minutes, beginning Friday night and ending Saturday morning. The Cuban leader described Bush and Aznar as ''repugnant
  personages'' and said the work of the Cuban people ``in the face of hostility, blockade and aggression cannot be destroyed.''

  Several news services in Havana reported that Castro also called Aznar a ''Mussolini-like acolyte'' of Bush, whom he described ''the Fuhrer who today holds in his hands the reins of the empire.'' Cuban government officials often refer to the United States as ``the empire.''

  Castro's attack on Aznar appeared to be in response to a statement made by the Spanish leader during a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday in Washington. On Jan. 30, Castro accused President Bush and Cuban Americans in Miami of plotting to assassinate him.

  ''We know that Mr. Bush has committed himself to the mafia . . . to assassinate me,'' Castro said, using his favorite term for hard-line Cuban exiles. In previous speeches, Castro says the plot was hatched during a Texas meeting between Bush and exiles before the 2000 presidential election.