By TRACEY EATON / The Dallas Morning News

HAVANA – Hundreds of thousands of Cubans spilled into the streets Friday to protest the Bush administration's latest efforts to tighten the more than 40-year-old ban on trade with the socialist government.

Cuban President Fidel Castro said he didn't want to offend President Bush – then proceeded to do just that, calling him a war monger intent on "world tyranny."

A U.S. diplomat in Havana rejected that view, saying that Mr. Castro is unfairly blaming the American government for Cuba's crumbling economy.

"As he has done so unconvincingly in the past, Fidel Castro will play the victim and try to shift the blame for his ineptitude to the United States. The world has seen through his act. The fault is clearly his own," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The Cuban government said more than a million people turned out for Friday's march, which official media described as "the largest revolutionary protest in our history." The figure could not be independently confirmed, but the crowd appeared to consist of hundreds of thousands at least.

The protest came days after the Castro government stunned Cubans by halting sales at stores that sell goods in dollars. That meant that Cubans could no longer buy clothes, shoes, toys, cooking oil, TVs, refrigerators and other necessities at the so-called dollar stores.

Consumers upset
Many consumers were angry and confused.

"All this is going to increase crime," said Josefina Hernández, 27, a lawyer. "Robberies are going to rise."

Hector González, 23, an office worker, said he's unsure what to expect.

"I don't know anything about politics, but I have a son who is 10 months old and I'm worried that I won't be able to buy him what he needs."

Cuban officials said they acted in response to U.S. measures announced last week aimed at limiting how much Cuban-Americans can spend on the island and banning money transfers from the United States to members of the Communist Party.

Mr. Bush also said last week that the U.S. government planned to spend $59 million over the next two years to aid pro-democracy groups in Cuba and elsewhere and speed the end of the Castro regime.

In a letter to Mr. Bush, Mr. Castro protested the plan and said he would gladly die on the front lines defending his country against what he described as U.S. aggression.

He read the letter to the throng of Cubans who gathered along the Malecon, Havana's seaside highway.

His supporters carried posters of Mr. Bush wearing an Adolf Hitler-style mustache. They also waved photos of naked Iraqi prisoners held in detention by U.S. soldiers. "This would never happen in Cuba," they said.

The protesters also chanted "fascist Bush!" during the six-hour spectacle.

Diplomat blames Castro
The American diplomat said that Mr. Castro – and not Mr. Bush – is to blame for his country's dire economic straits.

"It is the responsibility of the Cuban government – not the United States – to provide for the material hardships of Cubans. And if the regime can't do it, then it should step aside so that Cubans can enjoy full economic and political freedom," the diplomat said.

The diplomat added that Cuban officials ought to work on repairing their economy instead of protesting.

The government-organized demonstration must have cost at least a million dollars – "a huge waste of money for a country that is bankrupt," the diplomat said.

Still, many Cubans said they support their government and have faith in Mr. Castro.

"Everything that our commander in chief does is good," said Moraima Santos, 60, a bathroom attendant. "He's never going to abandon us or leave us out in the street."

Emilio Lage, 36, a tourist guide, agreed and said he's not at all concerned about the closing of the stores.

"We've lived through worse years," he said.

Government officials say the dollar stores will be closed until further notice. Store managers say they expect them to reopen in about 10 days with higher prices.

"Days of work and sacrifice await us," a government statement said.