Castro: Osama bin Laden is a US Agent

The former Cuban President, Fidel Castro, said in a meeting with a Lithuanian writer on Friday that Osama bin Laden is paid by the US and cites WikiLeaks as the proof

"Who showed that he [Bin Laden] is indeed a CIA agent was WikiLeaks. It proved it with documents," he said without elaborating further.

Castro has claimed that Osama bin Laden is on CIA's payroll and that President George Bush summoned up the al-Qaeda leader whenever he needed to increase fear.

"Bush never lacked for Bin Laden's support. He was a subordinate," Castro said, according to the reports. "Any time Bush would stir up fear and make a big speech, Bin Laden would appear, threatening people with a story about what he was going to do."

Mr Castro said the WikiLeaks, a website that unveiled more than 90,000 US secret files on the Afghan war, pointed to who the al-Qaeda leader is really working for.

Castro stepped down due to illness in 2006 and handed power over power to his younger brother Raul Castro.

He has remained head of the Cuban Communist party but stayed out of view for four years after falling sick before making public appearance in July.