Cuba's Fidel Castro signaled continued resistance to rapprochement between Washington and Havana, writing in an opinion piece yesterday that his country "has no need of gifts" from the United States.

The former president, 89, remained out of sight during last week's historic visit to the communist island by U.S. President Barack Obama, which aimed to cement normalization.

In his first published remarks about the visit, Castro seemed unwilling to forgive and forget more than a half-century of enmity between the two countries, declaring in the Granma newspaper that Cuba "has no need of gifts from the empire." He made his remarks in a piece entitled "El Hermano Obama" – "Brother Obama." "Listening to the words of the US president could give anyone a heart attack," Castro said, in an ironic barb. "Nobody has any illusion that the people of this noble and selfless country will surrender glory and rights and the spiritual wealth that has come through the development of education, science and culture."

During last week's three-day visit, Obama thrilled Cubans by calling for democracy and greater freedom, and took part in baseball diplomacy during a match between Cuban and American professional players. He is the first president to set foot on the island in nearly seven decades. For more than 50 years, Cuba was an unimaginable destination for a U.S. president, as well as many American citizens. The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution sparked fears of communism spreading to the western hemisphere. Domestic politics in both countries contributed to the continued estrangement well after the Cold War ended.

The landmark visit was spearheaded by the U.S. president and Cuba's current leader Raul Castro, who has proven to be far more reform-minded than his revolutionary icon brother, whom he succeeded as the island's president a decade ago. Since handing the presidency over to his younger brother, Fidel Castro has spent his time writing reflections, which occasionally appear in the communist party press.