Story highlights Fidel Castro is no longer the leader of Cuba but still has a strong influence

It was the first visit of a U.S. president to Cuba in 88 years

Havana, Cuba (CNN) As Cubans debate the impact of President Barack Obama's historic trip to the island last week, one prominent figure is lambasting the visit: Fidel Castro.

In a full page column titled "Brother Obama," published in the Cuban communist-party newspaper Granma, the former Cuban president rejected Obama's visit and words of reconciliation.

"We don't need the empire to give us anything," Castro wrote, referring to the United States, in his acidly critical and rambling column.

In 2008, Fidel Castro turned power over to his brother Raul following a mystery intestinal illness that nearly killed him.

While officially retired, Fidel Castro, 89, still wields enormous influence in Cuba and observers study his sporadic columns and appearances for insights into Cuba's opaque political system.

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