The President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, the main representative of the Cuban delegation following Fidel Castro's hasty departure from the UN Conference in Monterrey, confirmed in an interview with the Mexican daily 'Proceso' that Castro's departure was due to the pressures exerted by a 'very authoritative' person in the Mexican government. If this person is Mexican Foreign Relations secretary Jorge Castaneda, which was keen to avert a meeting between Castro and Bush, he did not specifically say but the directives from Condoleezza Rice where that a possible encounter had to be neutralised. Therefore it was made clear to Fidel that his welcome would not stretch beyond his presentation at the conference.