WITHOUT naming US president-elect Barack Obama, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has cast doubt on the possibility that a new president would bring much change in American policy.

In an obtusely worded column published on the internet on Friday, Castro said that "many dream that with the simple change of command in the leadership of the empire, it will be more tolerant and less bellicose."

"The most intimate thoughts of the citizen who will take the helm are not yet known."

But he went on: "It would be highly naive to believe that the good intentions of one intelligent person could change what centuries of interests and selfishness have created. Human history shows another thing."

Obama, who was elected on November 4 and takes office on January 20 as the first black to lead the United States, has raised hopes of better US-Cuba relations by saying he would hold talks with the Cuban government and ease the 46-year-old US trade embargo against the Communist-led island.

Before the election, Castro praised Obama as intelligent and humanitarian in the columns that have become his primary form of public communication since undergoing intestinal surgery for an undisclosed ailment in July 2006.