Fidel Castro sports a contraband tracksuit

Cuban President Fidel Castro made an unusual fashion choice this week in some of the first published photos of him in more than a year.

The pictures, released this weekend, show the Cuban leader in a white Nike tracksuit with a visible breast pocket “swoosh” logo.

The only hitch? It’s illegal for Nike to sell its products in Cuba, owing to a more than four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo on the island.

The most likely explanation for the banned tracksuit is that Castro imports his Nike gear from a non-embargoed nation. But rocking the “swoosh” logo may also be a subtle way for Castro to thumb his nose at the trade embargo while reminding the world of how well it is working.

Later this week Castro is scheduled to give a speech on the topic of how the United States is leading the world toward nuclear destruction. Hopefully, he’ll wear American apparel for that one, too.

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