Seems mindful of the greeting first accorded Fidel Castro just after he deposed Batista (Castro met with Nixon in 1959).
Months before meeting Kennedy, Ahmed Ben Bella urged the appropriation of European-owned lands. The US was fine with that but were upset when Castro nationalized foreign-owned sugar plantations. By April of 1964, Ben Bella was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union.
This was when the US was courting emerging postcolonial nations and they didn't care how much it reflected on France and Britain. Then came the US attempt to hold on to Vietnam.
Hold on meaning preventing the North from taking over the South. These were two separate nations. We or the South didn't threaten the North. If the North, allied with Moscow and Beijing, didn't try to take over the South the US would have had zero worries there.
The US got upset when Castro stole the revolution and replaced a right wing dictatorship with a left wing one. One that was subservient to Moscow. And then proceeded to shoot and arrest anyone who disagreed with him.
