U.S. Closely Watching Situation in Cuba
08.01.2006, 08:18 AM
The Bush administration, which has made no secret of its desire to see
the end of Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba, said it is closely monitoring
the situation in the island nation with the deterioration of the elderly
leader's health.
"We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the
day of Cuba's freedom," said White House spokesman Peter Watkins.
The State Department declined comment, but the United States has been
open about the fact it is prepared to go to some lengths to ensure that
the communist system Castro created goes out with him.
It is official U.S. policy to "undermine" Cuba's planned succession from
Castro to his brother Raul, to whom Fidel Castro temporarily transferred
power Monday, citing an operation over an intestinal problem and
internal bleeding.
The transfer marked the first time that Castro, two weeks away from 80th
birthday, had relinquished power in 47 years of absolute rule.
Watkins, the White House spokesman, said the administration was
"monitoring the situation," though he did not provide details. Cuba
itself has disclosed little about the dictator's circumstances beyond
Monday's statement about Castro's operation.
Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, resisted repeated U.S.
attempts to oust him and survived communism's demise elsewhere.
A 2004 report to President Bush by the Commission for Assistance to a
Free Cuba, led by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, spells out steps
to bring pressure on Castro and provide assistance if and when a
democratically inclined leadership takes power.
Bush said upon the report's release: "We believe the people of Cuba
should be free from tyranny. We believe the future of Cuba is a future
of freedom."
Cuba has been under a U.S. financial embargo since 1961, two years after
the Castro came to power with the ousting of then-President Fulgencio
Batista.
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