Cuba won't change when Castro dies, Conaway says

Cuba won't change when Castro dies, Conaway says
Bob Campbell Staff Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram
12/20/2006

The death of Fidel Castro will not bring democracy to Cuba and the U.

S. should therefore not relax its trade embargo and travel restrictions
on the island nation, U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway believes.

However, the Midland Republican said he was the only one of six House
Democrats and four Republicans to remain in favor of the restrictions
after meeting Cuban leaders last Friday and Saturday.

"The people I met were warm, gracious and open on an individual basis,"
Conaway said en route to San Angelo on Tuesday morning. "The most
startling thing I found is that when Castro dies, there will not be a
big upheaval to overthrow that government.

"Each of the ministers we met with was markedly disinterested in talking
about human rights, freedom of the press or free and fair elections. In
the Cuban justice system, the defense lawyer only gets the police report
15 minutes before the trial starts."

Noting Castro ceded power to his brother Raul last July, Conaway said
the infirm 80-year-old dictator is not expected to be able to serve as
head of state again. He had run Cuba since overthrowing Fulgencio
Batista in 1959, declaring fealty to the Soviet Union and instituting a
communist system.

When asked if the Cuban bureaucracy looks able to sustain itself after
Castro dies, the congressman said, "We met with the foreign minister,
the president of the national assembly, the archbishop of Havana and
ministers of banking, oil and gas and the basic industries.

"They're sold out to their way of government and it appears Castro has a
cadre of communist leaders in place to move forward without him."

Conaway said the new Democratic leadership of the U.S. House in
Washington will rename the Committee on International Relations the
Committee on Foreign Relations and vote to end the limitations.

Referring to President Bush's support of maintaining them, Conaway said,
"It's a question of if they can get to the veto-proof level.

"They might get 218 votes, but can they get two-thirds (of 435) to
override a veto?"

The delegation met with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, National
Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon and Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino,
among others. It also included Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona and
Democrats Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Gregory Meeks of New York
-- all members of the international committee where the bill will originate.

Others were Republicans Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri and Jerry Moran of
Kansas and Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Hilda Solis of
California, Lincoln Davis of Tennessee and Jane Harman of California.
Davis and Harman are members of the 46-member Blue Dog Coalition of
conservative Democrats, who sometimes act as a swing vote.

"Nothing on my trip persuaded me that ending the trade embargo and
travel restrictions would have any positive impact on moving Cuba toward
a democracy," said Conaway. "There are other areas such as narcotics
trafficking on which I believe we can make progress.

"If they had a change in government, American tourists would flock to
Cuba. Havana has been neglected for 50 years, but you can still imagine
what it was like in its heyday. It was an incredible jewel and it would
flourish again because it was a beautiful place."

The House Agriculture Committee member said the U.S. exports $500
million a year in agricultural commodities to Cuba, 100 miles east of
Florida in the Caribbean Sea, and sells increasing amounts of medicine
and pharmaceuticals there.

"The press is controlled and it is striking to understand the Cuban
government is fearful of showing Major League Baseball news," Conaway
said. "Why would their administration be threatened by anything as
trivial as baseball scores?"

©MyWestTexas.com 2006

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