Fidel Castro still controls Cuba: U.S.
Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:48PM EDT
By Arshad Mohammed and Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is still
in control of the country and repression has increased during the rule
of his younger brother Raul, a top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.
"Fidel Castro remains a ... controlling political presence," U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said in an interview at the
Reuters Latin American Investment Summit.
Castro stepped down last July 31 after undergoing emergency intestinal
surgery, but Shannon said Cuba's human rights record has since
deteriorated as the government appeared to be trying to fend off any
push for change.
"One thing that we have noted during this transfer-of-power period is
that repression has increased," he said. "It's very important for ...
these new governors -- if you want to call them that -- to show that
they are in control and that they can manage the regime and that they
can manage the Cuban state and that they cannot challenged."
Castro is thought to have suffered from diverticulitis, or inflamed
bulges in the large intestine, though his exact condition is a state
secret in Cuba.
The last significant Cold War player to defy the United States, Castro
handed power to his brother Raul when he stepped aside almost eight
months ago.
DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
While Raul Castro has voiced a willingness to talk to the United States,
Shannon suggested the United States would consider such a dialogue only
as Cuba moved toward peaceful, democratic change.
"There is nothing new on that front because ... since Fidel Castro
remains this ... controlling presence it means that Raul and the people
around him are kind of frozen. There is not a lot that they can do,"
said Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America.
He said Washington wanted to see clear signs of change, including a
release of political prisoners.
"Any positive step would be welcome ... We have made it clear that our
engagement will be determined by change in Cuba and that the degree to
which the Cubans show a willingness to take positive steps, we'll
respond to it," Shannon added, without saying how such steps would be
rewarded.
There is a move in the U.S. Congress to ease some travel and possibly
some trade restrictions against Cuba. Such efforts have, however, failed
in the past.
Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961, two years
after Fidel Castro seized power in a revolution and turned Cuba into a
Soviet ally.
Communications were restored with the opening of low-level diplomatic
missions called interest sections in 1978. But a strict U.S. embargo
remains in place.
Shannon said the United States was looking for additional ways to boost
the opposition in Cuba but this was difficult.
"It's a difficult period for the opposition because they don't know what
direction the Cuban regime is going to stake out for the future," he said.
He also said countries that have relationships with Cuba, such as Canada
and Spain, should underscore to Havana the need for change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/LatinAmericanInvestment07/idUSN2122435220070321
Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:48PM EDT
By Arshad Mohammed and Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is still
in control of the country and repression has increased during the rule
of his younger brother Raul, a top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.
"Fidel Castro remains a ... controlling political presence," U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said in an interview at the
Reuters Latin American Investment Summit.
Castro stepped down last July 31 after undergoing emergency intestinal
surgery, but Shannon said Cuba's human rights record has since
deteriorated as the government appeared to be trying to fend off any
push for change.
"One thing that we have noted during this transfer-of-power period is
that repression has increased," he said. "It's very important for ...
these new governors -- if you want to call them that -- to show that
they are in control and that they can manage the regime and that they
can manage the Cuban state and that they cannot challenged."
Castro is thought to have suffered from diverticulitis, or inflamed
bulges in the large intestine, though his exact condition is a state
secret in Cuba.
The last significant Cold War player to defy the United States, Castro
handed power to his brother Raul when he stepped aside almost eight
months ago.
DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
While Raul Castro has voiced a willingness to talk to the United States,
Shannon suggested the United States would consider such a dialogue only
as Cuba moved toward peaceful, democratic change.
"There is nothing new on that front because ... since Fidel Castro
remains this ... controlling presence it means that Raul and the people
around him are kind of frozen. There is not a lot that they can do,"
said Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America.
He said Washington wanted to see clear signs of change, including a
release of political prisoners.
"Any positive step would be welcome ... We have made it clear that our
engagement will be determined by change in Cuba and that the degree to
which the Cubans show a willingness to take positive steps, we'll
respond to it," Shannon added, without saying how such steps would be
rewarded.
There is a move in the U.S. Congress to ease some travel and possibly
some trade restrictions against Cuba. Such efforts have, however, failed
in the past.
Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961, two years
after Fidel Castro seized power in a revolution and turned Cuba into a
Soviet ally.
Communications were restored with the opening of low-level diplomatic
missions called interest sections in 1978. But a strict U.S. embargo
remains in place.
Shannon said the United States was looking for additional ways to boost
the opposition in Cuba but this was difficult.
"It's a difficult period for the opposition because they don't know what
direction the Cuban regime is going to stake out for the future," he said.
He also said countries that have relationships with Cuba, such as Canada
and Spain, should underscore to Havana the need for change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/LatinAmericanInvestment07/idUSN2122435220070321
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