Change in Cuba only after Castro dies, says US official
Published on Monday, June 4, 2007
By Tom Brown
MIAMI, USA (Reuters): The United States will have to wait until Cuban
leader Fidel Castro dies to see if a better future is in store for his
communist-ruled Caribbean island, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
said on Saturday.
He also acknowledged that President George W. Bush may leave office
without seeing any of the changes his administration has pushed for in Cuba.
"He (Castro) has tilted Cuba toward the failed model that exists today,
and we'll have to wait and see if the future is better when he is no
longer around," Gutierrez told Reuters in an interview.
His comments appeared to mark a dramatic shift from just a few months
ago, when Gutierrez said Cuba was at a "critical juncture" in its
history and poised for change.
Gutierrez, a Cuban-American, co-chairs a commission created by Bush to
press for a democratic transition in Cuba. He was in Miami, the
heartland of Cuban exile opposition to Castro, to address a meeting of
Latin American chambers of commerce and industry.
He spoke when asked about a top Cuban official's claim that Castro was
now fully on the mend after an intestinal ailment that put his life at
risk last year.
Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon told CNN on Friday
that Castro, 80, who handed over power temporarily to his brother Raul
Castro on July 31 after emergency surgery, had put the "worst behind him."
Gutierrez told Reuters "no one really knows" about Castro's health,
apart perhaps from those in his inner circle.
But he said no one should look for changes in US policy toward Cuba,
which Washington has long sought to isolate through an economic embargo,
without a major shake-up in Cuban government policies.
He did not elaborate on what specific changes could prompt a lifting of
the embargo, which has been in place for more than four decades. He
stressed that Washington was looking for something more than "changes
around the edges," however.
"Change needs to happen in Cuba," Gutierrez said. "We are firm on that
... change needs to happen on the island."
Acknowledging that Bush could leave office in January 2009 with Cuba is
still "stuck in the 20th century," as he sees it, Gutierrez said it
would be "a shame" for everyone.
"The people who will continue to suffer are the people in Cuba," he
added. "They lack everything, they will continue to lack everything
because of failed policies."
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-1862--5-5--.html
Published on Monday, June 4, 2007
By Tom Brown
MIAMI, USA (Reuters): The United States will have to wait until Cuban
leader Fidel Castro dies to see if a better future is in store for his
communist-ruled Caribbean island, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
said on Saturday.
He also acknowledged that President George W. Bush may leave office
without seeing any of the changes his administration has pushed for in Cuba.
"He (Castro) has tilted Cuba toward the failed model that exists today,
and we'll have to wait and see if the future is better when he is no
longer around," Gutierrez told Reuters in an interview.
His comments appeared to mark a dramatic shift from just a few months
ago, when Gutierrez said Cuba was at a "critical juncture" in its
history and poised for change.
Gutierrez, a Cuban-American, co-chairs a commission created by Bush to
press for a democratic transition in Cuba. He was in Miami, the
heartland of Cuban exile opposition to Castro, to address a meeting of
Latin American chambers of commerce and industry.
He spoke when asked about a top Cuban official's claim that Castro was
now fully on the mend after an intestinal ailment that put his life at
risk last year.
Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon told CNN on Friday
that Castro, 80, who handed over power temporarily to his brother Raul
Castro on July 31 after emergency surgery, had put the "worst behind him."
Gutierrez told Reuters "no one really knows" about Castro's health,
apart perhaps from those in his inner circle.
But he said no one should look for changes in US policy toward Cuba,
which Washington has long sought to isolate through an economic embargo,
without a major shake-up in Cuban government policies.
He did not elaborate on what specific changes could prompt a lifting of
the embargo, which has been in place for more than four decades. He
stressed that Washington was looking for something more than "changes
around the edges," however.
"Change needs to happen in Cuba," Gutierrez said. "We are firm on that
... change needs to happen on the island."
Acknowledging that Bush could leave office in January 2009 with Cuba is
still "stuck in the 20th century," as he sees it, Gutierrez said it
would be "a shame" for everyone.
"The people who will continue to suffer are the people in Cuba," he
added. "They lack everything, they will continue to lack everything
because of failed policies."
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-1862--5-5--.html
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