Castro handover seen unlikely to change US policy

Castro handover seen unlikely to change US policy

By Saul Hudson Tue Aug 1, 11:15 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is unlikely to heed calls to
loosen its embargo against Cuba that are expected to intensify following
President
Fidel Castro's temporary transfer of power to his brother.

A State Department official said there would be no change in policy
toward Cuba, whether Castro or his brother Raul were in charge, because
of American laws restricting U.S. dealings with the communist government.

"This is one of our most regimented policies. Our hands are tied by
laws," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he
wanted to avoid preempting more senior officials' public comments that
are expected later on Tuesday.

The United States has a detailed plan to push Cuba toward democracy, but
its measures, such as technical assistance to election authorities and
money for non-governmental groups, cannot be implemented unless Cuban
officials request it.

"Raul's communist history means he's not likely to be calling us for
help," the official said.

Castro said in a "proclamation" read out by an aide on state television
that he was leaving his 75-year-old brother in charge while he recovered
from intestinal surgery, which medical experts said was a risky
procedure for a 79-year-old.

The policy followed by successive U.S. administrations and backed by the
powerful lobby of Cuban-Americans in the sometimes pivotal electoral
state of Florida is widely seen to have failed to undermine Castro.

Critics of the four-decade-old embargo, including some U.S. Congress
members, foreign governments and political analysts, say Washington
should engage Cuba to encourage better human rights and political
change, as with other communist-run countries like China.

OIL AND FOOD

The American food industry has won the biggest concession from U.S.
administrations and is allowed to export to Cuba, helping to make the
United States one of Cuba's top trade partners despite the embargo.

Reps. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and William Delahunt, a
Massachusetts Democrat, who head a 50-strong bipartisan group in
Congress opposing the U.S. Cuba policy, have also sought to loosen the
embargo.

Worried that competitors such as China are moving into the market, they
have proposed legislation that would permit U.S. energy companies to
partner with Cuba to drill in the waters of an island roughly 90 miles
from the United States.

But congressional aides hold little hope the legislation will pass
because most lawmakers are leery of shifting such a long-standing policy
that is highly emotive for many voters in Florida who hate the
repression they see against relatives.

That sentiment was reflected by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio,
voting record), a Florida Republican, and one of the toughest proponents
of keeping an embargo that severely restricts Americans' travel to Cuba
and blocks investment in its lucrative tourism industry.

"It is a marvelous moment for the millions of Cubans who live under his
iron fisted rule and oppressive state machinery. I hope this is the
beginning of the end for his despised regime," she said.

Larry Birns, a Bush critic at the Washington-based Council on
Hemispheric Affairs, said such passion echoed an ideology in the Bush
administration that would prevent any rethinking of U.S. policy because
of Castro's surgery.

"The farm lobby and those lawmakers representing oil will use this
moment of change to up the pressure, he said. "But the Bush
administration will not budge because of its unrelenting hostility
toward the Cuban government, regardless of whether the first name of its
leader is Fidel or Raul."

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