US congressmen in rare Cuba trip

US congressmen in rare Cuba trip

Ten US congressmen are travelling to Cuba in what is thought to be the
largest such delegation to visit since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

Members of the bipartisan group favour the easing of US sanctions on Cuba.

It has not been confirmed whether they are to meet the acting Cuban
leader, Raul Castro, who has recently expressed an interest in improving
ties.

President Fidel Castro, 80, temporarily ceded power to his brother after
having emergency intestinal surgery in July.

The US broke official ties with Cuba following Fidel Castro's rise to
power in 1959 and has had an economic embargo in place against the
island since 1960.

Important timing

The US delegation will spend three days in Cuba, during which time
members are due to meet several high-ranking Cuban officials.

The BBC's Americas editor Emilio San Pedro says the timing of the visit,
coming as Cuba undergoes what could be described as its most significant
internal political transformation in decades, is important.

However, it has yet to be seen if they will meet Raul Castro or whether
the trip will be anything more than symbolic, our correspondent says.

The visit has been criticised by some opponents of the Castro regime in
the US, including Cuban exiles in Miami, who say that economic interests
should not be put before human rights in Cuba.

The Bush administration has also shown no signs of embracing a thaw as
long as Cuba's communist system remains intact and political prisoners
remain in jail, our correspondent adds.

'Very ill'

Acting leader Raul Castro has given several indications that he may be
open to a warming of relations.

A fortnight ago, he used an address at a military parade held to mark
his older brother's 80th birthday to attack the US - but also to renew
an offer to hold talks with Washington.

Fidel Castro did not appear at the parade and has not been seen in
public since 26 July.

His last appearance on Cuban TV, looking frail and wearing pyjamas
rather than his trademark military fatigues, was in late October.

The top US intelligence official, John Negroponte, has told the
Washington Post newspaper that the president is believed to be very ill
and close to death.

"Everything we see indicates that it will not be much longer... months,
not years," he told the Post.

Cubans polled

Meanwhile, a poll of people living in Cuba's two largest cities released
by Gallup on Thursday suggests only one in four are satisfied with their
freedom to choose what they do with their lives.

The poll, of 600 Cubans in Havana and 400 from Santiago, also revealed
division over the performance of Cuba's leaders, with just under half
approving and 40% disapproving.

On Wednesday, the top US diplomat for Latin America, Tom Shannon,
criticised a greater crackdown on dissent since Raul Castro took power.

The US had also "not been able to detect there the emergence of any
political figure that could be reformist", he said, and there were no
clear signals about the path any future leadership would take.

Cuba's ruling Communist party newspaper Granma responded to Mr Shannon's
remarks with a front-page editorial vowing to defy US efforts to bring
about economic and political change on the island.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6182347.stm

Published: 2006/12/15 11:34:30 GMT

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