By Jim Burns. Senior Staff Writer. November 09, 2001.
CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - The Cuban government has challenged the United States to
authorize food and medicine sales to the communist-run island, which is reeling
from the damaging effects of Hurricane Michelle.
But a Cuban exile group thinks Fidel Castro simply wants the American
taxpayer to pick up the tab for Cuba's recovery.
Cuba rejected an outright offer of U.S. emergency assistance, but then the
Castro government contradicted itself, saying, "What would be useful for
our country...would be to allow public Cuban firms to make speedy purchases of
certain quantities of food, medicines and raw materials..."
The Castro government said it would pay the United States in cash, and it
asked that the goods be delivered on Cuban ships.
The United States imposed an economic embargo against Cuba in 1960. But last
year, Congress passed a measure allowing the direct sale of American goods to
Cuba for the first time since 1961. However, that same measure also barred the
U.S. government and U.S. banks from financing such sales.
Mariela Ferretti, a spokesperson for the Cuban American National Foundation,
noted that when Congress passed the law last year, "Fidel Castro was quick
to jump and say that he was not going to purchase a single aspirin from the
United States until trade was normalized between the two countries."
Hurricane devastation
Hurricane Michelle killed five people in Cuba, destroyed thousands of
houses, damaged crops and industry and knocked out communications and power
across large areas of the island earlier this week. Radio Havana has not
transmitted to America since Sunday night.
The State Department said Wednesday that any U.S. assistance would have to
be administered by intermediaries other than the Cuban government. "Our
goal would be to provide aid to the people of Cuba, to ensure that the Cuban
people benefit and not the Castro regime," according to a State Department
spokesman.
The Cuban-American National Foundation thinks Castro wants the American
taxpayer to foot the bill for the hurricane recovery. CANF also said when the
United States offered food and medicine before, Castro has said no.
"I don't see how Castro can be in any position to challenge another
country into selling its goods.
Ferretti also questions Castro desire to pay the United States in cash,
because, she said, he doesn't have any money.
"It's a game that he has been playing with countries around the world
where his credit is no longer any good, and the United States is practically one
of the last countries available for him to play the game with," said
Ferretti.
Trouble ahead?
Ferretti believes the "aid challenge" shows that Castro has a
dangerous internal situation on his hands in Cuba.
"I think that the ministry of interior has been busy during the course
of the past few days, taking the pulse of the Cuban population and they have
come away with the knowledge that they are practically sitting on a powder keg
of dynamite.
"If they (the Castro government) don't provide some kind of quick,
visible and effective relief to the Cuban people, they are going to have severe
internal problems," said Ferretti. | 
