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US lawmakers doubt 'official' story: Castro not terminally ill

Antonio Rodriguez Tue Dec 19, 3:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US lawmakers back from a trip to Cuba cast doubt on officials there who insisted Fidel Castro was not dying and would return to power.

"I believe them about the same as I believe them when they say they want us to lift the embargo. I'm not sure they do," Republican representative Jeff Flake (news, bio, voting record) told AFP when asked his reaction to the official Cuban line.

"Cuban officials they tried in every way to convince us that this is temporary, that the policy isn't going to change, but neither is Fidel Castro," said Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican.

"'He'll be back,' was the story, and 'he doesn't have terminal cancer,' is what government officials told us," he told CNN.

"In fact, we were told while we were in Cuba that the medical doctors treating Fidel Castro are sequestered, are isolated even from their own families," he said.

Castro has not been seen in public since July 26 and failed to show up at a December 2 military parade organized in honor of his 80th birthday.

The ailing Cuban leader temporarily handed over power on July 31 to his brother, who is also Cuba's defense minister, after undergoing intestinal surgery.

California Representative Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record) also voiced her doubts, after three days of meetings with Cuban officials, including national assembly president Ricardo Alarcon and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

"I'm not a medical doctor and I'm not a psychic. Seems to me, however, the pictures and the absence of Castro in any meaningful way demonstrates that he's probably not coming back."

Harman said Cuban officials were unhappy about comments by senior US officials that Castro is near death.

"The Cuban officials we met expressed disappointment about statements of some US intelligence officials," she said.

She appeared to be referring to comments by US Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, who told the Washington Post that Castro was very ill and likely had "months, not years" to live.

Representative Bill Delahunt told the New York Times Monday that while Fidel Castro is expected to recover, he might not return to leading the Caribbean country.

"The Cubans were emphatic, and I believe them, that Fidel does not have cancer and that the illness he does have is not terminal," he said.

"This will not be Fidel sitting at this desk; this will be, Fidel Castro is alive and recovering," he told the Times.

Flake and Delahunt are members of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations and leading members of the Cuba Working Group, which aims to foster better political, economic and cultural ties.

The others in the delegation were Democrats Harman, Hilda Solis, James McGovern, Gregory Meeks and Lincoln Davis; and Republicans Jo Ann Emerson, Mike Conaway and Moran.

They called on the White House to engage with Raul Castro in talks on easing bilateral relations, and for the US and Cuba to continue dialogue on immigration, drug trafficking, the capture of fugitives, the environment and oil exploration.

While in Cuba they met with Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly and the top official for US affairs.

On Saturday they attended a reception with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and held meetings with central bank governor Francisco Soberon and Basic Industries Minister Yadira Garcia, an influential member of the Politburo of Cuba's Communist Party.

However, they did not meet with Raul Castro, Flake said.

"They told us that Fidel is coming back," Flake said.

"A meeting with Raul would have sent a different signal," said the leader of the group of 10 lawmakers, the largest such group ever to visit communist Cuba.

"Nobody was willing to say that there was going to be any change," he said.

US Lawmakers Promote Agriculture in Cuba

By Sam Hananel, Associated Press Writer. Tuesday December 19, 2006.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Reps. Jerry Moran and Jo Ann Emerson, back from a weekend visit to Cuba, said the U.S. government should ease travel restrictions and expand agricultural trade with the communist nation.

"It's become clear to me that personal freedom follows economic opportunity," Moran said Monday. "The larger trading relationship we have, the higher standard of living that Cuban people have, the more demands they will make upon their government for change."

Moran, R-Kan., and Emerson, R-Mo., were part of a 10-member bipartisan congressional delegation that visited Cuba, the largest group of lawmakers to travel there since the U.S. trade embargo began more than 40 years ago.

The lawmakers are trying to gain a better understanding of the political situation in Cuba given the uncertainly surrounding Fidel Castro's health. They are also looking for ways to boost U.S. agricultural exports to the communist nation, which would benefit Midwestern farmers.

"Every single person with whom we met said they want to have negotiations to start building dialogue and communication between them and Washington, which is a different tone than they've taken in the past," Emerson said.

The Bush administration has said it will not open talks with Cuba until it becomes a Democracy. While Moran said he's not a defender of Castro's regime, he asserts U.S. policy is misguided.

"There's a growing recognition that what we're doing is not working," Moran said.

Castro's medical condition has been kept under wraps since he underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding in July and temporarily ceded power to his younger brother Raul Castro. He has not been seen publicly since July 26.

Cuban officials tried to convince the lawmakers that Castro will return to power, but Moran said he suspects that is not true.

"My guess is sooner rather than later that Fidel Castro is no longer going to be the leader of Cuba," Moran said. "That gives us an opportunity to try to increase our relationship and develop an influence over the future Cuban government."

The delegation was not allowed to meet with Raul Castro. Emerson speculated the Cuban government did not want to signal that Fidel is no longer in power.

The group arrived in Havana on Friday and met with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon and Basic Industries Minister Yadira Garcia.

Moran and Emerson have long supported easing the trade embargo on Cuba. Moran backed a law passed by Congress in 2000 that allowed for the export of agricultural products, food and medicine to Cuba for the first time since the embargo began. Cuba purchased about $1.4 billion worth of agricultural commodities from U.S farmers from 2001 to 2005.

But the Bush administration last year imposed new restrictions that require Cuba to pay for goods before they leave U.S. ports. That change frustrated Cubans and caused trade to drop again. Moran and Emerson have tried unsuccessfully to stop the U.S. Treasury Department from enforcing the new rule.

Emerson said she is confident U.S. farmers will continue to be able to sell their products to Cuba, but she wants to end the new Treasury Department regulations, "so we can be on a level playing field price-wise for our products."

Canada to be helpful for Cuba-U.S. relations when Castro dies: U.S. official

By Jennifer Ditchburn, December 18, 2006.

OTTAWA (CP) - As the United States watches regime change in Cuba from the sidelines, Canada's long-standing relationship with the Communist country will prove "useful," says a top Washington official.

Tom Shannon, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, was almost complimentary Monday when referring to Canada's open lines of communication with Cuba.

He said with President Fidel Castro reportedly near death, Cuba has been his top item of discussion as he travels internationally.

"I do believe that this government (in Canada) really is committed to promoting a democratic future for Cuba, and Canadians have been able to maintain relationships both with the regime and with members of Cuban society and Cuban dissidents, and that's no small feat," Shannon said during a briefing for Canadian reporters.

"There's only a few countries that have been able to do that."

Washington has kept up an economic and social embargo of Cuba since 1962. It went even further last decade with the implementation of the Helms-Burton Act, introducing fines and penalties for foreign businesses that set up shop in Cuba.

While those fines and penalties have been regularly suspended by presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, there have been repercussions for Canadians. For example, executives from Canadian mining company Sherritt International have been barred from travelling in the United States because of their operations in Cuba.

But the hard line Washington has taken puts it in an awkward position now that it wants to be involved in promoting democracy once Castro dies.

The U.S. government has only bare diplomatic relations with Cuba. It has an "interests office" that operates under the aegis of the Swiss embassy in Havana, and the movements of American diplomats are restricted to that city.

"Countries like Canada have a very useful role to play because of the relationships they've built over time and the influence they've built over time, and also their access on the island," Shannon said.

He emphasized that although the United States has a different "tactic" in dealing with Cuba from that of Canada, the European Union and Mexico in particular, all the players are pushing for the same goal.

"The international community can play an important role expressing some expectations about what a successful and peaceful transition to democracy might look like and communicate both to the Cuban regime and to the Cuban people, the importance of successful transition to democracy," he said.

Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy, who initiated active discussions with Castro in the mid-1990s, said he's not surprised by the comments because the United States has long seen Canada as a conduit to Cuba.

But he said that Canada has not been on the same page with the United States when it comes to what happens once Castro passes away.

"Castro is increasingly seen as an icon in the Americas, and any attempt to try and take advantage of it would backfire, not only in Cuba itself," said Axworthy, now president of the University of Winnipeg.

"All along the idea was to create the conditions in which eventually a Cuban style democracy could flourish, but not to impose it, not to have a cotton-candy kind of arrangement that we've seen fail so badly in Iraq when we come in with self-defined ideas of what it should be."

Current Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said last summer that his government remains committed to an open relationship with Cuba.

Alabama Ag Commissioner Cooks in Cuba

MONTGOMERY, Ala. 18 (AP) -- Ron Sparks went from state agriculture commissioner to cooking instructor during his latest multimillion-dollar trade mission to Cuba.

Sparks returned Sunday from a four-day trip to follow up on trade commitments made to Alabama companies during the Havana Trade Expo in November.

"Over the last several months, there have been many rumors as to the future of Cuba because of President Castro's health," Sparks said Monday. "We felt that it was important for us to make this trip because we want to ensure that no matter what happens with Cuba, that Alabama will be able to continue our trade relationship."

While in Cuba, Sparks and his staff used Alabama products to prepare a traditional Southern meal for Cuban officials. It included fried catfish from Southern Pride Catfish, cornbread, butter beans, green bean casserole, coleslaw, pecan pie with ice cream, and Red Diamond sweet tea.

During the lunch, Alimport Chairman Pedro Alvarez, who determines which products Cuba purchases from North American countries, received a cooking lesson from Sparks.

The agriculture commissioner said the November and December trips yielded more than $30 million in commitments for purchases from Alabama companies or from companies representing Alabama firms.

In 2005, Cuba purchased $140 million in products from Alabama, which represented nearly one-third of the island's entire purchases in the United States, Sparks said in a news release.

Products slated for sale from Alabama to Cuba include peanut butter, poultry, grains, utility poles, lumber and newsprint, Sparks said.

Report: Castro calls provincial leaders

By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 16, 2006

HAVANA - Fidel Castro telephoned a meeting of provincial legislative leaders, the Communist Party daily said Saturday in a report apparently aimed at quelling rumors about the ailing Cuban leader's health.

Meanwhile, 10 visiting U.S. Congress members met with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other communist officials, two weeks after acting leader Raul Castro offered to hold a dialogue with American officials on equal terms.

The call by Castro to provincial leaders Friday and another to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez the same day constituted the first news in 11 days about the convalescing 80-year-old, who has not been seen in public in more than four months.

Even if Castro is not as sick as some believe - including many in the U.S. government - his prolonged absence from public life has raised questions about whether he will ever return to power.

Vice President Carlos Lage and National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon were presiding over the Friday meeting of provincial assembly presidents when Castro called, Granma newspaper reported. The full National Assembly will hold a regular session Dec. 22 to vote on the island's budget and other matters.

Chavez said in Caracas on Friday that Castro, a close friend and political ally, called him the same day to congratulate him on his re-election victory earlier this month.

The last news about Castro was issued on Dec. 5 when Granma published a typed letter signed by Castro congratulating Chavez on his electoral win. He has not been seen in public since July 26, five days before he announced that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding his powers to his 75-year-old brother Raul.

The U.S. lawmakers had reportedly asked to meet with Raul Castro during their weekend visit to Cuba, but there was no word on whether such a meeting would take place.

Led by Reps. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and William Delahunt, D-Mass., the group arrived Friday afternoon and met that evening with Alarcon. On Saturday, the group was seen entering the Foreign Ministry for the meeting with Perez Roque.

Rep. Hilda Solis (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., told reporters: "Everything is going well."

In recent years, the United States has intensified its trade embargo against Cuba, as well as other policies aimed at squeezing the island's economy and undermining its communist leaders.

Bush administration officials have twice rejected offers to talk with Cuban leaders since Fidel Castro fell ill, saying the country must first hold free and competitive elections and release all political prisoners.

Associated Press Writer Andrea Rodriguez contributed to this report.

Cuban group said to include 7 deported

By Laura Wides-Munoz, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 15, 3:49 PM ET

MIAMI - A group of Cubans deported in January after nearly reaching the U.S. landed Friday at close to the same spot, a bridge in the Florida Keys that authorities earlier ruled wasn't American soil, a relative said.

Officials said they hadn't determined the identities of the people who beached around 3:30 a.m. at the new Seven Mile Bridge's south end, Monroe County sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said. They were being taken to a Border Patrol station.

Mariela Conesa said her teenage son, husband and five others in the January group were among the new arrivals. "I am so, so happy," said Conesa, who hadn't seen her son since she left Cuba by homemade boat in 1998.

Under the U.S. wet-foot, dry-foot policy, Cubans who reach U.S. soil are normally allowed to stay, while those caught at sea are usually returned home.

The U.S. deported the 15 who arrived in January because the Old Seven Mile Bridge is missing several chunks and the section where they landed no longer touches land. Their relatives sued, and a U.S. judge ruled they should have been allowed to stay. Federal officials agreed to give 14 of the migrants visas.

Ramon Saul Sanchez, of the Miami-based Democracy Movement, which represents some of the relatives, said Cuban officials recently told members of the original group that they would not be permitted to leave for another four years because theirs was such a high-profile case.

"Sadly, the rest are still in Cuba," he said.

U.S. sees rise of hard-liners in Cuba

By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer Wed Dec 13, 5:55 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The deterioration of President
Fidel Castro's health has been accompanied by the rise of hardline elements to key positions in Cuba, leaving no possibility for democratic reformers to surface, a senior State Department official said Wednesday.
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"With Fidel Castro still alive, the regime has become more orthodox," said Thomas Shannon, who heads the State Department's Western Hemisphere affairs bureau. "It is hard to say what position it will take post-Fidel."

In the meantime, he said, "the success of the succession depends on the absolute control of the state."

For now, he added, potential reformers have been lying low, awaiting a more favorable climate to make their move. Once Castro dies, Cuban authorities will have a choice between "deepening repression" or a policy of greater openness to the world, Shannon added.

Among hardliners who have been ascendant lately are Ramiro Valdez, a former interior minister and now communications minister; and Jose Balaguer, health minister and prominent ideologue who is serving on a key committee responsible for succession issues.

Shannon said the United States has no way of corroborating persistent reports of Castro's deteriorating health, noting that the subject is treated as a state secret in Cuba.

The clearest sign that Castro's health is faltering occurred 10 days ago when he failed to make an appearance at delayed 80th birthday celebrations held in his honor, Shannon said. His actual birthday was in August, two weeks after Castro surrendered power to his brother, Raul, following intestinal surgery.

The brother is his designated successor but many analysts believe a power struggle is inevitable.

Cuban officials have said repeatedly that Castro's health continues to improve. But there have been no photographs of him in two months, and at the time he looked extremely frail.

As Cuban officials see it, the system Castro created will survive him. But Shannon expressed doubt that a successor can match the traits that have enabled Fidel Castro to survive in power for almost 48 years.

"There is nobody like Fidel," Shannon said, citing his "revolutionary legitimacy," charisma, political skills and ruthlessness.

Almost 25 years have passed since the United States and Cuba last held political discussions, and Shannon said he does not foresee any until Cuba has a leader committed to democratic change.

He brushed aside a proposal by Raul Castro several weeks ago for a dialogue between the two countries.

Shannon said release of political prisoners is a necessary but insufficient ingredient for a resumption of a political dialogue. Other prerequisites are a pathway to elections, guarantees for the protection of human rights and permission for independent organizations to be established, he said.

Stone documentary on Castro triggers payment over alleged embargo violation

By Jeannine Aversa, December 13, 2006.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The producer and others involved in Oliver Stone's documentary on Cuban leader Fidel Castro have agreed to pay the U.S. government more than US$6,000 to resolve allegations they violated a long-standing embargo against the communist country.

According to government documents, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Controls, which oversees the economic embargo against Cuba, said the payment of $6,322.20 would settle alleged violations that occurred between February 2002 and May 2003 in the making of the documentary film "Comandante."

The Treasury documents, dated Dec. 1, said that production company IXTLAN Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif., and four people had agreed to the monetary settlement. The documents did not identify the people or provide further details.

"Comandante" was the precursor to Stone's more recent documentary on the Cuban leader called "Looking for Fidel."

In Cuba, the Communist Party daily newspaper Granma strongly criticized the U.S. action against Stone's company. "The message, obviously, is directed against all those who, defending their right to the liberty of creation and expression, want to objectively reflect the island's reality," the paper said.

Castro, 80, has been in poor health. His younger brother, Raul, has been running the country since late July.

Cuban officials have said repeatedly that Castro's health continues to improve. But there have been no public photographs of him in two months, and at the time he looked extremely frail.

Former U.S. president John F. Kennedy imposed economic penalties against Cuba in 1963 during the Cold War in order to isolate the Cuban government economically and deprive it of U.S. dollars, the U.S. says.

Through the years some in Congress have sought to ease the penalties; the current administration has opposed such efforts.

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