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 News from Around the Americas | October 2007 
Bush to Unveil "New Initiatives" on Cuba
 Agence France Presse
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| | Cuban President Fidel Castro (R) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez 13 October 2007. US President George W. Bush is to unveil "new initiatives" to help Cubans and push for democracy in the communist-run nation, the White House said Friday. (AFP/Juventud Rebelde) |
US President George W. Bush is to unveil "new initiatives" to help Cubans and push for democracy in the communist-run nation, the White House said Friday.
Bush is scheduled to speak on Cuba policy at the State Department on Wednesday where he will announce "new initiatives to help the people of Cuba," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Friday.
The announcement comes as Cuban leader Fidel Castro continues to be sidelined from power since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006. Castro's brother, Raul, is serving as president while his elder brother recovers.
The US leader angered Cuban officials last month when he said before the United Nations General Assembly that the long rule of "cruel dictator" Castro "is nearing its end" and that Cubans were "ready for their freedom."
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque walked out of the General Assembly hall when Bush made the remarks.
"The President intends to emphasize the importance of democracy for the Cuban people and the role the international community can play in Cuba's transition, by insisting on free speech, free assembly, free and competitive elections, and the release of all political prisoners," Fratto said.
The White House and State Department did not elaborate on the "new initiatives."
Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said, "The United States wants to be able to be in a position to assist the Cuban people as they move through that transition" from nearly a five-decade rule by Castro.
When asked whether a longstanding US economic embargo on Cuba should be lifted during the transition, Casey said, "We believe that what should be lifted is the longstanding embargo on the rights of the Cuban people that's been imposed by Fidel Castro."
Castro Speaks by Telephone With Chávez on TV
Simon Romero - The New York Times
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Caracas, Venezuela - Fidel Castro of Cuba chatted by telephone with Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, during a live television broadcast last week, with the two leaders going over plans to strengthen economic and political ties.
Mr. Chávez's weekly television program was broadcast from Santa Clara in central Cuba, where the remains of Che Guevara are kept, to mark the death 40 years ago this month of the iconic guerrilla leader. While Mr. Castro, who is 81, did not appear on the program, it was the first time Cubans were given broad access to a live broadcast of the Cuban leader since he went into seclusion for health reasons last year. The program was shown in Cuba and Venezuela.
With Mr. Castro's appearances in the Cuban news media closely controlled, his inclusion in a Venezuelan program points to Mr. Chávez's prominence in guiding the economic destiny of Cuba, which relies on subsidized imports of Venezuelan oil.
Mr. Chávez also showed a short video of a meeting held a day earlier in Havana, in which Mr. Castro, looking frail and speaking with a gravelly voice, accepted as a gift a painting done by Mr. Chávez in prison after the Venezuelan leader's failed coup attempt in 1992.
In the telephone discussion on Sunday, the voice sounded clearer. "The conditions are more favorable than ever to spring forth the ideas and revolution of which Che spoke," Mr. Castro said.
The audience in Santa Clara included Cuba's vice president, Carlos Lage, dressed in a red polo shirt decorated with a Che logo, and Venezuela's foreign minister, Nicolás Maduro. Notably absent was Cuba's acting president and Mr. Castro's brother, Raúl Castro.
Mr. Chávez did most of the talking, highlighting his plans to expand energy subsidies to Cuba to include natural gas exports. |
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