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This article uses the highly misleading and erroneous U.S term, "embargo" which of course, this is not. It is a "Blockade" because not only does the U.S. ban trade and other exchanges with Cuba (in defiance of overwhelming U.N. resolutions condemning this policy), but it attempts to illegally impose U.S.law on other countries and penalizes them for trading with Cuba! mart. END THE BLOCKADE!! FREE THE MIAMI 5!! NOW!!! ----- Original Message ----- From: NY Transfer News Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 10:25 PM Subject: US official: Cuba embargo still stands Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - [EMAIL PROTECTED] U.S. official says Cuba embargo still stands By Isabel Garcia-Zarza MIAMI, (Reuters)- The four-decade old U.S. economic embargo on Cuba is still "in place" despite last month's unprecedented sales of food and medicines to the communist-run island, a high-ranking American official said Wednesday. "The United States will allow the sales of food and medicines as permitted by U.S. laws, the embargo is still in place," acting Assistant Secretary of State Lino Gutierrez told a news conference in Miami. For the first time in 41 years, U.S. companies last month reached agreements to sell more than $20 million in food such as wheat, corn, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil and rice. Havana reached out to the United States to replenish its emergency supplies in the wake of Hurricane Michelle, which devastated the island Nov. 4. The United States slapped an embargo on trade with Cuba after President Fidel Castro swept to power in 1959. But a year ago, Congress enacted legislation that eased some restrictions to allow cash sales of food and medicine to the island. But Castro's government said this measure reinforced the embargo, because no credit purchases were permitted, and swore Cuba would not buy "a single grain of rice or aspirin". The recent sales have aroused speculation that change is afoot in the long-hostile relations between Washington and Havana. Gutierrez said there was no shift on the part of the United States, although the Cuban purchases represented a big change in Havana's policy. "Cuba did a 180 degrees change in deciding to purchase food and medicine," said Gutierrez. He added that the move "could be seen as an effort to" to rouse U.S. food companies' interest in selling food to Cuba and lobbying for an end to the embargo. Havana has keenly noted that a part of U.S. business community, particularly sectors that could leap in quickly with exports, would like to see the trade ban ended. In Washington on Wednesday, the Bush administration said in a statement it strongly opposed a Senate proposal to allow private financing of U.S. food sales to Cuba and that it still wants political change in Cuba. "Because of Cuba's continued denial of basic civil rights to its citizens as well as its egregious rejection of the global coalition's efforts against terrorism, the administration strongly opposes" a shift to allow private U.S. financing, the White House said. 14:33 12-05-01 [In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================================= ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
