A US advisory commission is preparing to recommend a stricter embargo against Cuba along with substantial financial support for opponents of President Fidel Castro, according to the Miami Herald, which said it reviewed a draft of the report.
The draft proposes an 80-billion-dollar fund to support dissidents, propaganda efforts, and a post-Castro transition. The Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, led jointly by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, calls for fuller enforcement of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which permits the denial or cancellation of US visas for foreign business executives operating in Cuba.
A separate provision of that law, allowing foreign investors in formerly confiscated Cuban properties to face lawsuits, has been repeatedly delayed by both President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton.
The report also recommends diplomatic resistance to what it describes as a Cuba-Venezuela alliance, pointing to backing provided by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The new recommendations mark a shift from a 2004 report that tightened restrictions on Cuban-American family visits and remittances. Some portions of the draft remain classified.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.