Dear Editor,

At a recent meeting with Caribbean and Latin American heads calls were made to lift the trade embargo against Cuba by the United States. The embargo was imposed in 1962 by the Kennedy administration after Fidel Castro seized power from Batista in 1959 and took over US businesses in Cuba. Fidel Castro is no longer in charge but his brother has taken over.

Fidel Castro, on gaining power, abolished democracy, a free press, overseas travelling by Cubans, religious freedom and political parties. Criticisms against the one party state are not permitted. Cuba has political prisoners who were accused of criticizing the Castro regime.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, the PPP and GAWU have been in the forefront of calling for the removal of the embargo. They claimed that it has damaged the Cuban economy and caused immense hardship for the people of Cuba. While acknowledging the hardship the embargo has caused, they have all turned a blind eye to what Castro did to the people of Cuba.

The PPP and other parties fought a long struggle against the Burnham and Hoyte regime for free and fair elections, press freedom and other rights. Despite what they fought for in Guyana, they are now supporting regimes that violate these very basic human rights.

Those countries in Latin America and the Caribbean which are calling for the removal of the embargo would have taken up arms against dictators if they had been denied those very human rights Raul Castro is denying his people.

Barack Obama was correct when he said that he would remove restrictions on Americans who wanted to travel to Cuba but would maintain the embargo.

Cuba is among the few countries which include nations such as North Korea, Myanmar, China and Libya that have maintained one party states. The embargo should remain until there are changes in Cuba.

Yours faithfully,
Baldeo Persaud