Three men who served long U.S. prison terms for spying received a standing ovation in Cuba’s parliament Saturday, shaking their fists in victory as President Raúl Castro declared that detente with Washington won’t change the communist system he leads.
The last imprisoned members of the “Cuban Five” spy ring were freed this week in a sweeping deal that included the liberation of American contractor Alan Gross and a Cuban who had spied for the U.S. from their jail cells in Cuba as a first step toward the restoration of full diplomatic ties and a loosening of U.S. trade and travel restrictions.
 |
| Cuban President Raul Castro addresses the National Assembly in Havana Saturday. Reuters |
President Barack Obama said the changes should encourage reform in Cuba’s one-party system and centrally planned economy.
Mr. Castro rejected that idea in his address to the twice-annual meeting of the National Assembly, saying “we must not expect that in order for relations with the United States to improve, Cuba will abandon the ideas that it has struggled for.”
 |
| Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez, second from left, applauds with two of the "Cuban Five," Fernando Gonzalez left, and Rene Gonzalez, center, during the Cuban National Assembly in Havana Saturday. Reuters |
Also digging in their heels Saturday were some Cuban exiles in Miami who had called for a mass protest against plans to normalize relations with the Castro government. More than two dozen exile groups were listed as participating, but just before the speeches began, only 100 people or so had shown up, mostly older Cuban-Americans, and some of them expressed deep disappointment at the turnout.Read the rest of the story HERE.
If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.
No comments:
Post a Comment