OTTO REICH WILL OPPOSE THE DOMESTIC ENEMIES ALLIED OF CASTRO

by Associated Press (AP)

Calling the Cuban government murderous and dictatorial, the State Department's top official for Latin America is promising to resist congressional pressure for closer ties with the communist-ruled island.

``We are not going to help Fidel Castro stay in power by opening up our markets to Cuba,'' said Otto Reich, the assistant Secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

Many in Congress want to ease curbs on travel to Cuba on grounds that visiting Americans can promote democratic values among ordinary Cubans.

But, as Reich sees it, that would give Castro economic breathing space and prolong his 43-year rule.

The United States can speed a democratic transition in Cuba by ``not throwing a lifeline to a failed, corrupt, dictatorial, murderous regime,'' Reich said Tuesday.

The Cuban-born Reich is best known for stalwart opposition to Castro, but he also touched on a variety of hemispheric issues as he spoke at a gathering sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a private research group.

It was Reich's first public appearance since his recess appointment by President Bush in January. Bush appointed Reich in a temporary role after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee refused to hold a confirmation hearing for him.

Some members on the committee accused Reich of improper activities while he served the Reagan administration as a public diplomacy adviser in the 1980s. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said Reich was involved in no wrongdoing.

Reich said the administration plans to tackle widespread corruption in Latin America by revoking U.S. visas of people who steal public funds in their home countries.

``We don't want corrupt people here,'' he said. ``They're not going to retire in Key Biscayne. They're not going to go to Disney World, and their spouses are not going to shop on Fifth Avenue. And if they are sick, they are not going to go to Houston to have their hearts examined.''

He said ``more than one'' visa already has been revoked and called corruption the biggest obstacle to development in poor countries.

Reich, who migrated to the United States as a teen-ager shortly after the 1959 revolution in Cuba, acknowledged that Latin America is in trouble, with low growth rates and growing skepticism about U.S.-backed political and economic reforms.

He said the situation is not entirely bleak, citing Chile and El Salvador as success stories because they have stayed the course on reform.

Discussing other individual countries, Reich said:

The United States is reviewing its policy toward Colombia with a view toward providing military support other than counternarcotics assistance.

Misrule in Argentina is responsible for the steady economic deterioration there over the past 70 years. He said the United States stands ready to assist, through international financial institutions, a sound economic recovery plan.

Haiti in many ways is the most vexing challenge in the hemisphere. Much of the blame for the current impasse rests with the government of Jean Bertrand Aristide. The United States supports an effort by the Organization of American States to resolve a dispute between the government and an opposition coalition.

END

On the Net: State Department's Western Hemisphere desk: http://www.state.gov/p/wha/

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