Clinton Remains Hard on Cuba

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES, Dec. 15 – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton questioned the human rights situation in Cuba and defended Washington’s policy of putting pressure on governments that are “unwilling to make the changes its citizens deserve,” in a lecture given at the University of Georgetown, reported IPS.

The Obama administration continues to impose preconditions on improved relations with Cuba, gradually dampening the hopes for restored ties arisen from his election.

The Cuban government, for its part, has repeatedly expressed its desire for a respectful dialogue of equals, without interferences in the internal affairs of each country.

The United States is the only country in the Americas without diplomatic relations with Cuba and has maintained an economic blockade on the island for nearly a half century.

Ordinary US citizens are banned by their government from visiting Cuba without special US Treasury Dept. permission.