Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is still in control of the country, and repression has increased during the rule of his younger brother, a US diplomat said last night.
"Fidel Castro remains a . . . controlling political presence," US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said.
Castro stepped down last July 31st after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery, but Mr Shannon said Cuba's human rights record has since deteriorated as the government appeared to be trying to fend off any push for change.
US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon
"It's very important for . . . these new governors - if you want to call them that - to show that they are in control and that they can manage the regime and that they can manage the Cuban state and that they cannot challenged."
Mr Shannon said the United States was looking for additional ways to boost the opposition in Cuba, but that this was difficult.
He also said countries that have relationships with Cuba, such as Canada and Spain, should underscore to Havana the need for change.
Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961, two years after Mr Castro seized power in a revolution and turned Cuba into a Soviet ally.