EU, Latin American democracies conspicuously quiet on Cuba - by Pablo Bachelet
WASHINGTON - Shortly after an ailing Fidel Castro handed power to his brother Raul last summer, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called her Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos. With Havana seemingly on the edge of change, Rice hoped the European Union would issue a statement urging Cuba to adopt democratic reforms. As the leader on Latin American affairs within the EU, Madrid had the clout to make such a declaration happen, diplomats familiar with the outreach say. The Spaniards declined.
To this day, the EU and most Latin American democracies have been conspicuously quiet on Cuba despite a stepped up U.S. effort to garner those kinds of declarations on Cuba. Diplomats and analysts say the silence shows that many nations are both unwilling to be associated with U.S. policies toward Cuba and reluctant to anger Havana by criticizing its communist government.
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