Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Administration in the dark about Cuba
08-05-2006

WASHINGTON, USA (UPI): The Bush administration is admittedly in the dark about Cuba since Fidel Castro handed power over to his brother, Raul Castro, the Miami Herald reported.

Fidel Castro temporarily handed power over to Raul Castro on July 31, after what was described as a difficult surgery to stop gastrointestinal bleeding.

"Our insight into the decision-making process of ... this particular dictatorship isn't that great," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.

"I don't think there are too many people outside that small core group of people who run Cuba who really know what is going on," said McCormack. "I don't have an assessment for you on Fidel Castro's health."

Administration officials have confessed their ignorance regarding Cuba in private encounters with lawmakers, people close to the administration told the Herald.

White House spokesman Tony Snow has attributed the lack of information to Cuba's "closed society," as Cuba has a long tradition of government controlled media and a high level of official secrecy.