"Slow-Motion Transfer of Power" in Cuba, Says U.S. Official
23 August 2006
State Department's Shannon adds that Cubans must determine their own future
Washington -- Since Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's July intestinal surgery forced him to transfer power to his brother Raul, the institutions of Cuba's totalitarian apparatus are probably "in a process ... of negotiation as they attempt to determine what the power-sharing arrangements will be" in the post-Castro era, Thomas Shannon, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said August 23.
Briefing reporters in Washington, Shannon said that although the Castro regime is deliberately "opaque" about the dictator's condition, most analysts agree that the 80-year-old Fidel Castro does not appear to be capable of day-to-day management of Cuban affairs. “We believe that … what we're seeing in Cuba today is effectively a slow motion transfer of power. That Fidel Castro given his age and given the kind of health crisis he went through … does not appear at least to be in a position to return to the kind of day-to-day management of affairs that he had effectively enjoyed for so many decades,” Shannon said.
The United States has made it clear that it is prepared to assist Cuba in making a transition to democracy, but at the same time, U.S. officials recognize that Cuba's future rests, ultimately, in the hands of the Cuban people, he said.
According to Shannon, the prospect of change has produced a moment "fraught with possibility, but also fraught with anxiety inside of Cuba," because a regime that finds itself in the midst of a power transfer, "especially a transfer from a leader such as Fidel Castro to, effectively, institutions, to bureaucrats, is one which is going to be inherently unstable."
However, the United States views this time as "a very propitious moment to begin talk aloud about the importance of a transition to democracy in Cuba and the importance of finding a way to show solidarity with the Cuban people," said Shannon. "Ultimately no political solution can be imposed from the outside, neither from the United States nor [from] any other country, but ... it's imperative that the Cuban people be able to choose their future."
He said that President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, "in a comment several days ago, said that after 47 years of socialism and revolution, now might be the time to allow the Cuban people to choose their leadership." The United States agrees with Arias, "and we think that this is a moment in which the international community can ... make it clear to the current regime" that "it really needs to begin a process of political opening that would lead to a transition to democracy in Cuba," he said.
Shannon also suggested providing political support and resources to Cuban civil society to facilitate "a national dialogue among the Cuban people" so that they "may indeed determine what their own future" should be.
The State Department official recalled that in 2002, President Bush "effectively made an offer to the Cuban regime," which was promptly rejected by Castro. At the time, Bush said that "if the Cuban regime were prepared to free [its] political prisoners, respect human rights, ... permit the creation of independent organizations such as political parties, trade unions, [and] civic organizations that were not dominated by the state, and if [Castro] were prepared to create ... a pathway towards elections," then the White House would consult with the U.S. Congress about abolishing the trade embargo against Cuba "and begin a deeper engagement with the Cuban state," Shannon told reporters.
“The offer's still on the table," said Shannon, "and we believe that if the Cuban government were to begin a political opening and a transition to democracy, we could be in a position ... to look at ways to deepen our own relationship with Cuba." (See related article.)
The transcript of Shannon’s briefing is available on the State Department Web site.
For information on U.S. policy, see Cuba.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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