10 U.S. legislators are visiting Cuba

HAVANA — The largest U.S. congressional delegation in years arrived in Havana on Friday to push for an end to four decades of hostility between Cuba and the United States.

The visit by the 10 legislators — six Democrats and four Republicans — comes less than two weeks after Cuba's interim leader Raul Castro said in a major speech that he is willing to open negotiations with the United States on an equal and fair footing.

The trip also comes after Democrats recently seized control of the U.S. Congress for the first time since 1994, a political shift that could reduce obstacles in the way of easing the U.S. trade embargo against the island.

In recent years, President Bush had tightened sanctions against Cuba in an effort to topple its one-party state.

But many Democrats and some moderate Republicans say the policy hasn't worked. They argue that increased American trade and travel to Cuba is the best way to influence the island's future.

"We sense that this is an important time, and we hope to be able to meet with officials here and others and hopefully launch a new era in U.S.-Cuba relations," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who is leading the congressional delegation.

A second delegation member, Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., said a "significant majority" in the U.S. Congress supports engaging in "dialogue" with Cuba even though "we will continue to have profound differences with the Cuban government."

But Thomas Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, said earlier this week that the Bush administration is not prepared to open talks with Havana until the Cuban leadership shows a commitment to a peaceful transition to democracy.

He said Raul Castro has increased repression against opposition activists since he became interim leader in late July after Fidel Castro's health crisis.

"The regime has actually become harder and more orthodox," Shannon told reporters in Washington.

Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington policy group, said the Democrats' electoral victory in November coupled with Raul Castro's ascension to the top leadership post provides an opportunity for a shift in U.S. policy.

Now gravely ill, Fidel Castro has made anti-Americanism a cornerstone of Cuban foreign policy. But Raul Castro, Cuba's longtime defense minister, has much to gain by improving relations with the giant to the north.