World

Illinois Governor Visits Cuba

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 25, 1999 / 6:24 AM EDT / CBS

Illinois Gov. George Ryan toured the cobblestone streets of Old Havana before getting down to Â"serious businessÂ" Monday on his mission to Cuba the first by a U.S. governor since the 1959 revolution.

The itinerary Monday included a meeting with independent journalists and opponents of Fidel Castro's communist government, and a visit to a children's hospital, where Ryan was to present a donation of medical supplies.

In all, Ryan's delegation was delivering more than $1 million in humanitarian aid during its five-day visit to the island, which ends Wednesday.

Â"It has been a magnificent tour,Â" Ryan said after walking through Old Havana on Sunday. He added that in the days ahead, Â"we are going to get down to serious business.Â"

Cuba's state-controlled media depicted the trip as a reflection of growing U.S. opposition to the trade embargo of Cuba, established in early 1962.

Ryan opposes the embargo, but stressed that his visit was to Â"build bridgesÂ" with the Cuban people.

His trip capitalized on U.S. policy favoring direct contacts between the United States and the Cuban people. Washington hopes to encourage the emergence of a civil society in the communist-ruled island.

Â"I think we ought to drop the embargo and position ourselves for a new relationship with Cuba,Â" said Michael Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. The state house passed a resolution earlier this year calling for an end to the trade sanctions.

Accompanying Ryan were representatives of U.S. agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and medical firms that could benefit from an end to the embargo, including food manufacturer Archer Daniels Midland Corp.; the John Deere Foundation, affiliated with tractor maker Deere Co.; and Baxter International.

Â"Cuba has a lot of potential for American farmers if only the policy would change,Â" said George Obernage, of the Illinois Corn Growers in southern Illinois.

On Sunday, Ryan attended Mass at the capital's towering Roman Catholic Cathedral, where he clasped hands with worshippers and was thanked for bringing humanitarian aid.

Â"Thank you for the medicines,Â" the Rev. Manuel Pagua said. Â"Thank you for your faith.Â" The Cuban Catholic priest called the Illinois delegation's visit an Â"evangelical mission.Â"

The aid was to be distributed by Caritas, a Roman Catholic charity that channels much of the millions of dollars in aid sent to Cubans annually.

More private donations of medicines and other humanitarian aid have come from the United States than any other country, totaling $472 million in fiscal year 1998, according to U.S. government sources. Another $19 million in medicines were sold under licenses.

Ryan on Sunday toured historic Old Havana with City Historian Eusebio Leal, saluting Ernest Hemingway's old room at the Hotel Ambos Mundos and singing briefly with an Afro-Cuban music grup.

On Saturday, he told Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly, that he had mixed with a cheering crowd in Havana's Central Park.

Â"I thought they were all voters, and I went over and shook their hands,Â" he said jokingly. Then, he added seriously: Â"And maybe someday they can be voters, Mr. president.Â"

Cuba does have direct elections for government offices, including the presidency held by Castro. But detractors of the government say the elections are not truly free and competitive because there is only one party, the Communist Party, and there is often only one candidate for each office.