Havana, Cuba, May 27, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Bishops Conference of Cuba issued a statement this week expressing their concern about recent measures the US said it would take to tighten the embargo against the island. They also said decried the prices hikes the Cuban government said it will implement in response.
This month President George Bush was presented a package of measures designed to intensify economic sanctions against Cuba in order to speed up political transition in the country. They include limiting how often Cuban-Americans can visit relatives, decreasing how much they can spend while here, prohibiting money transfers to Cuban officials and Communist Party members, and strengthening investigations into those who do business with Cuba.
Havana organized a march in protest and raised prices an average 15 percent on gasoline and nearly all goods sold in dollars.
The bishops said, "It hurts us to see that the measures announced by the United States and those taken by the Cuban government affect, directly or indirectly, the poorest families of our nation."