HAVANA (voa) – Former President Jimmy Carter has met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana, where Mr. Carter is making a historic visit for talks on human rights and other issues.
President Castro and other senior members of his government met with Mr. Carter late Sunday at the Palace of the Revolution, Cuba’s equivalent of the White House.
Mr. Carter says he intends to talk about peace, human rights, democracy and the alleviation of suffering during his week-long visit — the first trip to Cuba by a U.S. president, in or out of office, since the 1959 Communist revolution that brought Mr. Castro to power.
Arriving in Havana Sunday, Mr. Carter said that he was delighted to be in Cuba and eager to see the accomplishments of the Cuban people in education and health care. He also made a point of noting that he will be speaking to the Cuban nation Tuesday evening, in an address that Mr. Castro’s government has promised to televise live. A VOA correspondent in Cuba says expectations are high that Mr. Carter will speak out about human rights and democracy.
Monday, Mr. Carter is expected to tour Cuba’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology — a research facility that the Bush administration says is used to produce biological weapons. Cuba’s government denies those charges, and Mr. Castro says President Carter will have “free and complete access” throughout his tour, and is free to meet with whomever he wishes.
There are no formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, which Washington contends is a state sponsor of terrorism. A U.S. trade embargo has been imposed on the Caribbean island nation for the past 40 years. Mr. Carter has recently spoken out against the embargo.
