Reply #1: CUBA - US Senator John Kerry Opposes USAID Funds for Anti-Cuba activity .

[Judi Lynn]

CUBA - US Senator John Kerry Opposes USAID Funds for Anti-Cuba activity .
Saturday, 02 April 2011 04:10

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 1 (acn) John Kerry, Chairman of the influential US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said on Friday that he will oppose the approval of a 20-million dollar budget presented by the government to promote actions against Cuba.

They should consult the Congress on this issue, points out a communique by the legislator, who advocates the full revision of these anti-Cuban programs, which have cost US contributors –it assures- over 150 million dollars.

The Statement from Kerry, after receiving notification that the U.S. Agency for International Development intends to spend another $20 million for “democracy promotion” programs in Cuba, says “We all hope the Cuban people achieve greater freedom and prosperity in the future consistent with their aspirations, and I have applauded the Administration’s commitment to expand people-to-people contact between our two countries.

There is no evidence, however, that the ‘democracy promotion’ programs, which have cost the U.S. taxpayer more than $150 million so far, are helping the Cuban people. Nor have they achieved much more than provoking the Cuban government to arrest a U.S. government contractor who was distributing satellite communication sets to Cuban contacts.

More:
http://caricomnewsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2925:cuba-us-senator-opposed-to-funds-for-anti-cuban-activity&catid=82:latin-a-central-america&Itemid=457