Cuban Official Says U.S. Plan Would Worsen Embargo

A senior Cuban official on Tuesday criticized a U.S. congressional plan that would allow the sale of American food and medicine to Cuba, saying the conditions it appears to impose could worsen a trade embargo against his island.

Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly, said news reports of the agreement indicated that it would impose conditions on the sale of food, such as refusing U.S. financing for the purchases.

“This here not only doesn’t modify the blockade but in some parts makes it worse,” Alarcon told a forum on state television Tuesday.

According to government statistics, Cuba imports more than 300,000 tons of rice each year, half of it from Asia. In addition, Cuba imports about 950,000 tons of wheat a year--mainly from Europe. U.S. farm groups say they could provide it all.

Cuban shoppers and vendors welcomed word of the agreement, although they questioned whether it would have any effect on their everyday lives.

“The more products there are, the more sales there are,” said Yasny Perez Osorio as she presided over piles of cucumbers, eggplant and garlic for sale at a farmers market in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood.