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Embargo Foes in Disarray as U.S. Mulls Cuba Options *** One lobby, the Cuba Policy Foundation, on Wednesday disbanded in protest over the repression. "The regime could not have failed to know that its actions would have a chilling effect on efforts here to ease the U.S. sanctions," the bipartisan organization said.

EFFORTS FOCUSING ON TRAVEL

Some Congressman still plan to press ahead with anti-embargo legislation. Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, will introduce a bill to lift travel restrictions, which should have a greater chance of passage than a more ambitious proposal introduced earlier this year that sought to overturn the embargo itself.

A spokeswoman for Baucus said the new travel bill was meant to "get a foot in the door."

Jeff Flake, a Republican congressman from Arizona, plans to introduce his own travel bill soon, arguing through a spokesman that "easing the embargo isn't any kind of reward for Castro. Ultimately it will be the beginning of the end for him."

But even easing the travel ban now stands little chance of passage, analysts say. "Obviously, nobody wants to be seen pandering to a tyrant," said Stephen Johnson, with the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.***

U.S. Enraged as Cuba Returned to U.N. Rights Body***In Washington, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters: "Cuba does not deserve a seat on the Human Rights Commission. Cuba deserves to be investigated by the Human Rights Commission." In the last month, the Cuban authorities have rounded up 75 dissidents and imprisoned them for terms of up to 28 years. As part of the crackdown, Cuba also executed three men who hijacked a ferry in a failed bid to reach the United States.

"Having Cuba serve again on the Human Rights Commission is like putting Al Capone in charge of bank security," Fleischer said. "It is an inappropriate action that does not serve the cause of human rights in Cuba or at the United Nations." Cuba's U.N. ambassador, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, accused the United States of executing minors and the mentally retarded people and abusing the rights of Afghan fighters long confined without charges in a U.S. base on Cuban territory.***