''Ever since the pope's visit [in 1998], Cuba has increasingly experienced a return to the language and methods typical of the early years of the revolution,'' said an 11-page document issued by the 13-member Cuban Bishops Conference in Havana.
''We again ask the country's authorities for a gesture of clemency toward these people who are in jail, above all considering -- from a humanitarian standpoint -- the conditions of their age, state of health and sex that require special attention,'' the statement added.
The statement, couched in strong but respectful language, was the first time in a decade that the Cuban bishops have criticized the human-rights record of President Fidel Castro's government in such a formal and public manner.***
"The economic, financial and commercial blockade the United States has maintained against Cuba for more than four decades has not only been scrupulously applied, but strengthened over the last two years," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said at a Havana news conference.
In Washington, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack did not dispute that view. "President Bush has made very clear that he not only supports the embargo, he supports the strengthened enforcement of the embargo and he has taken stopes to do that under his presidency," he said. ***