Governor cancels trade trip to Cuba

Iowa’s Governor has shelved the idea of traveling to Cuba to promote trade.Governor Tom Vilsack says he’d find it difficult to “extend the hand of friendship” now that Cuban President Fidel Castro has jailed dissidents “simply because they disagreed with their government.” .Vilsack says he’s “extremely troubled” by what’s happened recently in Cuba. Vilsack says that’s not the kind of atmosphere in which relations with Cuba can be improved. Vilsack says the purpose of the war with Iraq’s a factor, too. Vilsack says 300-thousand U.S. troops were just sent to a country to liberate a country, to allow people to fully express themselves in a democracy. He says you can’t jail or execute people who simply disagree with you.Vilsack says there are many in Cuba who believe if the U.S. embargo is lifted, dissidents would be in even greater jeopardy.