Bush to keep embargo on Cuba until free elections

President George Bush is challenging the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, to hold independent elections and release all political prisoners, warning that America's 40-year-old trade embargo will not be lifted until he does so.

In a speech yesterday that reaffirmed a hardline policy, Mr Bush described Castro as "a relic from a different era" and called on him to allow opposition groups and trade unions to organise without fear of repression. At the same time he announced several initiatives, including the start of a direct mail service, which he said would make life easier for ordinary Cubans.

"Full normalisation of relations with Cuba ­ diplomatic recognition, open trade and a robust aid programme ­ will only be possible when Cuba has a new government that is fully democratic, when the rule of law is respected and when the human rights of all Cubans are fully protected," he said.

The message of Mr Bush's speech in Washington was repeated to America's Cuban exile community in the Little Havana district of Miami.

The former president Jimmy Carter visited Cuba last week and called for a return to democracy but also for an end to the trade embargo. There are increasingly active moves afoot on Capitol Hill to end the sanctions, which most Americans believe are counter-productive.

* Amnesty International has welcomed a fall in the number of political prisoners in Cuba in the past year, but noted a rise in other "violations" of human rights. It identified six detainees as "prisoners of conscience".