Helms says Cuba embargo will stand

Published Sunday, February 1, 1998, in the Miami Herald

Helms says Cuba embargo will stand

WASHINGTON -- (AP) -- Sen. Jesse Helms says the U.S. embargo on Cuba will stand, despite recent criticism from Pope John Paul II that it has caused widespread suffering.

Helms, R-N.C., who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Saturday he has high hopes for the influence the Pope's visit to Cuba will have on Cuban President Fidel Castro.

``The pressure of those millions of people turning out for the Pope, and the greeting that he received, ought to speak volumes to Fidel Castro,'' Helms said on CNN. ``As a matter of fact, I think it already has, because I sensed behind the scenes a loosening of his toughness on a lot of things.''

But Helms said the bottom line is that he wants Castro removed from power.

``I don't care how he leaves there. Horizontally or vertically,'' Helms said. ``I want him out of there, and the Cuban people want him out, too.''