U.S. says it does not condone
anti-Cuba violence

WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuter) - The United States said it did not condone violent opposition in Cuba, where an Italian visitor was reported killed on Thursday by one of three explosions believed to have been caused by bombs.

``The United States is committed to supporting a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba,'' State Department spokesman James Foley said.

``It does not in any way condone the use of violence as a means of achieving that transition or of demonstrating political opposition,'' he told reporters.

Explosions shook the lobbies of three seaside hotels in Havana on Thursday, officials and witnesses said.

The Italian reported killed in one of the hotels was the first fatality in a mysterious spate of recent bombings aimed at targets in Cuba's tourist industry, the island's fastest growing economic sector.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the bombings but Cuba's government has blamed U.S.-based ``anti-Cuban terrorist groups,'' an apparent reference to right-wing Cuban exile groups opposed to one-party communist rule in Cuba.

Foley said the United States, which has maintained a 34-year economic embargo on Cuba, had no information on who was behind Thursday's blasts.

01:03 09-05-97