U.S. official says aid to Cuba stymied by politics

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Wednesday the United States is being frustrated in attempts to provide aid for victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike by a Cuban government intent on playing politics.

Instead of accepting the offer, Cuba has said it would be more helpful if the United States dropped its 46-year-long trade embargo against the island.

Cuba's talk of the embargo "obviously seems to have the ring of politics overriding the needs of the people" and "has nothing to do with humanitarian aid," Gutierrez told Reuters in a telephone interview from Washington.

"We believe we could be of great help to the Cuban people, but the offer was rejected, and it's very frustrating because we want to help," he said.

But Cuba in a rare move said it would accept aid from the United Nations, said John Holmes, the UN's humanitarian affairs chief. He said the aid would total up to $3.5 million.

"It's the first time certainly that anybody can remember (that Cuba has accepted UN aid)," Holmes told reporters during a visit to Mexico City. "I think that's an indication of how serious the situation is in Cuba," he added.

The United States has said it is providing $100,000 in emergency assistance and requested that the Cubans let it send in a team to assess what further help is needed.

Ike struck Cuba on Sunday with 120 mile per hour (195 km per hour) winds and wreaked havoc along the entire island. Gustav hit western Cuba 10 days before with 150 mph (240 kph) winds.

Cuban officials have said more than 300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the storms.

REJECTED WASHINGTON'S OFFER

But the Cuban Foreign Ministry rejected Washington's offer of aid in a weekend statement, saying the "only correct and ethical action...would be to eliminate totally and permanently the ruthless and cruel economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against our Motherland for almost half a century."

Cuba and the United States have been at odds since a 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power, and the Bush administration has raised tensions by toughening the embargo aimed at subverting Cuba's communist-run government.

U.S. critics said the aid offer was a token political gesture not truly meant to be accepted by the Cubans.

"One is left with the appearance of the U.S. going through the motions, playing politics with the lives of the Cuban people because it cannot abide their government," said Sarah Stephens, director of the Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors changing U.S. policy toward Cuba.

There have been calls in the U.S. Congress for the Bush administration to temporarily lift its limits on remittances and travel to Cuba so that people in the United States can help storm-stricken family members in Cuba.

But Gutierrez said, "That's not something we believe is relevant to this."

Countries including Spain and Russia have already begun sending aid to Cuba, while Venezuela, China, Brazil and others have promised help.

"It seems like we're being put in a position whereby we can be accused of not helping because the regime in Cuba doesn't allow us to help," Gutierrez said.

(Additional reporting by Pablo Garibian in Mexico city; Editing by Vicki Allen)