Cuban exile to highlight Bush anti-Castro stance

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mother of a jailed Cuban dissident journalist will be on hand for President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech on Monday to underscore the administration's hard line against the Castro government.

Blanca Gonzalez, who was granted political asylum in the United States after leaving communist-run Cuba in 2002, will be a guest of first lady Laura Bush when Bush delivers his final yearly address to Congress.

Gonzalez was a human rights activist in Cuba and is the mother of Normando Hernandez, an independent journalist who was arrested in a March 2003 crackdown on dissent and sentenced to prison for 25 years. Rights activists say Hernandez, 38, is in declining health due to a gastrointestinal disorder.

The White House said Hernandez was jailed for "reporting on the conditions of state-run services in Cuba and for criticizing the government's management of issues such as tourism, agriculture, fishing, and cultural affairs."

Bush, who has refused to ease decades-old economic sanctions against Cuba, accuses Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro of repressive policies and has urged them to free all political prisoners.

Fidel Castro, 81, has not appeared in public since illness forced him to hand over power to Raul in July 2006. In writings from his sick bed, Castro has criticized Bush as a reckless leader whose seven-year presidency put world security at risk.

Also among Laura Bush's two dozen guests will be Tatu Msangi, a registered nurse and single mother from Tanzania, and her 2-year-old daughter Faith Mang'ehe, putting a spotlight on Bush's efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa.

Msangi discovered she was HIV-positive when she became pregnant and went to a clinic supported by Bush at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. There the woman delivered her daughter, who received an anti-AIDS drug and is now HIV-free.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Bill Trott)