Castro calls for end to embargo

Cuban President Raul Castro said Wednesday that the U.S. must lift the travel and trade embargo on his country to fully normalize relations.

“The establishment of diplomatic relations is the beginning of a process toward the normalization of bilateral relations, but this won’t be possible as long as the blockade exists,” he said while speaking at a meeting of Latin American states, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

He said that, even if Congress will not act to lift the embargo, the president should do more to eliminate the effects of the trade and travel regulations.

“He could use with resolve his broad executive powers to substantially change the scope of the blockade, even without the Congress decision,” he said.

Castro repeated the long-running request that the U.S. compensate the Cuban people for damages suffered as a result of the embargo, The Associated Press reported. 

He also demanded that the U.S. return the navel base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, which is the site of a controversial prison used to hold terror suspects. Cuba has demanded the land be returned for decades. 

Last month, the Obama administration and Castro announced a deal to ease trade and travel restrictions, and talks to re-establish normal diplomatic relations that could lead to an American Embassy in Havana.

The president called on Congress to put an end to the embargo in his State of the Union address last week. On Thursday, a group of lawmakers will release legislation that would end the travel embargo — though it’s not clear how it will fare in a Republican controlled House and Senate.