Bush steps up pressure on Castro

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President Bush yesterday announced a new effort to weaken communist dictator Fidel Castro's stranglehold on Cuba, vowing to step up enforcement of U.S. travel restrictions to the country and to increase the number of Cuban dissidents allowed into America.

In a Rose Garden event to commemorate the day Cuba celebrates the 1868 start of its quest for independence from Spain, the president said free nations have urged Mr. Castro to move toward democracy by holding "free and fair elections" for the good of his people, all to no avail.

"The dictator has responded with defiance and contempt and a new round of brutal oppression that outraged the world's conscience," Mr. Bush told about 50 Cuban Americans. "Clearly, the Castro regime will not change by its own choice. But Cuba must change."

The president announced three initiatives "intended to assist the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom and to prepare the U.S. government for the emergence of a free and democratic Cuba," the White House said in a statement.

The initiatives would:

• Curtail travel to Cuba by Americans by increased enforcement and inspections of travelers and shipments to and from the island.

• Increase the number of new migrants admitted from Cuba "through a safe, legal, and orderly process."

• Create a new Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba to help prepare the U.S. government to provide effective assistance to a free Cuba.

The increased access to America comes after Havana cracked down on dissidents, imprisoning 75 Castro opponents in April, some for as long as 28 years.