LIKE any U.S. citizen who wants to visit Cuba, former
                   president James Carter is waiting for the George W. Bush
                   administration to give him a travel permit.

                   On March 28, President Fidel Castro publicly ratified the
                   invitation he had extended to Carter in January, because, he
                   said: "We want him to see our country."

                   Carter has stated that during his visit he hopes to discuss
                   trade and tourism, and that his intention is to improve
                   relations between the United States and Cuba.

                   He would be the first former U.S. president to travel to the
                   island since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959. It was
                   during his term in office — 1976-80 — that interest sections
                   between the two nations were established in Washington and
                   Havana.

                   Carter’s announced visit to Havana has aroused the
                   displeasure of the Miami counterrevolutionary and terrorist
                   mafia. A Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)
                   spokesperson has expressed expectations that the former
                   White House occupant would give instructions to the island
                   on human rights issues.

                   In a recent statement, Carter has criticized the blockade of
                   the island and the restrictions placed on U.S. citizens in terms
                   of traveling to Cuba.