BY LILLIAM RIERA (Granma International staff writer)

                   TWO Democratic congress members and a former U.S. agriculture
                   secretary affirmed in Havana, at the end of a five-day stay on the
                   island, that they were leaving the island with a commitment of
                   working to promote relations between the two countries.

                   Cal Dooley and Lois Capps, congress members for California; Ed
                   Pastor for Arizona; and Dan Glickman, agriculture secretary during
                   the Clinton administration, were received by President Fidel Castro
                   and met with Ricardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly;
                   Raúl de la Nuez, minister of foreign trade; Foreign Ministry officials;
                   and directors of the Canadian enterprise Sherritt.

                   During a press conference at the Hotel Nacional — not attended by
                   Pastor — Dooley and Capps described the amendments recently
                   passed by majority in the U.S. House of Representatives as a victory
                   for those supporting the lifting of the 40-plus-year blockade. The
                   House voted in favor of permitting free travel by U.S. citizens to the
                   island, credit for sales of foodstuffs and medicine, and for increasing
                   the limit on family remittances.

                   It is an indication of a growing interest in the United States to put an
                   end to the embargo (blockade) of Cuba, commented Dooley, who
                   predicted Senate backing for the amendments, although with a
                   strong probability of the president vetoing them. For the
                   congressman, removing restrictions will be as much of an advantage
                   to U.S. citizens as to Cubans.

                   Nonetheless, Dooley acknowledged that the step taken by Congress
                   is only the beginning. He confirmed that it would be very difficult to
                   see U.S. investment in Cuba in the short term, but stressed the
                   importance of creating from now on a political environment directed
                   at achieving that end. Although the battle to lift the blockade will be a
                   long one and will not bear fruit immediately, he was confident that it
                   would triumph.

                   Referring to the two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Fidel, Dooley said
                   that they discussed a wide range of issues, including ways in which
                   both countries could advance in diverse areas of cooperation.

                   For her part, Capps expanded on cooperation possibilities in areas
                   such as combating drug and person trafficking, the environment and
                   biotechnology, where her compatriots could benefit from Cuban
                   pharmaceutical products, she noted.

                   A pediatrician by profession, she acknowledged Cuban achievements
                   in health programs for the population, which she was able to confirm
                   during a visit to the William Soler children’s hospital in the capital. The
                   Californian legislator praised the genuine hospitality of the Cubans.

                   She recalled that to date this year more than a dozen U.S. congress
                   members have come to Cuba, which would be of great benefit for
                   both nations in the future.

                   Dan Glickman emphasized U.S. farmers’ interest in the Cuban
                   market, in which certain products have already been sold.

                   The U.S. delegation arrived in Cuba on July 27, on a visit promoted
                   by the Center for Political Studies, an organization headed by Wayne
                   Smith, former head of the U.S. Interest Section in Cuba and a firm
                   opponent of the blockade.