By Associated Press

HAVANA -- Democratic Sen. Max Baucus told President Fidel Castro he was concerned about the human rights situation in Cuba during a four-hour meeting that ended early Monday, members of the American delegation said.

Baucus, the highest ranking American official to visit Cuba since a March crackdown that put 75 dissidents behind bars, traveled to the island over the weekend with Republican Rep. Dennis Rehberg and a group of Montana farm leaders and foreign policy specialists.

Baucus and Rehberg, both from Montana, have been leaders of congressional efforts to eliminate restrictions on travel to and trade with the communist-run island.

"It was a very fruitful conversation," said Anya Landau, of the Washington-based Center for International Policy. "Everyone expressed their opinions, but there were things that both delegations did not agree upon."

The meeting began about 10 p.m. Sunday and wound up about 2 a.m. Monday, just hours before the bulk of the delegation returned to the United States.

Earlier Sunday, the lawmakers met for an hour with Oswaldo Paya, Cuba's best-known democracy activist.

Paya is a top organizer of the Varela Project, a signature-gathering drive seeking guarantees for freedom of speech, assembly and business ownership.

Castro's government has not recognized the project, and many of its organizers were arrested in the crackdown that put opposition members in prison for terms
ranging from six to 28 years.

During their visit, Baucus and Rehberg also signed a memorandum of understanding to sell the Cuban government up to $10 million of products from the state, such
as cattle, wheat, barley and dried beans.

A U.S. law passed in 2000 created an exception to the U.S. sanctions, allowing American producers to sell their products to Cuba on a cash basis.

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press