HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba blamed election problems in Florida on its anti-Fidel
                  Castro foes, on Thursday, declaring the state a "Banana Republic" in which
                  Cuban exiles have committed electoral fraud to regain political power lost during
                  the Elian Gonzalez case.

                  "A dark cloud today darkens the political scene in the United States," a front page
                  editorial in the Communist Party daily Granma declared. "Once again this nation
                  pays the price for its leaders' criminal and genocidal policies toward our nation."
                  The editorial was titled: "A Banana Republic."

                  For communist Cuba, the recount of presidential
                  votes across Florida, complaints about voter
                  confusion over ballots in Palm Beach County, and
                  a smattering of reports of alleged irregularities in
                  other areas was proof of massive fraud designed
                  to keep the exiles in power.

                  "This time the mafia is going all out," said the
                  editorial, using a term commonly employed by
                  Cuba's leadership to describe its enemies in
                  Florida.

                  The exiles are "thirsty for revenge, desirous of
                  recuperating lost ground" after losing the battle
                  earlier this year to block 6-year-old Elian
                  Gonzalez's repatriation to his native Cuba, the
                  editorial said. The boy, who was set adrift after
                  his mother perished during a boat journey to the
                  United States, returned with his father in late June
                  during a seven-month tug-of-war between the
                  Cuban government and exiles in Florida.

                  The editorial was published one day after state
                  television showed Castro mocking the American
                  electoral process with a visit to the beach. Citing
                  previous low American voter turnouts, the Cuban
                  leader often jokes that most Americans go to the
                  beach on election day.

                  Cuban state television Wednesday night showed the bearded Castro walking in
                  the sand at the beach in his typical olive green uniform and chatting with bathing
                  suit-clad tourists from the United States and Europe.

                  One American man was shown giving a thumbs-down both to Vice President Al
                  Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

                  Regardless of who becomes American president, Castro has promised to
                  continue resisting U.S. pressure, and has said he does not believe the
                  four-decade trade embargo against Cuba can last forever.

                  U.S. lawmakers have made numerous proposals to ease the trade sanctions over
                  the past year, only to have them narrowly defeated or watered down amid
                  concerns about the Cuban-American vote in the months leading up to the general
                  elections.

                  Cuban officials complain the only legislative proposal that became law -- the
                  agricultural appropriation bill, which permits the export of food and medicine to
                  Cuba -- makes the import of U.S. food too difficult to be practical.

                  Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.