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Monday, September 15, 2008
The US State Department said it regretted that Cuba has rejected its offer of up to US$5M in aid for the victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The United States has unstable relations with its communist southern island neighbor, which has been under a US embargo for more than four decades. The US government could fly emergency relief supplies to Cuba as soon as they, the Cuban government, authorize such assistance, but the Cuban government is not accepting a donation from the United States. Cuban state television, citing a diplomatic cable, reported that it could not accept a gift while under an embargo, "even if the country is ready to buy essential material exported to the markets by US companies." However, Washington said it is not changing its policy toward the embargo that it has imposed on Cuba since 1962.
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