FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

October 26, 2004
JS-2062

Statement by Assistant Secretary Zarate on the Announcement by the Cuban Government to Prohibit U.S. Dollars from Circulating in Cuba

Juan Carlos Zarate, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime, made the following statement today in reaction to Fidel Castro's announcement that beginning November 8, U.S. dollars will no longer be circulated in Cuba:

"The announcement by the Castro government to pull U.S. dollars from circulation is an act of economic desperation and a clear signal that President Bush's strengthened policies towards Cuba have hurt the Castro regime. In typical Castro fashion, his solution to this problem is to implement a measure that will directly benefit and bring profit to his regime, while hurting the Cuban people.

"Because of the bankruptcy of Castro's policies and economics, the freedom-starved people of Cuba depend on remittances from their families living in the United States to survive. Castro will not only now attempt to pool these U.S. dollars for his own profit, but also is doing so by shaking down the Cuban people with a ten percent penalty for the currency exchange. As to be expected, when the regime is facing difficulty, Castro works to enrich himself on the backs of the Cuban people.

"The Bush Administration will continue to apply pressure to Castro and his cronies, working toward a day when the Cuban people are free to build the strong democracy and a thriving economy denied them by the Castro regime," said Zarate.

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