Provoking emotional outbursts from a friendly Latin American audience in Miami, Republican presidential contender John McCain assailed Democrat Barack Obama for his willingness to talk to Cuba and his opposition to free trade with Colombia.
Obama suggested that he would support lifting the embargo on Cuba when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2003 but now says it should stay in place. He does, however, favor talking to the communist government and allowing Cuban Americans to travel freely to the island in hopes of instigating democratic reforms.
''These steps would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators -- there is no need to undertake fundamental reforms, they can simply wait for a unilateral change in U.S. policy,'' McCain said. ``I believe we should give hope to the Cuban people, not to the Castro regime.
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