Carter calls for lifting U.S. embargo on Cuba

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Wednesday wrapped up his three-day visit to Cuba, calling for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba and to travel restrictions between the two countries.

"I think we should remove the embargo ... I hope for the future, all Cubans could be completely free (to travel to the United States) and U.S. citizens also will be free to travel to Cuba," Carter told reporters before leaving for Washington.

Carter, who during his presidency allowed U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba and helped set up U.S. and Cuban offices in both countries to help facilitate family reunions, also called on Washington to remove Cuba from the list of countries that the U.S. government says support terrorism.

Wednesday was the second time Carter met with former leader Fidel Castro. In 2002, Carter became the first former U.S. president to visit the island since the triumph of the 1959 revolution which put Castro in power.

"It was a great pleasure for us to return to Havana, I hope we can help to improve the relations between the two countries," said the 86-year-old former president, who visited Cuba on a private invitation from President Raul Castro.

On Wednesday, Carter met with U.S. citizen Alan Gross, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison over espionage charges.

Carter said he had appealed to Cuban authorities to release Gross for humanitarian reasons, and also demanded Washington release five Cubans imprisoned in the United States on spying charges.

During the trip which Carter described as a "private and non-government mission," the Nobel Peace Prize winner visited the Jewish Patronage, met with Cuban religious leaders and participated in social events.

When visiting the former Convent of Belen, Carter praised the social aid program for the elderly, saying the convent would be a wonderful place for him and his wife to live in.


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