In the second part of Mariela Castro’s interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, the daughter of dictator Raul Castro accused Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) of not representing the interests of Cubans.
“That senator doesn’t represent the Cuban-American people in the United States, just a very small interest group that has dedicated itself to manipulating policies in the United States towards Cuba affecting the civil rights of the Cuban-American people to travel freely and as often as they want, to be able to go back and see their families in Cuba,” Castro said.
“It’s unfortunate that a small group of people are really limiting this process. I felt the friendship and the affection of the people of the United States,” she added. “…Right now in Cuba, there are many Americans because of the flexibility that Obama has.”
Castro continued to praise Obama, making a pitch for a second term and noting again the limits placed on a democratically elected president.
“I think that the whole world and the American people have placed great hopes on President Obama and I personally understand that that is his position and that his public mandate limits him a great deal,” Castro said.
“But I believe that President Obama needs another opportunity. And he needs greater support to move forward with this project and with his ideas, which I believe come from the bottom of his heart. He wants to do much more than what he’s done.”
She said Obama would need “greater support” to life the embargo and move U.S.-Cuban relations in a second term.
“I believe that Obama is a fair man,” she said.
“As a citizen of the world, I would like him to win,” Castro added. “Seeing the candidates, I prefer Obama.”
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