OBAMA

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP):

United States Presidential candidate Barack Obama's criticisms of Washington's restrictions on travel and sending money to Cuba echo the sentiments of the majority of the Americans, Cuba's foreign minister said yesterday.

Felipe Perez Roque said Obama's "declarations express a sentiment shared by the majority of people in the U.S., that the draconian measures adopted by the government of President Bush violated the constitutional rights of North Americans and constitute an anachronism and barbaric act."

Perez Roque made his comments upon arriving at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry for a meeting of Latin American and East Asian officials.

In an article published Tuesday in The Miami Herald, Obama criticised tighter U.S. restrictions on travel to the island by relatives of Cubans and on their shipment of money to family members. He said he would reverse the measures.