Roger Noriega, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was asked at a business conference whether Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro can influence other Latin American nations to lessen their support for the President Bush-backed free trade area.
''I don't think any one country constitutes a roadblock on the FTAA,'' Noriega said. ``We'll just go around them.''
Chavez, a friend of Castro, has expressed his opposition to many aspects of the FTAA and has been accused by U.S. officials of stoking anti-American sentiment in Latin America. Communist Cuba is not included in the FTAA talks, but Castro has been singled out by Noriega for promoting policies to destabilize democratic governments.
''None of us is ignoring the negative aspects and the penchant for some to fish in troubled waters and cause trouble for other countries,'' Noriega said.
Steps toward the creation of the FTAA would be in place by January 2005, a move agreed upon by nations at this month's Special Summit of the Americas, Noriega said.
However, Isilio Arriaga, president of Miami's chamber of commerce, said Noriega was too evasive of how the ''Chavez-Castro axis'' can affect FTAA negotiations. He pointed out that Castro and Chavez have been guests of honor at several recent political inaugurations in Latin America.
''For the ambassador to say that we're just going to go around them and negotiate directly with others is practically ignoring the very important influence that these two gentlemen have over the Latin American nations,'' Arriaga said.
The FTAA's stated purpose is to eliminate trade barriers and spur economic growth, but critics say it would lead to corporate corruption, the exploitation of workers and the degradation of the environment.
Noriega also touched on the sensitive issue of Haiti after a speech before about 150 people at the Outlook for the Americas conference.
Haiti has been in turmoil since Aristide's Lavalas Family party swept flawed 2000 elections. Since mid-September, at least 50 people have been killed in anti-government demonstrations. Aristide was planning to meet regional leaders Saturday in Jamaica to negotiate an end to the long-standing political impasse.
Noriega said the situation in Haiti was a high priority for him and that the plight of the Haitians could be compared with that of the Cuban people, who have limited rights of expression and assembly.
''They're similar in as much as they are both countries that are trapped by willful leaders who do not want to give people an opportunity to make decisions for themselves and plan for their own future,'' Noriega said.
However, Noriega's statements are contrasted with existing U.S. immigration policies with both nations.
While Cubans who reach the United States are generally allowed to remain in the country, efforts are made to return most Haitians who arrive illegally.
U.S. officials say they fear a mass immigration rush from Haiti, which they say would threaten national security, if Haitian migrants are given the same treatment.
Because of Cuba's communist government, the 1966 Cuba Adjustment Act lets Cubans be paroled into the community and apply for automatic legal residency one year after arriving, even if economics are the apparent reason for their leaving the island. [End]
Nevertheless, the island's economy is fragile, and Havana would be hard-pressed to find other sources of oil if Venezuela were to cut it off. Such a possibility would loom large if Chávez loses a proposed recall referendum. Leading opposition figures have already spoken out against the shipments.
''If Chávez loses in Venezuela it would be total devastation to the Cuban economy,'' said Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, a Cuba expert at Miami's Florida International University.***