Congressional critics of Fidel Castro reached agreement with farm-state House members early Tuesday to allow direct sales of U.S. food to Cuba for the first time in nearly four decades. The milestone deal, which was reached after a 5 1/2-hour negotiating session, would bar both the federal government and U.S. banks from financing such sales. The agreement had the blessing of the House Republican leadership but still must get Senate approval. The White House was wary of the deal, because it also would require a president to get congressional approval before imposing future embargoes on food and medicine to other countries. “We are not opposed to allowing things like food and medicine to go to Cuba, as long as it is for the benefit of the people, and not the benefit of the Castro government,” said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. “We do have concerns on what I call an institutional basis, based on the limits that it puts on presidential prerogatives.” Rep. George Nethercutt, a Washington Republican who has been pushing to ease the 38-year-old trade embargo on Cuba, said the agreement was a “huge breakthrough for our farmers,” noting that Cuba could get financing from another country to buy U.S. food.
