Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams
wrapped up a three-day visit to Cuba on
Wednesday that refocused attention on the case
of three suspected IRA members jailed in
Colombia accused of training Marxist FARC
rebels.
But Adams, whose Sinn Fein Party is the political ally of the Irish
Republican Army, said he barely discussed the issue with President Fidel
Castro in a five-hour meeting on Tuesday even though one of the suspects,
Niall Connolly, was Sinn Fein's representative in Cuba.
''We talked about many subjects, from the situation in the Third World
and the issue of globalization, to human and democratic rights and baseball
and football,'' Adams told a news conference of his talk with Castro shortly
before departing for home.
Adams, whose visit drew criticism from some U.S. officials, said he
discussed the suspects in more depth with other officials, including Foreign
Minister Felipe Perez Roque, but he gave no further details.
The U.S. government cautioned in September that an Adams trip to
Cuba would raise ''troubling questions'' if it turned out the IRA had links to the
FARC, which Washington labels a ''terrorist'' group.
During his visit, the Sinn Fein leader called for an end to the U.S. trade
embargo of the Caribbean island .
Castro has been a strong supporter of Sinn Fein's struggle for an end to
