President George W. Bush said Monday that Cubans on the Caribbean island, not Cuban exiles living in the United States, should decide the future of Cuba once President Fidel Castro dies. Bush told reporters at his Crawford, Texas ranch that Cubans should be able to choose their own form of government. “As Cuba has the possibility of transforming itself from a tyrannical situation to a different type of society, the Cuban people ought to decide. The people on the island of Cuba ought to decide,” he said. “Once the people of Cuba decide to form a government, then Cuban-Americans can take an interest in that country and redress the issues of property confiscation,” Bush said. Many Cuban exiles claim property on the island that they lost when Castro came to power in 1959. Bush said he knew little about Castro's health because Cuba “is not a very transparent society.”
