White House says Castros not treating Cuba well

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The White House was characteristically dismissive of the 50th anniversary of Cuba's revolution, saying Wednesday the island was still suffering.

"The Castro brothers have not treated their people particularly well," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said when asked to comment on Thursday's anniversary.

The January 1, 1959 revolution overthrew a U.S.-backed dictator, brought Fidel Castro to power and ushered in a deep chill in U.S. relations with the island as Havana veered down a communist path at the height of the Cold War.

"Many political dissidents are in jail. The economy is suffering and not free," Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush is on holiday. "The United States will continue to try to seek the freedom of the people of Cuba and support them."

Cuba has blamed a 46-year-old U.S. trade embargo for much of the country's economic woes, but critics led by Washington have pinned the blame on Havana's one-party system.

Raul Castro, who became president in February after his older brother Fidel Castro stepped aside because of illness, did undertake a handful of reforms after taking office, such as allowing Cubans to buy computers, cell phones and DVD players.

But the Bush administration has described the changes as insignificant and insufficient.

Democratic President-elect Barack Obama, who takes over from the Republican Bush on January 20, looks set to ease some of the sanctions on Cuba and also indicated on the campaign trail that he might be open to dialogue with the Cuban leadership.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Frances Kerry)