UNITED NATIONS -- In a hard-lined speech to the 2009 United Nations General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that despite the election of Barack Obama, not much has changed in the relationship between Cuba and the United States.

Rodriguez mounted the U.N. podium to a largely quiet and restrained General Assembly audience.

In his 20-minute speech, Rodriguez detailed a litany of complaints.

While the foreign minister applauded the lifting of restrictions that limited the transfer of funds between families in the United States and Cuba, he insisted it was not enough.

``These measures are a positive step, but they are extremely limited and insufficient,'' he said.

``Nor has there been any signal indicating that the U.S. government is ready to put an end to the immoral practice, which has increased in recent days, of the misappropriation of Cuban funds that have been frozen in American banks and of other goods based on orders by venal judges who are violating their own laws. . . . The essential thing is that the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba remains intact.''

He then admonished the General Assembly for not taking action to ``punish'' Washington for its actions.

Rodriguez challenged the White House to prove its ``desire'' for change.

``Should there be a true desire toward change, the U.S. government could authorize the export of Cuban goods and services to the United States and vice-versa,'' he said. ``The United States could allow Cuba to buy any product containing more than 10 percent of U.S. components or technology anywhere in the world regardless of its trademark or country of origin.''

There was no immediate response to the speech from the U.S. mission at the U.N.

Rodriguez declared that the so-called neo-cons who he said ``drove'' foreign policy under George W. Bush have since regrouped and now wield substantial influence in the Obama administration.

``The U.S. blockade of Cuba is an act of unilateral aggression which should be terminated,'' Rodriguez said.

He insisted that contrary to its public statements in support of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, Washington bears responsibility for the on-going crisis.

``Latin America and the Caribbean are living through a dramatic set of circumstances . . . the coup d'état in Honduras is reflection of this. The usurpers who kidnapped the legitimate president of the country are violating the constitution and are brutally surprising the people . . . something which happened during the dark years of the military dictatorships propped up by the United States,'' he said.

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