CARBONDALE - Alina Fernandez believes an embargo between the Untied States and Cuba will one day be lifted, but conditions necessary for such a political change "are not yet about to be fulfilled."

Fernandez, the daughter of long-time Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, said lifting the embargo would help the economy of a nation that's been struggling for decades, but with current governmental regimes, the move may not be the best choice.

"My country has been devastated by a couple of hurricanes, but I don't think you should reward a dictatorship with a zillion dollars," said Fernandez, who escaped her native country disguised as a Spanish tourist in 1993.

As a child, she watched as Mickey Mouse disappeared from her television set, replaced with a group of bearded men calling for revolution. She spent many years of her life not knowing the leader of the bearded men - who would come visit her at home - was actually her father.

"In those days, he could jump from the television to the living room like that," she said as she snapped her fingers.

Soon, the calls for revolution turned into televised executions and "life went from black and white and stayed gray for a long time." Mickey Mouse never returned to Cuban television.

Though she's been in the United States for 15 years, Fernandez still follows life in her homeland. She even hosts a radio show in Miami, and each Wednesday night, the show focuses on Cuban politics.

Fernandez's uncle, Raúl Castro, assumed Cuba's top office in July 2006 after Fidel Castro fell ill and was elected to the position in February 2008. Though there's been a change at the top of the regime, Fernandez said not much has changed in Cuba.

While her uncle's political policy and beliefs stands similar to that of her father, she remembers him as a "family man."

"As a personal relationship, he's a family man," she said. "He's the one who kept the family together."

Fernandez said she's unsure if she will ever return to Cuba, adding most people return to places of which they have fond memories, and the last few years of her life there were not positive experiences.

When she fled 15 years ago, she knew she was taking a risk. Most people caught trying to escape were sentenced to jail time, but one's fate if caught was always "uncertain."

"The feeling is that you're going to a casino and playing your whole fortune on roulette," she said.

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