US President George W Bush on Thursday reiterated his support for Cuban dissidents who want to overthrow the Fidel Castro government, saying it is in the Cuban people's interest to be 'free from tyranny'.

Receiving a report from the Commission for Assistance to Free Cuba, Bush said: "We believe the people of Cuba should be free from tyranny. We believe the future of Cuba is a future of freedom.

"It's in our nation's interest that Cuba be free. It's in the neighbourhood's interest that Cuba be free. More importantly, it's in the interest of the Cuban people that they be free from tyranny."

This US strategy, said Bush, "encourages the spending of money to help organisations to protect dissidents and to promote human rights.

"It is a strategy that encourages a clear voice of the truth being spoken to the Cuban people through radio and TV."

It is a strategy that will prevent the regime from exploiting hard currency of tourists and remittances of Cubans to prop up their repressive regime.