Bermuda's growing relations with Cuba will come back to haunt the Island, Opposition Cultural Affairs spokeswoman Louise Jackson warned on Friday.

And Premier Alex Scott promised to hold talks with US Consul General Denis Coleman to "get to the bottom" of problems after the diplomat warned of worsening relations with the US over Bermuda's Cuba policy.

"We are already in the cross-hairs in the US with Mr. Kerry," said Mrs. Jackson, referring to the Democrat White House hopeful.

"He only needs one more thing, we have got a lot of baggage with Cuba. We need to deal with it."

She told the House of Assembly that Cuba always fostered ties with other countries through culture, but then relations mushroomed.

"Anyone in their right minds knows it has nothing to do with the arts. It always starts with culture and widens into a virtual take over."

Cuba harassed and jailed innocent journalists, doctors and lawyers, said Mrs. Jackson.

"Is this a country we want to get closer to? Is this the country we want to send our children to?"

Cuban authorities had even clamped down on the Internet, said Mrs Jackson.

Opposition Works and Engineering spokeswoman Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said Bermuda had a lot to lose by angering America.

Larger nations such as Canada could survive on their own, but Bermuda was dependent on the US, said Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin.

Deputy Speaker Walter Lister On the Cuba issue he said Canada, Britain and Caribbean nations had ties with the communist state and he said Bermuda was not going to go the way of Jamaica in the 1970s in having deep economic links. He said the Bahamas had pre-clearance on flights to the US despite flying to Cuba on a regular basis.

Government backbencher Derrick Burgess said the link with Cuba didn't mean Bermuda was condoning ill treatment of its citizens.

"We don't condone any ill treatment of any citizens anywhere."

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley questioned what Government hoped to gain by increasing links with Cuba.

"I keep asking, 'why Cuba?' but I cannot get an answer."

Shadow Transport Minister Jahmal Simmons said he was stunned by the comments of US Consul General Denis Coleman on Cuba and urged Government to rebuild bridges with America.

Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said the remarks by the US Consul General voicing concern over Cuba were clearly prepared and not off-the-cuff.

He feared what started as a cultural relationship would expand further into entrapment.

Government through it push to Independence was trying to severe ties with Britain but the stance over Cuba meant Bermuda could also end up severing ties with its partner on the other side of the Atlantic, said Dr. Gibbons.

Former Health Minister Nelson Bascome said Canada was a much bigger trading partner with the US than Bermuda but had Cuba ties.

And he pointed out that the US government had diplomatic relations with China and North Korea.

"Every day you hear the US talking about when can they do to improve relations with these countries."

And he said the US was guilty of human rights violations at its military base in Cuba where terror detainees were being kept.

Opposition House Leader John Barritt said the fact that Mr. Coleman had made his statement through the media rather than going to Government was a message in itself.

"Maybe the relationship is not as good as we thought it is."

Premier Alex Scott said he had an open door policy with Mr. Coleman, whom he had met twice, and was startled by his comments which he said were the strongest language he had heard a US Consul General use in Bermuda.

"I will certainly pursue it, I will, as best we can, get to the bottom of it."

On the question of why Government was seeking a relationship with Cuba, Mr. Scott said good could come out of countries even if bad things went on there, and cited the US as an example.