Pope Benedict has criticised the American trade embargo imposed on Cuba 50 years ago, and called for greater rights on the island.
The pope was speaking at the end of a visit to Cuba, during which he had a 30-minute meeting with the country's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
The 85-year-old former president had requested a few minutes with the 84-year-old pontiff.
Earlier, an estimated 300,000 Cubans attended an open-air mass led by the pope in Havana's Revolution Square
