A U.S. report accusing Canadians of being sex tourists to Cuba has angered Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy.

Axwothy said if the U.S. wants to end the sex trade in Cuba they should drop their trade embargo.

The report prepared by the staff of anti-Castro crusader Senator Jesse Helms accused Canadian tourists of using Fidel Castro as their pimp by engaging in sex tourism with desperate teenage Cuban prostitutes.

Axworthy said the American economic embargo is partly to blame for the problem because it's forcing Cubans into poverty.

The foreign minister travelled to Washington on Friday for a speech to the Organization of American States.

The speech included a call for Cuba's re-integration in the organization, a move the United States has opposed. Canada and the U.S. both want to bring democracy to Cuba but differ in their approaches.

The United States has maintained an economic blockade for 35 years while Ottawa has tried to boost democracy through trade and talking to the Cuban government.