'The Cuban people can know that they have no greater friend than America and they can count on our support through the process of transformation to their democratic future,' US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
'We encourage the Cuban people to advance that cause as well by remaining in Cuba and working for positive change,' he added.
Fidel Castro, 79, appointed Raul Castro, 75, as interim leader so the long ruling president could undergo and recover from surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.
'The imposition of Raul Castro denies the Cuban people of their right to freely elect their government,' McCormack said.
The United States is prepared to quickly provide humanitarian relief to Cubans in support of 'a genuine transition,' McCormack said.
The Cuban government has kept a tight lid on Castro's condition following surgery, saying only that the procedure was a success, that the leader was expected to fully recover and was alert.
News of Castro's illness prompted large celebrations by the exiled Cuban community on the streets of Miami and sparked speculation that he had actually died and Havana was keeping it secret.
Castro's sister, who opposes his reign and fled to the United States in 1964, has criticized Cuban Americans for celebrated someone's misfortune. She told CNN television that her brother was 'very sick but not dead.'
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