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Obama To Ease Travel Restrictions To Cuba
Cuban-American Lawmakers Angered
By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin
President Barack Obama directed his administration to ease travel restrictions and prohibitions on sending money to communist Cuba yesterday, which date back to the early 1960s. The move also put the overall embargo into question, as Congress considers legislation that would broaden ties with Cuba.
While the president’s actions fulfilled a campaign promise, they angered many in the Cuban-American community who harbor deep-seated anger toward the Castro regime.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs detailed the president’s plan, which will permit unlimited travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans with family in Cuba.
The White House defended the new policy, suggesting easing the travel restrictions will allow these Cuban-Americans to serve as ambassadors for freedom and help weaken the Castro regime’s grip on the island.
The administration has also made it possible for telecommunications providers to enter into agreements linking the U.S. and Cuba, license providers to enter into agreements with Cuban providers and allow radio and satellite providers to offer services to Cuban residents.
“The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people,” Mr. Gibbs said.
The move to revisit U.S. policy toward Cuban has been building for some time. Lawmakers in Congress have already introduced a bill to remove the 47-year travel ban to Cuba and say they believe the president’s policy change is smart for U.S. economic interests and Cuban political interests.
“I think that we finally reached a new watermark here on this issue,” said U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., one of the bill’s sponsors, told CNN. Other lawmakers were not so supportive.
“President Obama has committed a serious mistake by unilaterally increasing Cuban-American travel and remittance dollars for the Cuban dictatorship,” U.S. Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said in a joint statement. The lawmakers are brothers and are of Cuban-American decent.
“Unilateral concessions to the dictatorship embolden it to further isolate, imprison and brutalize pro-democracy activists, to continue to dictate which Cubans and Cuban-Americans are able to enter the island, and this unilateral concession provides the dictatorship with critical financial support.”
Both men are hard-line opponents of the Castro regime, and Democrats were unsuccessful in trying to unseat the brothers in 2008.
However, another Florida Republican voiced a more restrained opposition, urging Mr. Obama against unilateral moves, but he showed sympathy to the policy changes because it could help Cuban-American families reunite with their relatives.
“President Obama, however, should not make any unilateral change in America’s policy toward Cuba. Instead, Congress should vigorously debate these and other ideas before any substantive policy changes are implemented,” said U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla.
The Obama administration, however, shrugged off criticism saying it was time for a change in the U.S. policy because the embargo was not working.
“U.S. policy toward Cuba is not frozen in time,” Dan Restrepo, senior director for the Western Hemisphere for the National Security Council told reporters yesterday. He said the change is policy was “a step to extend a hand to the Cuban people.”
Cuba has been watching closely how the White House and Congress were treating the close to five-decade embargo. Even though Mr. Obama’s policy change would not permit most Americans to travel to Cuba, the congressional legislation were it pass would allow more Americans to visit the island.
“If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues, told Reuters.
But whether Cuba is prepared for the tourism remains another question.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
While the president’s actions fulfilled a campaign promise, they angered many in the Cuban-American community who harbor deep-seated anger toward the Castro regime.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs detailed the president’s plan, which will permit unlimited travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans with family in Cuba.
The White House defended the new policy, suggesting easing the travel restrictions will allow these Cuban-Americans to serve as ambassadors for freedom and help weaken the Castro regime’s grip on the island.
The administration has also made it possible for telecommunications providers to enter into agreements linking the U.S. and Cuba, license providers to enter into agreements with Cuban providers and allow radio and satellite providers to offer services to Cuban residents.
“The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people,” Mr. Gibbs said.
The move to revisit U.S. policy toward Cuban has been building for some time. Lawmakers in Congress have already introduced a bill to remove the 47-year travel ban to Cuba and say they believe the president’s policy change is smart for U.S. economic interests and Cuban political interests.
“I think that we finally reached a new watermark here on this issue,” said U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., one of the bill’s sponsors, told CNN. Other lawmakers were not so supportive.
“President Obama has committed a serious mistake by unilaterally increasing Cuban-American travel and remittance dollars for the Cuban dictatorship,” U.S. Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said in a joint statement. The lawmakers are brothers and are of Cuban-American decent.
“Unilateral concessions to the dictatorship embolden it to further isolate, imprison and brutalize pro-democracy activists, to continue to dictate which Cubans and Cuban-Americans are able to enter the island, and this unilateral concession provides the dictatorship with critical financial support.”
Both men are hard-line opponents of the Castro regime, and Democrats were unsuccessful in trying to unseat the brothers in 2008.
However, another Florida Republican voiced a more restrained opposition, urging Mr. Obama against unilateral moves, but he showed sympathy to the policy changes because it could help Cuban-American families reunite with their relatives.
“President Obama, however, should not make any unilateral change in America’s policy toward Cuba. Instead, Congress should vigorously debate these and other ideas before any substantive policy changes are implemented,” said U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla.
The Obama administration, however, shrugged off criticism saying it was time for a change in the U.S. policy because the embargo was not working.
“U.S. policy toward Cuba is not frozen in time,” Dan Restrepo, senior director for the Western Hemisphere for the National Security Council told reporters yesterday. He said the change is policy was “a step to extend a hand to the Cuban people.”
Cuba has been watching closely how the White House and Congress were treating the close to five-decade embargo. Even though Mr. Obama’s policy change would not permit most Americans to travel to Cuba, the congressional legislation were it pass would allow more Americans to visit the island.
“If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues, told Reuters.
But whether Cuba is prepared for the tourism remains another question.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
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