Over the last six months Washington has stepped up its aggression towards Cuba, intensifying its efforts to isolate the people of the island and keep U.S. citizens from hearing and seeing the truth about the socialist revolution there. With the recently passed law tightening the U.S. embargo, provocative actions by right-wing opponents of the revolution, and attempts to restrict Cuban diplomats and deny visas to Cubans traveling to the United States, the U.S. rulers are also testing the limits of how far they can go in attacking the democratic right to have an open and free exchange of ideas.

Opponents of the U.S. embargo against Cuba can respond by getting out the truth about Cuba and by taking Cuban youth up on their offer to host hundreds of young people from the United States on the U.S.-Cuba Youth Exchange this July.

Traveling to Cuba is one of the best ways to win youth to join the fight against Washington's attacks on Cuba. "Part of what we'll be doing when we get back is publishing articles and doing speaking events to tell people what we learned through our discussions there," explained Lorena Gaibor, a coordinator for the Youth Exchange.

The million-strong May Day march in Havana and congress of the Cuban trade unions demonstrated workers' determination to fight for the gains of the revolution and chart a socialist course, as well as their contempt for Washington's latest tightening of the embargo. These are the people Washington doesn't want U.S. workers to know - the proud, independent, sovereign, and revolutionary people of Cuba. That's why these are just the people U.S. youth should meet and see for themselves.

The deadline for applications to join the Youth Exchange is only one month away. Those organizing to go should get their applications in and begin fundraising for travel expenses, which are due July 1.

The best thing supporters of the Cuban revolution can do in the next month is get the word out about the exchange to as many youth as possible and help organize to get them to Cuba. Where there are students and young workers fighting the administrators and bosses, where there are fighters for women's rights, gay rights, and defense of affirmative action there will be youth interested in seeing a living socialist revolution. Let's sign them up to meet some of the people who filled Havana's streets on May 1.  
 
 
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