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Protests continue in Miami against new U.S. curbs on visits, remittances to Cuba |
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Militant
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MIAMI—Hundreds rallied July 31 outside the office of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen here to protest tighter U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba and new limits on cash remittances to family members on the island. Many held signs saying, “Bush: Don’t divide the Cuban family” and chanted “Yo sí voy” (I will go). “I was born here, my parents are Cuban, all my family is in Cuba, and I think I should have the right to travel to Cuba. Not Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, not Bush, not [Congressman] Lincoln Diaz-Balart will stop me from going to Cuba,” said high school student Justín Piñeiro. Similar protests have been organized in Miami’s Little Havana and Hialeah in recent weeks.
A week earlier 500 protested outside the offices of Lincoln Díaz-Balart in Miami. At this rally supporters of the Democratic Party presidential ticket worked the crowd, distributing Kerry-Edwards stickers to the demonstrators. Ricardo Chang, who left Cuba 10 years ago, said the new government measures “are violating the rights of citizens in this country.” He and other protesters said they had left Cuba to try to improve their economic conditions, intending to both travel regularly to the island and send funds to their families there. Emilio Borrero said he left Cuba three years ago for work, not politics. “Here people have no rights. Why are there restrictions? We should be able to visit Cuba as much as we want,” he said. — NICOLE SARMIENTO
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