Vol. 72/No. 10      March 10, 2008

Washington has restricted travel by U.S. residents to Cuba for decades. In 2004, the U.S. government tightened restrictions on trips by Cuban Americans to the island, limiting visits to once every three years to see immediate family members. Washington also limited remittances to Cuba to $300 per quarter. Prior to these restrictions, Cuban Americans were permitted to visit close relatives once a year.

The event was hosted by the liberal research group Center for International Policy (CIP) and the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights. While some speakers expressed disagreement with the Cuban Revolution, the panel reflected a broadening opposition among Cuban Americans to U.S. government restrictions on travel, remittances, and other exchanges with Cuba.

“I came here from Cuba because I dreamt of a better life,” said panelist Sgt. Carlos Lazo, a combat medic in the National Guard who was deployed to Iraq. “My son was gravely ill in the hospital, and the U.S. government denied me permission to visit him in Cuba. ”

CIP director Wayne Smith, a former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, was a panelist. He said “the Cuban government doesn’t always allow freedom of expression” and he argued that the U.S. government’s travel restrictions are “inhumane.”

“If a Cuban American had recently visited a mother or father in Cuba but was told two months later that the mother or father was dying, there is no way to return and be at the bedside. Rather, they could only go back again in three years—and visit the grave,” he said.

Panelist Marlene Arzola, a Cuban American, said that “the U.S. government is violating the fundamental rights of its citizens by restricting the rights of families with these laws.”

The meeting also reflected tactical debates between leading capitalist politicians in Florida over how best to advance Washington’s interests vis-à-vis the socialist revolution 90 miles from its shores. Several speakers encouraged voting for Democratic Party candidates who they said would ease travel and trade restrictions.

Three well-known Cuban American Republican members of Congress are being challenged in the November elections. Raul Martinez, a Cuban American Democrat and former mayor of Hialeah, is running against Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart. Joe Garcia, chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party and former director of the Cuban American National Foundation, is challenging Representative Mario Diaz-Balart. Annette Taddeo, a Colombian-born business executive and a Democrat, is running against Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

All three challengers support the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. They have tactical differences with the incumbents over how best to get rid of the Cuban government. The challengers campaign for easing restrictions on travel and remittances. The incumbents are strong opponents of any relations with Cuba.

“The Congressional elections are an opportunity to show that the right-wing doesn’t have the same influence it did,” said panelist Francisco Aruca, director of Radio Progreso.

Margaret Trowe, Socialist Workers candidate for Congress in Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, presented a different opinion during the discussion period. She pointed out that Washington’s hostility toward Cuba goes back to the victory of the revolution in 1959.

“The embargo and travel ban are deeply in the interests of the ruling class,” she said. “The attacks against Cuba over the years have been carried out by both Democratic and Republican Party administrations.”
 
 
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