Mavis Anderson

Francisco Gonzalez Aruca – Rest in Peace. The Latin America Working Group’s Cuba team extends sincere sympathy to family, friends, and colleagues of Francisco Aruca on his passing on March 6, 2013. Mr. Aruca died unexpectedly of a heart attack in his sleep in Denver, Colorado, where he lived. He was 72 years old. You may read the post sent out today by Progreso Weekly announcing Mr. Aruca’s passing, here...

President Obama's words as he discussed principles for immigration reform struck a deep chord. Some of us at the Latin America Working Group office decided to reflect on our families' paths to the United States.

Here's what he said:

When we talk about that in the abstract, it’s easy sometimes for the discussion to take on a feeling of “us” versus “them.”  And when that happens, a lot of folks forget that most of “us” used to be “them.”  We forget that.

It’s really important for us to remember our history.  Unless you’re one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else.  Somebody brought you...

Big news! Havanatur Celimar, which is the branch of Cuban tour operator Havanatur that handles the U.S. travel market, has reported that Cuba has approved a bundle of U.S. airports, plus charter service providers and relevant airlines, for landing rights in a variety of Cuban airports (Havana, Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara, and Manzanillo). These U.S. airports have already received U.S. permission to begin charter flights to Cuba, as directed by President Obama in January of this year.

For the 19th consecutive year the United Nations General Assembly has voted against the United States’ policy toward Cuba.  This year the vote, occurring October 26, a day or two sooner than expected, was 187 (supporting Cuba’s non-binding resolution condemning the embargo) to 2 (voting against the resolution:  the United States and Israel), with 3 abstaining (Palau, the Marshall Island, Micronesia). See an article on the vote here.

The Latin America Working Group joins thousands of friends of Rev. Lucius Walker, here and abroad, in expressing our great sense of loss at the death of Rev. Walker – and our tremendous admiration for his life.  A mentor to many, and friend to more, and a tireless worker for justice and peace, Lucius was and remains a model of commitment, dedication, and faith that lives in actions. He inspired, challenged, guided, and led. Through his leadership of IFCO/Pastors for Peace and through his personal sacrifice, he made people aware and added to the throngs of U.S. citizens who work to end the unjust embargo on Cuba and the Cuban people. Cuba was not the only country to benefit from his humanitarianism, but that is where we at LAWG intersected with his charisma and his example. LAWG sends our sincerest sympathies to the family, friends, and co-workers of Rev. Walker. May he rest in peace.

Today, August 25, three key congresspersons sent a letter to President Obama lauding the rumors (that we believe are substantiated) that his administration is on the brink of an announcement easing the ban on travel to Cuba – which is within the executive purview of the President (both President Clinton and President Bush took advantage of the authority of the executive to revise and reinterpret the regulations governing travel to Cuba by limited categories of U.S. citizens).

On February 23, 2010, Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in a Havana hospital, where he had been transferred from prison after an 83-day hunger strike in Cuba.  Mr. Zapata was among the 75 internal opposition activists detained in Cuba in March of 2003. He and the others were quickly tried and sentenced.  Mr. Zapata was serving a 36-year sentence, extended from an original three-year sentence.  He was one of 55 Cubans who have been designated by Amnesty International as “Prisoners of Conscience.”

The Latin America Working Group expresses our utmost sorrow at his passing and our distress over this tragic and indefensible death. We call upon the Cuban government to institute a thorough investigation into Mr. Zapata’s death.

LAWG celebrates—and I personally celebrate—that yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.Res. 761, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern and 33 co-sponsors.  This resolution remembers and commemorates the lives and work of the six Jesuit priests and two women who were murdered in El Salvador nearly twenty years ago, on November 16, 1989.

From rock concerts to jailed “dissidents” to impacts on Cuban health and well-being . . . all roads lead to ending the embargo. 

Check out the CNN video about the Juanes “Peace Without Borders” concert scheduled in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución for September 20 here and embedded below. 

President Obama today returned the right of Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba whenever they want and to support their families with remittances in whatever amount.  We applaud that action.  And we urge the President to do more.  Watch this video of Silvia Wilhelm, founder and executive director of Puentes Cubanos, asking for “travel for all” in addition to “travel for some.” 

Check out this Friday afternoon article with news from the White House on President Obama’s apparent intention to announce an end to all restrictions on Cuban-American family travel and remittances to Cuba . . . prior to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in mid-April.  Momentum is building.  The world will notice.  The next move is congressional action on “travel for all.” here.

The nation’s policymakers woke up to this on the front page of the Washington Post:

Momentum Grows for Relaxing Cuba Policy, by Shailagh Murray and Karen DeYoung

Here is a snippet of the article:

At a Capitol Hill news conference scheduled for tomorrow, a wide array of senators and interest groups -- including Senate Democratic Policy Committee Chairman  Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.); Banking Committee Chairman  Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.);  Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Human Rights Watch -- will rally around a potentially historic bill to lift the travel ban.

Last week the U.S.-Cuba Cultural Exchange released a letter from over 900 U.S. artists, arts presenters, arts educators and cultural scholars in support of cultural relations with Cuba and “travel for all.”

We have learned that Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) will speak on the Senate floor late this afternoon on Cuba policy, highlighting the absurdity of the policy by showing four photographs from LAWG/WOLA's photobook on family travel, Love, Loss, and Longing: The Impact of U.S. Travel Policies on Cuba-American Families.

Early news reports indicate major changes in the Cuban government. The Miami Herald reports "Cuba replaces top Cabinet ministers." 

Senator Dorgan (D-ND) along with Sen. Lugar (R-IN), Sen. Enzi (R-WY),  and Sen. Dodd (D-CT) introduced legislation in the Senate on Thursday (Feb. 12) calling for the lifting of travel restrictions so ALL Americans can travel freely to Cuba.

It takes persistence and patience to work to change U.S. policy toward Cuba – 50 years of it!  And we aren’t there yet.  But we probably have the best chance that we’ve had for decades.  We don’t intend to fail.  We’d like to count on you to join us in this effort, and then join us in the international celebration that will occur when the travel ban is lifted.