LAWG Blog - Latin America Working Group

Muros y Puertas: Cuban Singer Carlos Varela's Message to U.S. Congress

by Vanessa Kritzer on February 03, 2010

On a cold afternoon during the last days of 2009, a man dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and a black hat walked through the quiet halls of Congress with a guitar in hand. While no passerby could have known it, this was a landmark moment for Grammy award-winning Cuban singer-songwriter Carlos Varela. For the past ten years, Varela had been denied a visa to tour in the United States due to harsher travel restrictions imposed by the Bush Administration.

Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) hosted a briefing and performance with Varela that highlighted the importance of international cultural exchange. Varela—who has been compared to Bob Dylan for his beautiful, often controversial lyrics and prolific repertoire—was frank in his views on the problems caused by the increased restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Cuba in recent years.

:2010, Blog Posts, Cuba, Vanessa Kritzer

High Hopes in Haiti for U.S.-Cuba Cooperation

by Emily Chow on January 29, 2010

The Haitian earthquake that occurred on January 12th has left the poorest nation in our hemisphere in an even worse position. However, the international community has made a remarkable humanitarian effort to contribute to the relief of the Haitian people. Even nations that are typically at odds have joined together to help.

:2010, Blog Posts, Blog Posts, Cuba, Emily Chow

Cuba Politics Should be Pushed Aside

by Paulo Gusmao on December 01, 2009

“The cigar-chomping, no-nonsense general who lifted New Orleans from the depths of Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 thinks Cuba has some important lessons to teach the United States in storm-fighting, and he wants warmer relations with the nation's neighbor to the south for that reason.” See the full article from the shreveporttimes.com here.

:Blog Posts, Cuba, Paulo Gusmao

It's time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban

by Andy Turner on November 18, 2009

“U.S. law lets American citizens travel to any country on earth, friend or foe -- with one exception: Cuba. It's time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban.” -Congressman Berman and Senator Lugar

Yesterday, in an op-ed published in the Miami Herald, Chairman Berman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senator Richard Lugar, ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, endorsed the freedom to travel to Cuba just in time for the long-awaited committee hearing on Cuba travel. Here we go. The leadership in Congress is firmly in favor of change and not afraid to say so.

:Blog Posts

Cuba Policy and Campaign Contributions, ever wonder why?

by Andy Turner on November 16, 2009

The Miami Herald details a new report today on how money affects Cuba policy.

Public Campaign , a non-profit campaign finance research group, just released the most extensive study of Cuban-American political donations to date. The conclusion: big money from political action committees is the reason for our stagnant Cuba policy.