End the Travel Ban on Cuba

These remarks were originally presented at a congressional briefing on March 20th, 2013 titled “The New Miami-Cuba Reality: Is It a Game Changer?” This briefing by Cuban Americans from south Florida discussed the new Miami-Havana reality -- and why the U.S. and Cuban governments must seize the moment to start talking about solving their myriad bilateral disagreements.

In 2002, I participated in an exchange program organized by Silvia Wilhelm of Puentes Cubanos, which consisted of a small group of Cuban-Americans (all from Miami) and an equal number of Cuban counterparts in a weeklong intensive encounter at the University of Havana. There, we debated, discussed, expressed and exchanged ideas about what being Cuban meant to each one of us present. The focus on cultural identity and all the complex emotional issues it brought to the fore had far reaching consequences for everyone involved. In my case, this experience marked a before and after and one that has driven the thrust of much of my subsequent personal and professional endeavors.

In 2006, the World Wildlife Fund declared that Cuba is the only country in the world that qualifies as developing sustainably. I imagine that this may come as a shock to some people, who, when they think of Cuba, imagine old cars from the 1950s on the roads, crowded city blocks in Havana, or retrograde political leaders and systems that surely couldn't be so modern as to incorporate eco-friendly policies around climate change. However, once you know a little bit more about the history of Cuba, it makes perfect sense that this small country would be the only one around the globe whose ecological footprint isn't far outreaching its development index.

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...

 

 

 

 

The Cuba Team from the Latin America Working Group wants to invite you to a conference titled, “Taking Cuba off the Terrorist List: A Question of National Interest” that will take place at the National Press Club on Thursday, March 7th. LAWG will be co-hosting this event with the Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America.  There will be presentations by Rep. James P. McGovern, D-MA , Wayne Smith, Ambassador Anthony Quainton, Robert Muse, Esq., Adam Isacson  and Dr. Ana Garcia Chichester . Read the full invitation here.

RSVP online here

or send to Emily Chow at the Latin America Working Group: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This is a timely topic. A distinguished congressional delegation led by Senator Patrick Leahy has just returned from Cuba, and a number of its members have recommended that Cuba be removed from the U.S. State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Concurrently, the Boston Globe reported that senior State Department officials are actively considering Cuba’s removal from the list.

Unfortunately we will not be streaming the event however we will be live-tweeting via the #cubaisnot so make sure to check us out on Twitter via @Endthetravelban!

As a first generation Cuban American, I have grown up hearing a wide variety of stories and opinions about this mysterious island that my family originated from. Some from my grandmother, who would talk about the farm that she was raised on called “La Juanita.” She always told me how she loved to ride horses. My mother, who grew up in Havana, would recount stories about her childhood. One story that stuck with me was about how my grandfather made a makeshift window that looked out onto the street so that my grandmother, who was a nervous Nellie, could watch my mother and her sister play outside. None of these stories was particularly negative or positive, pushing my opinion to one side or another. Then there was a flurry of stories about a young boy named Elian Gonzalez, who was about my age. Kids in my elementary school would say, “Oh you’re Cuban like that Elian Gonzalez boy.” And, people were talking about a man named Fidel Castro, and how he was an evil dictator. All of this coming at me from peers, family, friends, and media outlets left me very confused. As a child, it made me feel like I was weird because my family came from this country that “everyone” said negative things regarding it. I knew I was Cuban, but I had no idea how that played into my identity. At that point, I did not really know what to think or believe about Cuba or being Cuban American... 

Short and sweet: we want to get Cuba removed from the terrorist list! (Don’t know what the terrorist list is? Check out our informational video)

On March 1st, 1982, Cuba was added to the U.S. Department of State’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. Why? Because “at the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba’s ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America,” says a 2005 Congressional Research Services report. 

Fifty-one years ago, the foundation for U.S. policy towards Cuba was made. On February 7th, 1962, the trade restrictions that we recognize today as the Cuban embargo were announced by President John F. Kennedy. President Bill Clinton later furthered the reach of the economic sanctions by signing the Cuban Democracy Act (Torricelli Act) of 1992 and the Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act (Helms-Burton Act) of 1996 into law.

Cuba policy faces a new era with a second Obama Administration and a State Department soon to be led by Senator John Kerry (D-MA). We could well have have some friends in high places, and that’s not at all wrong. President Obama has made some serious changes to U.S.-Cuba policy in allowing for Cuban Americans to travel freely to Cuba without restriction and liberalizing purposeful (people-to-people), religious, academic and cultural travel. Senator Kerry has been a strong congressional ally in advocating for a rational policy towards Cuba. In 2011 he placed a freeze on $20 million in USAID funding that was designated for “democracy promotion” in Cuba, until a report on the ineffectiveness of these programs was produced by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While there has been progress made in the last four years in pursuing a more sane Cuba policy, there is still a cloud hanging over a real change in our relations with Cuba. That cloud is Alan Gross, a USAID subcontractor who has been detained in Cuba since December 3, 2009. Why? Well, Arturo Lopez-Levy shares some important facts in his piece on The Havana Note, “Is Obama Acting Pragmatically in the Alan Gross Case?”...

Since the 1990’s the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) has been a go-to source for all questions regarding Cuba policy here on Capitol Hill for our activists across the nation (without the political wonkiness, of course). We’ve provided opportunities for you to take action and make your voice heard above all the other talking points that overload the halls of our government. Now, you have the opportunity to support us so we can continue to move our Cuba policy forward.

Will you show us your support so we can continue to support you?

While many of us are facing the difficult task of rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy’s devastation along the north Atlantic coast, there are many others who face this undertaking with few or no resources, even without food reserves to face the days that have followed. Those living in Cuba’s second largest city, Santiago de Cuba, and in other towns in eastern Cuba were directly hit by Sandy’s wrath a few days before she reached the shores of the United States. On October 25, winds of 110 miles per hour devastated homes, businesses, and agriculture in the eastern provinces of Cuba for up to five hours. Now the Cuban people, just like many here in the United States, are in the recovery stages.

People-to-people travel has been one of the few successful elements of U. S current policy towards Cuba.  However, this category of travel has been under constant attack since its implementation by the Obama Administration in January 2012.

According to the Treasury Department, approximately 160 organizations were granted people-to-people licenses in the past year. Now about 140, a sizeable number, of those people-to-people travel licenses are languishing in the bureaucratic depths of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, pending renewal.   Twenty applications of the total 160 have been newly granted or renewed within the past month, but some very respectable organizations have been denied their renewal. In 2010-2011 we worked tirelessly to reinstate this category of travel, and we will not stand by quietly and watch it shrivel and disappear.

I have been curious about Cuba since 1999 when a friend told me to get there before the United States invaded because there would be a Gap store on every corner. Her photos showed a uniqueness, an old authenticity that I didn’t think I had experienced before. As a long- time wanderlust sufferer, if a highly-regarded worldly friend tells me a place is a “must see,” it goes on the list. I never did my homework about Cuba but rather, like many of us, allowed myself to be fed the random dogma and propaganda from the news. My curiosity lingered, and in 2007 while working for the U.S. government in the Caribbean, I learned the HIV rates in Cuba were thought to be among the lowest in the world. This was largely accomplished through quarantine. If you had HIV, you were segregated. How awful, I thought. What a terrible and demoralizing way to treat people. This rounded out my perceptions about Cuba. A place full of culture and antiquity but drowning in oppression and prejudice. I still wanted to go. In May of this year, while trolling the net for Cuba trips, I discovered Global Exchange; and as crazy luck would have it, Busboys and Poetswas taking a group to Cuba the same week I was free! [editor’s note: Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bookstore, lounge, and theater in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. It has been described as a haven for writers, thinkers and performers from America's progressive social and political movements.]

The Cuban government has lifted travel restrictions for its citizens. Yes, you’re reading that correctly…the Cuban government.

Reuters reports that the announcement was made official today in the Cuban state newspaper, Granma. “The government now is set to lift requirements to obtain an exit visa permitting departure from Cuba and a letter of invitation from someone in the destination country. Instead, starting on January 14, Cubans will simply have to show a passport and, if needed, a visa from the country to which they are traveling, Communist Party newspaper Granma said.”

While most members of Congress were on recess in August, we weren’t.  Instead of hanging up our hats, we are prepping for what may come this fall. This means educating ourselves and you on some of the harsh aspects of our current policy towards Cuba.

In light of both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, Cuban Americans for Engagement (CAFE), has a message for them from the Cuban-American community:

“We, as Cuban Americans and American citizens, urge both parties to not fall into the trap of viewing our community as a monolithic voting bloc that is in favor of the United States' embargo on Cuba. We are a diverse body of voices with a majority that favors a policy of engagement and, ultimately, normalization of relations between the two nations.”

People-to-people travel has been one of the few successful elements of our current policy towards Cuba.  Now, that could all change.

Many of about 140 existing people-to-people travel licenses are languishing in the bureaucratic depths of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, pending renewal.  And we know of only three that have been renewed. In 2010-2011 we worked tirelessly to re-instate this category of travel and we will not stand by quietly and watch it shrivel and disappear.

As I pushed an old flamboyantly-painted yellow school bus down the streets of Havana in front of the U.S. Interests Section and a billboard exclaiming “Venceremos!” (We will overcome), I realized how privileged I was to spend a week in a country so mysterious to U.S. citizens, and so troubled, yet filled with beautiful, smart, and passionate people. I don’t pretend to believe that I could possibly understand Cuba in one week, but I can say that after visiting the island only 90 miles from the Florida Keys, I am a better person, I think more critically about what I am told, and I see the connection between the U.S. and Cuban people as a connection worth fighting for.  Photo by Josh Halpren: Participants from AU's Alternative Break program to Cuba

On July 10th in Washington DC, Reverend Francisco Marrero, the General Secretary of the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba (PRCC), discussed the role of the PRCC in Cuba. In celebration of the 45th anniversary in which the PRCC became autonomous from the New Jersey Senate of the Presbyterian Church, Marrero shared the strides the PRCC had made as well as the challenges the church still faces in light of its strong and active presence within Cuba's ecumenical community.

These days, current United States policy towards Cuba seems to be maneuvered by a strong backbone called Florida, who appears to be standing a little taller. With recent news of stiffer laws that Florida state legislators have backed to their 90.5-mile away neighbor, could the state of Florida be overstretching its rights and treading upon the federal government by creating its own foreign policy?

With nearly 2 million Cubans in the United States, approximately 400,000 travelled last year to Cuba. Fifty percent of family members who travel to Cuba are U.S. residents, not citizens. U.S. Rep. David Rivera has proposed an amendment to make it illegal for Cuban residents living in the U.S. to travel to Cuba for any reason (i.e. a death in the family, daughter is sick…etc.) and then return to the United States. What will happen if this goes into effect? Well, before that happens, the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights (CACFR) is speaking out; and its executive director, Silvia Wilhelm, said, “We will fight this cruelty proposed by Rivera.” The Latin America Working Group is 100% behind CACFR. See below for CACFR's full press release.

Yesterday in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Policy Enforcement a bill proposed by Representative David Rivera (R-FL-25) was heard. His bill H.R. 2831 aims to amend the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1996  to " prohibit Cubans who claim political asylum in the United States from returning to the island nation. The proposal would revoke the residency status of any Cuban national who returns to Cuba after receiving political asylum and residency in the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act," says the Miami Herald's "Naked Politics" blog. 

First things first, we want to apologize for the quietness on our end these past few weeks. There have been several weighty developments in U.S.-Cuba policy which we've been working on the ground, pushing back. This is a catch-up email to get us all back on the same page and provide you with a couple actions by which to re-activate your constituent (and clicking) power!

1. Tell Congress to address April's terrorist attack in Miami

2. Let the State Department know that you denounce the visa denials of Cuban academics

You may have heard about the State Department's denial of visas to 11 respected Cuban scholars who were planning on attending the Latin American Studies Association meeting in San Francisco this week—while at the same time approving visas for two prominent Cubans invited to the same conference. The approvals of visas to Mariela Castro (a sexologist and President Raul Castro's daughter), Dr. Eusebio Leal (the historian of the City of Havana), and two weeks earlier to Josefina Vidal (head of the North American Section of MINREX, Cuba's foreign ministry). BTW, we applaud these visas, as there should be free and easy exchange between Cuban officials and U.S. officials, too. (Aren't they "people," too?)

The Cubans who were denied visas are a "Who's Who" of Cuban academe who favor increased exchange between the United States and Cuba, and even the normalization of relations. They are effective in their messaging. Perhaps that is why they were denied? 

The State Department doesn't make it too easy to contact them directly. However, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be. Follow these couple steps below to let the State Department know that you support educational exchanges with Cuba. We want to see a free flow of ideas on both sides of the Florida straits! 

(We've included an image below to help guide you step by step in contacting State correctly)

• First, go to the State Department website here.
• Second, select "U.S. Foreign Policy" as the Topic. You will then be prompted to pick a region, select 'Western Hemisphere"
• Then, Copy and Paste this text:

SUBJECT: Support Educational Exchange with Cuba

QUESTION/COMMENT:

Dear Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

I want to express my distress about the recent denial of visas to eleven Cuban scholars scheduled to participate in academic exchange at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) meeting in San Francisco. If U.S. policy is to promote educational exchanges, what better way is there than to allow U.S. academics and Cuban academics to meet face-to-face and to share ideas and research.

It appears that the visas were denied in an arbitrary and contradictory manner—to respected scholars who have previously and recently been given visas to enter the United States to teach in some of our most prodigious institutions of higher learning. These denials contribute nothing, save confusion and perhaps even discouragement of the desired academic exchanges.

I support engaging the Cuban people through academic, people-to-people, and religious exchanges as, and only as, a needed first step in returning the fundamental right of all Americans to travel to Cuba.

Sincerely,

---

 

Thanks for your continued advocacy on behalf of the End the Travel Ban campaign !

 

May 22, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Department of State

Mr. Peter Brennan
Office of Cuban Affairs
Department of State

Dear Secretary Clinton and Mr. Brennan:

Your recent denial of visas to eleven of the Cuban scholars scheduled to participate in the academic exchanges during the Latin American Studies Association Conference (LASA) in San Francisco, underscores the irrationality of United States policy towards academics from Cuba.

The lack of criteria for the denial of these visas, even in cases of academics who have been granted visas and have traveled to the United States in the past only points to the fact that these denials are arbitrary and politically motivated. Clearly a more rational approach is called for in our relations with Cuba in general and, more specifically in our dealings with academic exchanges which should never be used as political tools. 

The Foundation for Normalization of US/Cuba Relations strenuously objects to both the recent denial of these visas to Cuban academics as well as recent moves by the Treasury Department to tighten restrictions on People-to-People engagements. The recent People to People trips have resulted in positive steps on both sides of the Florida Straits. The Obama administration has committed to a program of increased contact and engagement with the Cuban people and these actions are counterproductive to this policy. Time has proven that isolation and confrontation do not produce any positive results. Let's continue to engage the Cuban people so that we may move forward in our relations in a positive and constructive manner..

Sincerely,

Executive Committee of FORNORM (Foundation for Normalization of US/Cuba Relations)

Elena R Freyre

Xiomara Levy

Amaury Cruz Max Lesnik

Julio Ruiz Ramon Coll

Isidro Borja Richard Sablon

Antonio Zamora Rosa Reyes

Luis Vazquez

For PDF version click here

Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone: María Isabel Alfonso, 786-529-5123

Cuban Americans For Engagement

http://www.cafeporcuba.com

 

Support LAWGEF's Cuba Advocacy Efforts

Welcome to the Cuba Fund Campaign 2012 Headquarters!

This is not your typical Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) fundraising campaign. This is a seven month long campaign-- May 2012-December 2012. We know, we're trying to pace ourselves. There will be many opportunities to join our stellar honorary co-chairs and campaign committee  and contribute to LAWGEF over the course of these seven months. So if you can give today, a big thanks. If you can give tomorrow, muchisimas gracias!! If you can give in our final push in December too, even better!!

The work that LAWGEF has done thus far in regards to changing our Cuba policy has proven to be even more important within our current political climate. Check out some of our achievements here. Since President Obama made changes to the travel regulations in January 2011, we've seen a huge wave of U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba. As a result we've also been witness to the amazing stories and experiences that many have had on their travels. However, there are attempts coming from many angles in Congress that aim to roll back the progress we've made. We cannot let that happen. In addition, many of our traditional funders have limited or stopped funding Cuba advocacy because they think the job has been completed, yet this is not the case.

For the first time in decades, the political environment in both Washington and Havana is such that a sea-change in U.S.-Cuba relations is not only possible, but inevitable. Your contribution to the Cuba program of the Latin America Working Group Education Fund will assist us in taking advantage of these exciting developments and to ensure we don't return to the counter-productive policies of previous years. 

Majority of Americans -Especially Cuban Americans-Favor Engagement with Cuba

On April 16th and 17th a group of Cuban Americans of different political persuasions from states including Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Kentucky visited Washington DC in order to promote engagement in relations between Cuba and the United States with members of Congress, the U.S. State Department, and the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. We counted on the support of the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) and the Washington Office of Latin America (WOLA) for such an undertaking. Para leer en español haz un click aquí.

From the unique perspective of Diego Benitez from Witness for Peace (WFP) who has been on the ground in Havana, Cuba since the beginning of the year. WFP is a politically independent, nationwide grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. WFP’s mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing U.S. policies and corporate practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean. WFP established an active delegations program in Cuba in 1999. Delegates worked to expose the human costs of the U.S. embargo. Over the next four years, thousands of activists traveled to Cuba with WFP before President Bush revoked WFP's license to travel to Cuba in 2005.

In case you hadn’t noticed, it seems that Cuba has been popping up in mainstream news headlines a lot in the past week. From Ozzie Guillen’s comments about Fidel Castro to this weekend’s Summit of the Americas, Cuba is a hot topic these days. The strange thing is—Cuba isn’t in the news for what its people or government have done—it’s in the news because U.S. citizens and politicians are putting in their two cents about the country (as is so often the case).

President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, was interviewed last week by Dr. Salim Lamrani, lecturer at Paris Sorbonne Paris IV University and expert on U.S.-Cuba relations, for publication in The Huffington Post. The interviewer and the interviewee produced an absorbing conversation on the state of U.S.-Cuba relations, particularly how the countries can cooperate to move forward—a   step that Alarcón claims would benefit both sides of the Florida Straits. He should know. Prior to his position as President of the Parliament, Alarcón spent twelve years in the United States as Cuban ambassador to the United Nations. Throughout the conversation, the two men did not hesitate to discuss some of the touchier topics plaguing U.S.-Cuba relations: including migration, the current administration, normalized relations, and even Alan Gross. Read below for excerpts of the more compelling questions and responses:

Dr. Reinerio Arce, President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Matanzas, Cuba,  participated in a briefing at Washington, DC’s National Council of Churches last week regarding the current  reality of religious life and the role of churches  in Cuba. Dr. Arce’s presentation focused on the current economic and social changes occurring on the island and how they have affected various faiths and churches. He also expressed deep support for small, but important measures taken by the Obama Administration in regards to religious travel--which he claims has greatly facilitated his seminary’s ability to carry out social projects. Dr. Arce began by stressing the importance of the relationships between U.S. and Cuban churches:

Dr. Reinerio Arce, President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Matanzas, Cuba,  participated in a briefing at Washington, DC’s National Council of Churches last week regarding the current  reality of religious life and the role of churches  in Cuba. Dr. Arce’s presentation focused on the current economic and social changes occurring on the island and how they have affected various faiths and churches. He also expressed deep support for small, but important measures taken by the Obama Administration in regards to religious travel--which he claims has greatly facilitated his seminary’s ability to carry out social projects. Dr. Arce began by stressing the importance of the relationships between U.S. and Cuban churches:

 

Information on Cuba can often be biased, misinformed and confusing.  Two recently published articles, one from the Wall Street Journal and the other from the Council on Foreign Relations, highlight this constant conflict in the U.S. media.  These articles provide two starkly different opinions of Cuba. When presented with two contradictory portrayals of the same topic, how do you know what to believe?

Today, March 1st, marks the 30th anniversary of Cuba’s placement on the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.  In 1982 Cuba was added to this list because, according to the Congressional Research Services 2005 report, “At the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba’s ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America.” The report goes on to recall Cuba’s involvement in supporting revolutionary movements in Africa and other Latin American countries. In “1992 Fidel Castro stressed that his country’s support for insurgents abroad was a thing of the past,” mainly due to the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent loss of resources following the fall. 

Are the Florida Straits getting smaller, or are more bridges being built?

In mid-January of 2011, President Obama eased travel restrictions for ordinary U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba through organizations holding "people-to-people" licenses, granted by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He also granted general licenses (no pre-authorization required) for religious organizations and educational institutions. While this is substantial progress, our work is far from over.

Taking advantage of President Obama’s liberalized regulations that have re-established people-to-people licensed travel to Cuba, members of LAWG staff partnered with Witness for Peace and led a delegation of 25 people to study and learn about the art and culture of Cuba. Our delegation met with artists such as Sandra Ramos, Kadir and Kelvin Lopez, saw performances by students in one of Havana’s many schools for the arts, visited Ernest Hemingway’s home, witnessed the magic of the Cuba National Ballet, participated in folkloric dance led by a community group “Okantomi,” dialogued with members of the Cuban National Assembly, Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Tourism, Union of Artists and Writers, and the United States Interests Section in Havana.

So there is no suspense, you did it! Through your calls and emails, forwarding of the action alert, and commitment to retaining unrestricted travel to Cuba for families, the Diaz-Balart policy rider has been removed. President Obama’s regulations allowing the reunification of Cuban families stands firm—and without government interference.

DC wouldn’t be what it is without power struggles, complicated and indiscernible Hill jargon and impending government shutdowns. But what we have never witnessed before in the nation’s capitol is a hold placed on the funding of the entire U.S. government over the right for Cuban-American families to travel and see their relatives in Cuba. Here’s what happened:

In the spirit of the holidays, Cuban-American members of Congress are at it again with their Grinch-like tactics. Rolled into a spending “Megabus” bill that is being pushed through Congress is language that would restrict family travel to Cuba for Cuban Americans to once every three years, no exceptions. However, not only does this amendment, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, separate families, it also redefines what constitutes a family circle. Cuban Americans, TAKE NOTE: What this means is that your cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, etc., will no longer qualify as "family." As one of our Cuban-American friends said, “The very idea that some U.S. entity is going to tell a Cuban who is your family and who is not is something so beyond the pale that it might suffice to turn water into wine . . ."

Congressman José Serrano (NY-16)  issued a statement today saying he was "shocked and apalled" at the "heartless approach" by House Republicans to shut down all family travel to Cuba during the holiday season (read full press release below).  Rolled into a spending “Megabus” bill that is being pushed through Congress is language that would restrict family travel to Cuba for Cuban Americans to once every three years, no exceptions. However, not only does this amendment, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, separate families, it also redefines what constitutes a family circle, limiting the definition to immediate family only. 

This summer, conservative House of Representatives Republicans, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, proposed rolling back President Obama’s executive order that allows Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba to visit their relatives without any restrictions. In response, President Obama threatened to veto any legislation that imposed limits on Cuban-Americans’ right to travel freely to visit their families. He is aware that this is an important issue about family values and that it is very important to Cuban-American families in Florida, New Jersey, and across the country.

Today, we have learned that House of Representative Republicans are about to succeed with their punitive campaign against Cuban-American families. They are including rollback language in the “Megabus” appropriations bill now being finalized in the Congress that would prevent Cuban Americans from visiting their relatives more often than once every three years and would limit the remittances they can send. President Obama needs to live up to his promise and say “no” to these efforts to once again divide Cuban families. He must insist that he will not sign this bill if the family travel provision is not removed.

Last week, the Latin America Working Group partnered with the Center for International Policy to host a conference examining Cuba’s placement on the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Along with Mavis Anderson from LAWG, speakers included renowned Cuba experts Wayne Smith (Center for International Policy), Robert Muse (Muse and Associates), Carlos Alzugaray (University of Havana), Sarah Stephens (Center for Democracy in the Americas), and Arturo Lopez-Levy (University of Denver). Each panelist spoke critically of this designation, which has served to hurt Cubans rather than affect political changes in Cuba, or combat real terrorist threats.

Last night on "Strategy Session with Antonio Gonzalez" on 90.7 KPFK, LAWG's Senior Associate, Mavis Anderson, discussed the current political reality of U.S. policy towards Cuba. While there are some who will criticize President Obama's slow movement in changing our outdated Cuba policy, "kudos should be given where kudos are due," says Anderson. Obama has made some of the changes available to him under executive authority in permitting Cuban Americans to travel freely back and forth to the island, liberalizing the travel licensing process, and also issuing a veto threat if any legislation is proposed in Congress that aims at repealing his positive changes.

Significant changes being implemented by the Cuban government to permanently alter the island's economy have so far fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

A new report by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, Cuba’s New Resolve: Economic Reform and its Implications for U.S. Policy, identifies a number of measures the Obama administration should take to support and facilitate the economic reform process in Cuba. According to the report, Cuba is undergoing the most significant changes to its socialist system since the 1959 Revolution. Despite moves to increase the private sector, decentralize decision-making, increase autonomy for farmers and "a fundamental shift in economic thinking," the Obama administration has downplayed the reforms as insufficient.

Happy 20th Anniversary! Or maybe “un-happy” anniversary.

Today for the 20th year in a row, the UN General Assembly has voted to condemn the United States’ 50-year-old economic embargo on Cuba. How did the votes turn out this year?

YES (against embargo) – 186
NO (in favor of embargo) – 2
ABSTAIN – 3

As a follow-up to our blog on "La Colmenita" (the Cuban children’s youth theater) last week, today we are happy to host a guest blog post from Wayne Smith of the Center for International Policy and former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979-1982.

On Monday, October 17th, Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, expressing grave concerns over the U.S. performances by the National Cuban Youth Theater, “La Colmenita.” In her letter, she questions the decision of the State Department to issue visas to the children’s group and demands an explanation for granting the visas, in addition to a “detailed accounting of all funding for educational programs with Cuba.” Her reasoning? To ensure that the State Department is not misusing taxpayer funds to promote exchange with Cuba. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen also claims that the group, which is comprised of 5-16 year olds, poses a national security threat, as one of the plays they perform is inspired by the story of the Cuban Five, un-registered agents of the Cuban government who were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and are currently serving long sentences in U.S. prisons. The Economist, a United Kingdom-based newspaper (with offices in the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia), conducted an interesting poll last week about the fairness of the trial (which was held in Miami) of the Cuban Five; see the results here.

The Latin America Working Group is pleased to re-post this piece on U.S.-Cuba policy from our colleague at the Washington Office on Latin America, Geoff Thale. At LAWG, we are trying to maximize the opening recently made available by President Obama for increased travel to Cuba -- people-to-people travel, educational travel, religious travel, cultural travel. We are encouraging and educating the public on "how-to" travel to Cuba. See our on-line brochure, "How-to Travel to Cuba" here . We are very aware of how tenuous this small opening is, and how far it is from "Travel for All" with no restrictions. And we are aware that with just a stroke of the pen from a new President, these advances could be erased. We ask for your help in preventing that roll-back. Sign up for our Cuba policy updates and action alerts here.  And "like" our "End the Travel Ban on Cuba" Facebook page here. 

The 2012 presidential race is effectively underway, and the two leading candidates have both recently made statements about Cuba. While they may differ in emphasis, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clearly share one thing: they are both out of touch when it comes to Cuba and what U.S. policy should be towards the island.

Greetings from post-earthquake and post-hurricane Washington, DC. The next (un)natural disaster due to hit our nation’s capitol is the return of the Congress to Washington after Labor Day (shout-out to Rep. Jeff Flake, see below).

With the lingering, humid, August heat, we’re looking forward to the upcoming cooler days of the fall season. But, as we all are well aware, the heat never seems to subside when it comes to our work on Cuba! So, while the weather may cool off, we will actually be kicking up the heat on our efforts to restore the right for all Americans to travel freely.

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.

On July 21st 2011,  the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed an amendment proposed by Rep. David Rivera (R-FL 25th) to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act FY 2012 (HR 2583). This amendment mirrors and extends language proposed by Mr. Diaz-Balart. Mr. Rivera’s amendment would repeal ALL changes made by President Obama since his inauguration, restricting travel for families AND for educational, religious, and people-to-people trips.

Look below to see if your representative sits on the HCFA and how he/she voted. Then click here to either "thank" or "scold" your representative for his/her action!

 Voted FOR Rivera Amendment
•    Ackerman, Gary L, D-NY-5    
•    Bilirakis, Gus, R-FL-9    
•    Buerkle, Ann Marie, R-NY-25
•    Burton, Dan, R-IN-5    
•    Cardoza, Dennis, D-CA-18   
•    Carnahan, Russ, D-MO-3    
•    Chabot, Steve, R-OH-1    
•    Chandler, Ben, D-KY-6    
•    Cicilline, David, D-RI-1
•    Connolly, Gerald E, D-VA-11    
•    Deutch, Theodore E, D-FL-19    
•    Duncan, Jeff, R-SC-3    
•    Ellmers, Renee, R-NC-2
•    Engel, Eliot L, D-NY-17   
•    Faleomavaega, Eni F.H, D-AS-At-large    
•    Fortenberry, Jeff, R-NE-1    
•    Gallegly, Elton, R-CA-24    
•    Griffin, Tim, R-AR-2    
•    Higgins, Brian, D-NY-27    
•    Johnson, Bill, R-OH-6    
•    Keating, William, D-MA-10    
•    Kelly, Mike, R-PA-3    
•    Mack, Connie, R-FL-14    
•    Manzullo, Donald A, R-IL-16    
•    Marino, Tom, R-PA-10    
•    McCaul, Michael, R-TX-10    
•    Poe, Ted, R-TX-2
•    Rivera, David, R-FL-25    
•    Rohrabacher, Dana, R-CA-46    
•    Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana, R-FL-18
•    Royce, Edward, R-CA-40    
•    Schmidt, Jean, R-OH-2    
•    Sires, Albio, D-NJ-13    
•    Smith, Christopher H, R-NJ-4    
•    Wilson, Joe, R-SC-2   
•    Wilson, Frederica, D-FL-17

Voted AGAINST Rivera Amendment
•    Bass, Karen, D-CA-33  
•    Berman, Howard L, D-CA-28   
•    Meeks, Gregory W, D-NY-6    
•    Murphy, Christopher S, D-CT-5    
•    Payne, Donald M, D-NJ-10    
•    Schwartz, Allyson Y, D-PA-13    

PASSED/NOT VOTING
•    Sherman, Brad, D-CA-27   

NOT PRESENT
•    Paul, Ron, R-TX-14    
•    Pence, Mike, R-IN-6    

Just when we thought things were somewhat under control (i.e., Rep. Diaz-Balart’s amendment to restrict family travel to Cuba to Bush-era regulations – see our last e-alert here – would not remain in the final bill), another nasty amendment reared its ugly head.

First, let’s take a moment to exhale…

Yesterday, President Obama and his staff in the White House released a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) that provided Congress with the Executive Office’s views on H.R. 2434, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012. This is the appropriations bill that was approved by the House Appropriations Committee on June 23rd, which included Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-FL-21) amendment that intends to restrict Cuban-American family travel and remittances to Cuba.

Regarding a recent attempt by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL 21st) to restrict Cuban-American family travel to Cuba, it is reported that Rep. Diaz-Balart maintains that an overwhelming 90% of the Cuban-American community supports his amendment.

As of April 21, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released new travel guidelines for travel to Cuba that mirror the intentions of President Obama’s directive aimed at liberalizing the regulations. Under these guidelines, many groups that have been previously denied access to Cuba can now travel under either general or specific licenses.

To travel to Cuba, you must be eligible under regulations published by the U.S. Treasury Department. There are two kinds of licenses: a General License, which requires no permission or advance notification to U.S. officials; and a Specific License, an actual piece of paper for which one needs to apply to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which oversees the travel restrictions within the U.S. Treasury Department.

To learn how YOU can travel to Cuba, we invite you to take a look at the on-line brochures that LAWGEF has compiled. These brochures are intended to be a guide. If you have further questions regarding travel to Cuba, you should consult the full OFAC guidelines here, or consult with a licensed travel service provider or an attorney. Let the travel begin! 

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 *Please feel free to print these documents as we will not be distributing them via regular mail* 

• Organizations Sponsoring People-to-People Travel  (Just Updated!)
• Educational Travel
• Religious Travel
• People-to-People Travel
• Family Travel
• List of Licensed Travel Service Providers 
• List of Licensed Charter Service Providers 
• Schedule of 2013 Planned Trips to Cuba (Just Updated!)
  * This list is not comprehensive, rather a compliation of some organizations that are organizing group trips to Cuba.
• Become an Advocate for Policy Change
• Share YOUR Travel Story
  

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 Background:

The United States maintains travel restrictions on no other country in the world except Cuba. Restrictions on travel to Cuba have existed since 1961, except under President Jimmy Carter beginning in 1977. Restrictions were re-imposed in 1982 during the Reagan Administration, codified (written into law) under the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, and were tightened further by the Bush Administration in 2004. Since being codified, only Congress can end the travel ban (and the embargo) through legislative action (passing a law). The President has limited powers to loosen—or tighten—regulations that govern 12 categories of travel.

The restrictions apply to all citizens and residents of the United States—no matter whether you travel to Cuba through a third country, or even if you hold citizenship from another country. Up to 2009, travel was severely limited for all Americans until President Obama eased restrictions for Cuban Americans visiting family. On January 14, 2011, President Obama directed that travel regulations be eased for certain categories of citizens, and many more people are now able to travel to Cuba without breaking the law (a law which we consider to be a violation of our fundamental rights as citizens of the United States). 

This report is a condensed version of a longer work by Dr. Mercedes Arce Rodriguez. It translates the debate about the U.S. embargo on Cuba into a human lexicon. In the stories told by Cubans on the island, Cubans living in the United States, and Cuban Americans, we hear what the U.S. embargo means for their daily lives. Some of the stories are painful tales of family separation, or tragic accounts of children denied access to medicine. Some reflect the psychological hardships and insecurity that many Cubans feel. Some recount the frustration people feel with the U.S. government, with the Cuban government, and with the bureaucratic red tape involved in overcoming the barriers between the two countries.

This publication is divided in two parts in order to accommodate for the size of the file. The first 36 pages are in part 1 and the remaining 17 pages are in part 2.  

Part 1 (PDF)

Part 2 (PDF)

*A hard copy of the report is available from the Latin America Working Group for the price of postage only. To order, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us at 202-546-7010

Today the House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of an amendment, put forth by Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida (R-FL 21st), to the FY 2012 Financial Services Appropriations bill. This amendment, which passed by voice vote, rescinds changes that President Obama made in 2009 to Cuban-American family travel and remittances regulations. If this amendment were to become law, Cuban Americans would only be permitted to visit their families in Cuba once every three years, with a limited definition of what constitutes family, and with no humanitarian exceptions. Cuban Americans would also be limited in what they could send in remittances to Cuba. We would be back to Bush Administration-era regulations on family travel. This is totally unacceptable.

We fought for "travel for all" and we got "travel for some." Now we face the possibility of "travel for none. "

The House Appropriations Committee is meeting first thing tomorrow morning, and Cuba may very well come up. Opponents of exchange with Cuba will likely offer amendments to the financial services appropriations bill that will reverse the changes the President has made during his term in office – which has allowed travel by Cuban-American families, students and professors, religious groups, academics, musicians. We can't let this happen.

Contact your member of Congress and tell them NOT to restrict travel to Cuba!

112th Congress House Committee on Appropriations 

• Aderholt, Robert B (R-AL-4)
• Alexander, Rodney (R-LA-5)
• Austria, Steve (R-OH-7)
• Bishop, Jr., Sanford D (D-GA-2)
• Bonner, Jo (R-AL-1)
• Calvert, Ken (R-CA-44)
• Carter, John R. (R-TX-31)
• Cole, Tom (R-OK-4)
• Crenshaw, Ander (R-FL-4)
• Culberson, John Abney (R-TX-7)
• DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT-3)
• Dent, Charles W. (R-PA-15)
• Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL-21)
• Dicks, Norman D. (D-WA-6) (Ranking Member)
• Emerson, Jo Ann (R-MO-8)
• Farr, Sam (D-CA-17)
• Fattah, Chaka (D-PA-2)
• Flake, Jeff (R-AZ-6)
• Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. (R-NJ-11)
• Granger, Kay (R-TX-12)
• Graves, Tom (R-GA-9
• Hinchey, Maurice D. (D-NY-22)
• Honda, Michael M. (D-CA-15)
• Jackson, Jr., Jesse L. (D-IL-2)
• Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH-9)
• Kingston, Jack (R-GA-1)
• LaTourette, Steven C. (R-OH-14)
• Latham, Tom (R-IA-4)
• Lee, Barbara (D-CA-9)
• Lewis, Jerry (R-CA-41)
• Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY-18)
• Lummis, Cynthia M. (R-WY-At Large)
• McCollum, Betty (D-MN-4)
• Moran, James P. (D-VA-8)
• Nunnelee, Alan (R-MS-1)
• Olver, John W. (D-MA-1)
• Pastor, Ed (D-AZ-4)
• Price, David E. (D-NC-4)
• Rehberg, Denny (R-MT-At Large)
• Rogers, Harold (R-KY-5) (Chairman)
• Rothman, Steven R. (D-NJ-9)
• Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA-34)
• Schiff, Adam B. (D-CA-29)
• Serrano, José E. (D-NY-16)
• Simpson, Michael K. (R-ID-2)
• Visclosky, Peter J. (D-IN-1)
• Yoder, Kevin (R-KS-3)
• Young, C.W. Bill (R-FL-10)
• Wolf, Frank R. (R-VA-10)
• Womack, Steve (R-AR-3)

On Tuesday, June 21st, Cuban contemporary artist Sandra Ramos spoke about her work at the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art. Her art represents deeply personal accounts of the connection between herself, society and Cuba. Sandra breaks through censorship issues to present an honest view of Cuba by discussing issues such as migration, political education and cultural contradictions.  The paintings and exhibits that she creates make audiences take an introspective look at the effects of various influences in their lives and how those aspects affect them.

Studying abroad in Cuba was an experience that is impossible to forget. People’s eyes bulge whenever I mention that I lived in Cuba for five months. A torpedo of questions always follow; “Did you feel safe? How did you survive? Isn’t Cuba communist?” While I love to discuss my time spent in Cuba, it’s questions like these that make my mind race and my blood boil.

We’ve all been chomping at the bit waiting for the final piece of the new travel regulations puzzle: the Treasury Department guidelines. The guidelines were issued on Thursday, April 21. Now we have the full picture; let the travel begin.

On February 26, 2007, the New York Philharmonic performed in Pyongyang, North Korea. This was the first time a U.S. cultural organization had stepped foot on North Korean soil; and not only were the musicians  welcomed into the insulated country, but they were given a five minute round of applause during their final bows.

The Philharmonic’s performance, dubbed “Symphonic Diplomacy” by the New York Times,  didn’t create instant harmony (even though there is harmony in dissonance, so I’m told by my friend, Emily) between Washington and Pyongyang. But the performance did make an impact.

Yesterday, in a speech given at the Centro Cultural Palacio Moneda in Santiago, Chile, President Obama gave his first Latin America speech since the 2008 Summit of the Americas. While he spoke of many important issues regarding the region – and LAWG will be reviewing the speech in detail, so keep checking our blog and website for that – the Cuba team wanted to share the substantial Cuba portion of the speech with you today.

When you think of Cuba, the first things that come to your mind may be the “three C’s”: Caribbean climate, the Castro brothers, and Cohiba cigars; but that is by far not all that Cuba has to offer. Because of the United States’ foreign policy aimed at isolating Cuba (and therefore isolating us from Cuba), broad knowledge about the island and its people is limited. Many rely on exotic and stereotypical images of beautiful women on pristine beaches, Fidel Castro giving long-winded, animated speeches in front of the masses, and fine cigars to describe Cuba’s identity.

They say "a journey begins with one step." Well, we feel like the President's decision to ease travel-to-Cuba regulations on January 14 marks the start of our 2011-and-beyond journey to end the travel ban. Does it seem like we've been here before?! 

We've built-up a lot of momentum in the past few years-and tremendous support from advocates like you and from members of Congress. While we didn't get the full results that you or we wanted, we together did manage to elevate the Cuba issue to center stage, both in Congress and in the media. To review: In 2009, President Obama opened travel for Cuban Americans, and we applauded but pushed for more. In 2010, we pushed hard to pass bills in the House and Senate which would have ended the travel ban for ALL U.S. citizens; the calendar and scant political will stymied our efforts. In 2011, President Obama has opened travel for religious groups, academics and student groups earning college credit ("general licenses"; no permission prior to travel needed), and others (licensed people-to-people travel). Again, we applaud him, but we want more. We need more. We even deserve more. Don't you agree?

Help us produce more by donating to our work now, and please read on. 

With Cuba making significant changes in their economy and society that open new opportunities for Cubans, it is important that our government recognize Cuba's openness to change. Today's Cuba is evolving in a way that is "Cuban-determined"; today's Cuba is different from yesterday's, and tomorrow's Cuba may be even more exciting and forward-looking than today's. Our elected officials need to know that they can ditch their "cold war lenses," especially when it comes to Cuba. To make that message heard loud and clear, we need your support.  We need to regroup, renew, recommit, and develop a new strategy that circumvents a Congress that is less than friendly to our position on Cuba. We have already taken some significant steps toward creating a new approach designed for a new reality. With your enthusiastic help (about 16,000 of you!), we petitioned President Obama through Change.org to use his executive authority to broaden the regulations for licensed travel. Your participation was part of a broad and effective strategy to "get to" the President, and it worked! So, let's use that momentum, those new tools, that energy to our advantage. Let's use this current moment to get back to basics, building a bigger, broader, and even more effective network that can push the administration today, let the new and Tea Party-ish (read: libertarian) Congress know that we have not gone away, and be ready to again mobilize around the opportunity of the 2012 elections to emphasize our position on Cuba. What do you think? Are you willing to pitch-in? 

Please pitch-in by supporting our work and by continuing to commit your energies to change this damaging policy. 

We need to encourage more travel to Cuba at every opportunity by all kinds of new constituencies, find ways to make visits there ourselves (we'll have a new and innovative idea to share with you in a future e-update), and educate new activists/advocates of ending the travel ban. We need to produce materials that advise our supporters just HOW to travel to Cuba under the new regulations; we are in the process of doing just that. We need to reach out to new groups that can help us continue raising Cuba as an issue in both domestic and foreign policy. After all, that's what activism is all about, right?!

Please donate here so that we can continue building momentum, working for change, demonstrating our support for a fair and just policy to Cuba that is based on mutual respect between sovereign neighbors.  

For those of you who'd like some details about how your donation will be used-our goal is to raise $5,000 in the next two weeks to help us carry out these projects that will get us to more:

•   $50 will print new brochures explaining the new Obama travel regulations and walking new travelers through the process of people-to-people licensing-so more U.S. citizens will travel to Cuba;
•   $100 will contribute toward organizing our action to demand more travel that will take place simultaneously in Cuba and around the United States (plans just developing; stay tuned);
•   $250 will enable Facebook ads and Change.org petitions to add more energized activists to our on-line Cuba network;
•   $1,000 will make your friends on the LAWG Cuba team more ecstatic than you can imagine! 

Thank you for your publication order. You should receive an email confirming your purchase and a receipt. If you do not receive an email, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us at (202) 546-7010.

 

On Friday, January 25th the Obama Administration’s new travel regulations were published in the Federal Registry, effective immediately and apparently with no comment period. Guidelines are still being drafted by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and that is where the details of the new regulations will become clear. OFAC says that the guidelines will be released “soon.”

Many of you responded to our email update 10 days ago on the Presidential action easing some of the regulations on travel to Cuba. You wanted to know how to respond. Clearly there is more work to be done to change U.S. policy toward Cuba, but we think a “thank you” to the President and encouragement to do more is appropriate. By clicking here, you can send an email to the White House with a message of thanks and a request for more.

Thank you, Mr. President. After this summer’s buzzing rumors regarding some kind of White House action, the Obama Administration has today announced new regulations governing U.S. citizen travel to Cuba. It is a large step forward, and comes in the wake of a disappointing missed opportunity by the Congress to change the law. We congratulate the White House on their forward-looking decision. And we congratulate all of you for the hard and dedicated work you contributed to this achievement. Thank you, Cuba Advocates!

Thank you, Mr. President. After this summer’s buzzing rumors regarding some kind of White House action, the Obama Administration has today announced new regulations governing U.S. citizen travel to Cuba. It is a large step forward, and comes in the wake of a disappointing missed opportunity by the Congress to change the law. We congratulate the White House on their forward-looking decision. And we congratulate all of you for the hard and dedicated work you contributed to this achievement. Thank you, Cuba Advocates!

For many months—almost two years actually—we’ve focused on congressional action that would definitively end the ban on travel to Cuba; we felt that we had a real opportunity in the 111th Congress to radically alter the stale debate that had developed in Washington DC during the Bush Administration. We succeeded in changing the debate, but so far the policy has not changed. 

The LAWG and our supporters have always advocated for exchange between U.S. citizens and the Cuban people through the arts and culture, academic and student travel, religious/humanitarian groups, sports, and other people-to-people exchanges. At this critical moment, we are calling on everyone across the United States who supports increasing people-to-people contact between Cuba and the United States to join this advocacy campaign directed at the White House!

We expect you have been pondering the impact of the recent elections on the work we have been doing together to end the travel ban on Cuba and move our two countries toward a respectful, humane relationship. We have been doing the same, and we want to share some thoughts with you.

The electoral outcome has left us, as they say, “Close, but no cigar.”  (We could skip the cigar  . . .  although a mojito, maybe two, could help after working so hard these past couple of years.)

Cultural exchanges have always been an important element of expanding one’s knowledge about countries throughout the world. While certain countries may possess different political ideologies, religious beliefs, or speak different languages from the United States, “intercambios” allow citizens to become familiar with everyday people from cultures that are different from ours. And knowing the people encourages understanding and peaceful co-existence. For countries that are polar opposites on the political and/or social spectrum—like Cuba and the United States, for  example—exchanges  between students, artists, faith groups, farmers, sports teams (fill in your own community here) help humanize the “other.” And in more cases than not, these exchanges assist all parties to find common ground and shared experiences, despite outward differences.

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.

On Tuesday, September 28 the much-awaited mark-up and vote on HR 4645 in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs was postponed. Here is the statement from Chairman Howard Berman, upon announcing the postponement:

 

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).

Three members of Congress have sent a letter to President Obama supporting his intentions to ease travel restrictions on U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. The speculated changes can only liberalize already existing categories of travel. Ending the travel ban entirely can only occur by an act of Congress.

We've been doing everything we can--pulling out all the stops, as they say--to restore U.S. citizens' freedom to travel to Cuba. That's why we've come to you time and time again (and time and time again), asking you to make one more email or one more phone call to your congressperson; but we've also been mobilizing new advocates and as-of-yet untapped networks throughout the country to give us the best chance of getting the job done this year, in this Congress.

On Thursday, July 22nd, Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor became the latest House member and the first from Florida’s congressional delegation to join the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 874). The act, introduced in the 111th Congress by Reps. Delahunt (D-MA) and Flake (R-AZ), aims to restore the right of each and every U.S. citizen to travel to Cuba, a policy shift endorsed recently by Cuba’s most prominent opposition figures and 64 percent of Cuban Americans.

It's not every day that we get to write you about a historic legislative victory for a more humane, sensible, and just U.S. policy towards Cuba; but today isn't just any old day. In a thrilling "mark-up" session Wednesday in the House Committee on Agriculture, H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act was passed by 25 votes to 20, putting us one step closer to ending the travel ban this year, in this Congress.

After a momentous week in the nation’s capital, advocates of lifting restrictions on U.S. citizens’ travel to Cuba have reason to celebrate.

On Wednesday, June 30, the House Committee on Agriculture held a mark-up session of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act. While out-of-touch hardliners on the committee tried to amend and motion Ag Committee Chairman Peterson and Congressman Jerry Moran’s bill to death, it ultimately received a favorable 25 to 20 vote, putting Congress on the verge of voting on ending the travel ban, rather than simply shutting down its checking account, for the first time in history.

Here is a list of how members on the House Committee on Agriculture voted on H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, landmark legislation championed by Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) that restores U.S. citizens' right to travel to Cuba, helps U.S. farmers sell their products to Cuba, and puts food on the tables of ordinary Cubans. The bill was passed out of the Ag Committee 25 to 20 with a favorable recommendation to the House on Wednesday, June 30.

On Wednesday, June 30, the House Agriculture Committee votes on H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which restores U.S. citizens' right to travel to Cuba, creates jobs in the U.S., and puts food on Cubans' tables. What happens Wednesday will determine if this landmark legislation sees the light of day on the House floor this summer or dies in committee. The LAWG Cuba Team will be on the Hill (in 1300 Longworth) for the vote on the bill, championed by Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota (picture right), at 2pm EST. You can follow our "live-tweets" via Twitter or tune in online through the Agriculture Committee's website. Live video coverage can be found here once the "mark-up" begins.

Photo Credit: aflcio

Freedom to travel's moment has arrived. Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 30, the House Agriculture Committee will vote on H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, championed by Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson. What happens Wednesday will determine if this landmark legislation--which restores U.S. citizens' right to travel to Cuba, creates jobs here at home, and puts food on Cubans' tables--sees the light of day on the House floor this summer or dies in committee.

Many in the United States Congress continue to hem and haw when it comes to repealing the unjust ban on U.S. citizens' travel to Cuba, but the head-honchos of Cuban civil society know where they stand -- and, presumably tired of the hardliners invoking their name in opposition to any change to the status quo, they've decided to set the record straight. In a letter made public on June 9th, 74 Cubans urged members of Congress to vote in favor of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, legislation currently being considered by the House Committee on Agriculture that would restore the right of each and every U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, without getting a permission slip from Uncle Sam, and ease the sale of U.S. food to the island.

Cuba Business Bureau/Insider Advantage Poll
*Conducted April 15, 2010 – Nationwide

Q: Should the U.S. re-establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba?

• Support full relations – 58%
• Oppose full relations – 33%
• No opinion – 9%

Q: Should the U.S. allow all U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba?

• Allow travel to Cuba: 61%
• Prohibit travel to Cuba: 25%
• No opinion: 14%
  

Q: Should the U.S. allow American companies to do business in Cuba?

• Allow business: 57%
• Prohibit business: 30%
• No opinion: 13%

At the beginning of the year, as we began the second round of the 111th Congress, our campaign to lift the ban on U.S. citizens' travel to Cuba had come to a crossroads. In 2009, the "Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act," H.R. 874, introduced in the House of Representatives by travel champions Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), won strong backing, i.e. co-sponsorship, from an astonishing 180 representatives. Nevertheless, we weren't raising any celebratory mojitos. While the U.S. public was and is increasingly coming around to our viewpoint, we were still 30 or so votes short from being able to pass the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act in the House. With no new co-sponsors in sight, it was time to consider alternative paths to a resounding "Travel for ALL!" victory.

We're back! We're sorry for the recent radio silence for some of you; but we've been putting all of our time, energy, and wits into wringing every possible YES vote for H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, out of the House Committee on Agriculture. Our recent alerts have been directed to those of you who live in districts with members "on the fence." But now is the time for ALL of us to activate.

*These reps. aren't co-sponsors of either H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, or H.R. 874, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act. Some reps. don’t appear because there is little hope of converting them; send them a note anyway.

Rep Alexander, Rodney (LA-5) - 5/4/2009
Rep Baird, Brian (WA-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Baldwin, Tammy (WI-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Berman, Howard L. (CA-28) - 1/12/2010
Rep Berry, Marion (AR-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Biggert, Judy (IL-13) - 3/30/2009
Rep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. (GA-2) - 5/7/2009
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. (NY-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Blumenauer, Earl (OR-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Boozman, John (AR-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Boren, Dan (OK-2) - 9/30/2009
Rep Boswell, Leonard L. (IA-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Boucher, Rick (VA-9) - 5/7/2009
Rep Brady, Robert A. (PA-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. (SC-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Capps, Lois (CA-23) - 3/30/2009
Rep Capuano, Michael E. (MA-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Cassidy, Bill (LA-6) - 9/30/2009
Rep Chaffetz, Jason (UT-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Chu, Judy (CA-32) - 9/30/2009
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. (NY-11) - 3/30/2009
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy (MO-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel (MO-5) - 3/30/2009
Rep Clyburn, James E. (SC-6) - 5/20/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve (TN-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. (MI-14) - 3/30/2009
Rep Cooper, Jim (TN-5) - 3/30/2009
Rep Costa, Jim (CA-20) - 3/30/2009
Rep Costello, Jerry F. (IL-12) - 3/30/2009
Rep Courtney, Joe (CT-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Crowley, Joseph (NY-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. (MD-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Davis, Danny K. (IL-7) - 4/30/2009
Rep Davis, Lincoln (TN-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Davis, Susan A. (CA-53) - 4/22/2009
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. (OR-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep DeGette, Diana (CO-1) - 4/2/2009
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. (CT-3) - 2/4/2009
Rep Dicks, Norman D. (WA-6) - 5/21/2009
Rep Doggett, Lloyd (TX-25) - 3/30/2009
Rep Doyle, Michael F. (PA-14) - 3/30/2009
Rep Driehaus, Steve (OH-1) - 5/13/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. (MD-4) - 2/4/2009
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. (MI-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Ellison, Keith (MN-5) - 3/30/2009
Rep Emerson, Jo Ann (MO-8) - 2/4/2009
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. (CA-14) - 3/30/2009
Rep Etheridge, Bob (NC-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Faleomavaega, Eni F.H. (AS) - 9/30/2009
Rep Farr, Sam (CA-17) - 2/4/2009
Rep Fattah, Chaka (PA-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Filner, Bob (CA-51) - 3/30/2009
Rep Flake, Jeff (AZ-6) - 2/4/2009
Rep Frank, Barney (MA-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Fudge, Marcia L. (OH-11) - 4/22/2009
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. (TX-20) - 3/30/2009
Rep Gordon, Bart (TN-6) - 3/30/2009
Rep Green, Al (TX-9) - 9/30/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. (AZ-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. (IL-4) - 5/7/2009
Rep Hall, John J. (NY-19) - 7/9/2009
Rep Harman, Jane (CA-36) - 3/30/2009
Rep Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD) - 5/7/2009
Rep Hill, Baron P. (IN-9) - 9/30/2009
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. (NY-22) - 3/30/2009
Rep Hirono, Mazie K. (HI-2) - 9/30/2009
Rep Holden, Tim (PA-17) - 5/7/2009
Rep Holt, Rush D. (NJ-12) - 4/22/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. (CA-15) - 3/30/2009
Rep Inslee, Jay (WA-1) - 5/7/2009
Rep Israel, Steve (NY-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. (IL-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila (TX-18) - 3/30/2009
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX-30) - 3/30/2009
Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. (GA-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Johnson, Timothy V. (IL-15) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kagen, Steve (WI-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kanjorski, Paul E. (PA-11) - 5/7/2009
Rep Kaptur, Marcy (OH-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kildee, Dale E. (MI-5) - 4/28/2009
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. (MI-13) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kilroy, Mary Jo (OH-15) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kind, Ron (WI-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Kirkpatrick, Ann (AZ-1) - 9/30/2009
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. (OH-10) - 3/30/2009
Rep Langevin, James R. (RI-2) - 5/14/2009
Rep Larsen, Rick (WA-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Larson, John B. (CT-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Lee, Barbara (CA-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Levin, Sander M. (MI-12) - 5/20/2009
Rep Lewis, John (GA-5) - 4/30/2009
Rep Loebsack, David (IA-2) - 5/20/2009
Rep Lofgren, Zoe (CA-16) - 3/30/2009
Rep Lowey, Nita M. (NY-18) - 3/30/2009
Rep Lummis, Cynthia M. (WY) - 3/30/2009
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. (MA-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. (NY-14) - 3/30/2009
Rep Markey, Edward J. (MA-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Matheson, Jim (UT-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Matsui, Doris O. (CA-5) - 3/30/2009
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn (NY-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep McCollum, Betty (MN-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep McDermott, Jim (WA-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. (MA-3) - 2/4/2009
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. (NY-6) - 3/30/2009
Rep Michaud, Michael H. (ME-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Miller, George (CA-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Minnick, Walter (ID-1) - 9/30/2009
Rep Mitchell, Harry E. (AZ-5) - 9/30/2009
Rep Mollohan, Alan B. (WV-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Moore, Dennis (KS-3) - 3/30/2009
Rep Moore, Gwen (WI-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Moran, James P. (VA-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Moran, Jerry (KS-1) - 2/4/2009
Rep Murphy, Christopher S. (CT-5) - 9/30/2009
Rep Nadler, Jerrold (NY-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. (CA-38) - 5/14/2009
Rep Neal, Richard E. (MA-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes (DC) - 3/30/2009
Rep Oberstar, James L. (MN-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Olver, John W. (MA-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. (TX-27) - 3/30/2009
Rep Pastor, Ed (AZ-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Paul, Ron (TX-14) - 2/4/2009
Rep Payne, Donald M. (NJ-10) - 3/30/2009
Rep Peterson, Collin C. (MN-7) - 3/30/2009
Rep Pingree, Chellie (ME-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Polis, Jared (CO-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Pomeroy, Earl (ND) - 4/30/2009
Rep Price, David E. (NC-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Rahall, Nick J., II (WV-3) - 5/14/2009
Rep Rangel, Charles B. (NY-15) - 3/30/2009
Rep Richardson, Laura (CA-37) - 5/6/2009
Rep Ross, Mike (AR-4) - 3/30/2009
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille (CA-34) - 5/14/2009
Rep Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch (MD-2) - 5/7/2009
Rep Rush, Bobby L. (IL-1) - 4/2/2009
Rep Ryan, Tim (OH-17) - 3/30/2009
Rep Sablan, Gregorio (MP) - 9/30/2009
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. (CA-39) - 4/30/2009
Rep Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47) - 3/30/2009
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. (IL-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. (PA-13) - 3/30/2009
Rep Scott, David (GA-13) - 4/1/2009
Rep Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" (VA-3) - 5/12/2009
Rep Serrano, Jose E. (NY-16) - 3/30/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe (PA-7) - 7/30/2009
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol (NH-1) - 9/30/2009
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh (NY-28) - 3/30/2009
Rep Smith, Adam (WA-9) - 3/30/2009
Rep Snyder, Vic (AR-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Speier, Jackie (CA-12) - 7/7/2009
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete (CA-13) - 3/30/2009
Rep Stupak, Bart (MI-1) - 5/21/2009
Rep Tanner, John S. (TN-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. (CA-10) - 3/30/2009
Rep Taylor, Gene (MS-4) - 5/7/2009
Rep Thompson, Bennie G. (MS-2) - 3/30/2009
Rep Thompson, Mike (CA-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Tierney, John F. (MA-6) - 3/30/2009
Rep Titus, Dina (NV-3) - 9/30/2009
Rep Tonko, Paul D. (NY-21) - 9/30/2009
Rep Towns, Edolphus (NY-10) - 3/30/2009
Rep Tsongas, Niki (MA-5) - 5/12/2009
Rep Van Hollen, Chris (MD-8) - 3/30/2009
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. (NY-12) - 3/30/2009
Rep Walz, Timothy J. (MN-1) - 3/30/2009
Rep Waters, Maxine (CA-35) - 3/30/2009
Rep Watson, Diane E. (CA-33) - 3/30/2009
Rep Watt, Melvin L. (NC-12) - 5/7/2009
Rep Waxman, Henry A. (CA-30) - 3/30/2009
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. (NY-9) - 5/4/2009
Rep Welch, Peter (VT) - 3/30/2009
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. (CA-6) - 3/30/2009

Rep Yarmuth, John A. (KY-3) - 3/30/2009

*175 co-sponsors (includes three non-voting delegates).

About two weeks ago there was an explosion aboard BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig, tragically killing at least 11 rig-workers and eventually triggering a pipe-break that's now spewing an estimated 5,000 barrels into the Gulf of Mexico daily. As the oil slick has spread from its epicenter 50 or so miles off the coast of Louisiana to the Gulf state's shores, so have concerns that the disaster could severely harm the livelihoods of individuals--fishermen, for instance--and industries who depend on the vibrant, wildlife-rich ecosystem.

Speaking recently before a university audience in Kentucky, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shared her thoughts about the future of U.S.-Cuban relations. She touched on many headline-grabbing issues, but her comment that it's her “personal belief that the Castros do not want to see an end to the embargo and do not want to see normalization with the United States, because they would then lose all of their excuses for what hasn’t happened in Cuba in the last 50 years" is what got Cuba's, and the international media's, attention.

On Monday, April 5th, two Cuban medical students spoke about contemporary Cuba in an open forum at American University in Washington, DC. The students, Yenaivis Fuentes Ascencio and Aníbal Ramos Socarrás*, are the first students to receive visas from the United States since 2002 after President Bush severely curtailed academic exchanges between the United States and Cuba. In fact, in one positive advancement under the Obama Administration, visas for Cubans to travel to the United States are up approximately 65 percent overall, according to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.