Blog

From Ethelbert Miller's E-Notes blog on Tuesday February 25, 2009 

At Ethelbert’s suggestion, I would like to invite readers to consider joining an initiative I am coordinating to help pass legislation to assure the legal right of all U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. With Obama in the White House, the chances of success in this endeavor are better than they have been in years. But energy and passion are needed to get us there.

Here's a guest blog from LAWG colleague Adam Isacson at the Center for International Policy on the debate surrounding Colombia's victims' law. Colombia needs a  strong, fair law on victims rights and meaningful reparations.

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.”

Day after day we hear nightmarish stories of gangland slayings in Mexico, as drug-related violence expands, affecting the lives of countless families and communities across Mexico, as well as the U.S-Mexico border region. Mexico’s Attorney General estimates that rival drug cartels killed 6,262 people in 2008.

Last week, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos visited Washington, DC to meet with lawmakers and top Obama Administration officials, including Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Sec. Robert Gates, and National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones.

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." 

"My father was a dreamer. He was a cheerful, generous man. He was our friend and our hero, the man who helped us discover the world."

These are the words of Yessica Hoyos Morales, whose father, Jorge Darío Hoyos Franco, a Colombian labor leader, was assassinated in 2001 by two hired hitmen, as she testified to a hearing held February 12th by the House Committee on Education and Labor, chaired by Representative George Miller (D-CA).

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.

In the coming week, over 100 prayer vigils will be taking place in towns across the country – all calling for the new Administration and members of Congress to show moral courage and leadership in enacting humane immigration reform.