• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 10 / 10 / 2010

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associatedcontent.President Obama's administration recently announced the lifting of longstanding restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba, a promise he had made during his campaign. This measure is seen as an initial step toward a warmer relationship. While Congress is considering legislation that would go further and allow all Americans unlimited travel to Cuba, the Obama administration has not indicated an intention to lift the trade embargo, which would require Congressional approval.

An article in The Washington Post indicates that the measure taken by the Obama administration will allow U.S. telecommunications companies to operate in Cuba. They will be able to establish fiber-optic and satellite links between the U.S. and Cuba and be licensed for roaming agreements in Cuba. Satellite radio and television providers will be able to enter into the transactions necessary to provide service to Cuban citizens. And an exception to the trade embargo will allow personal cell phones, computers and satellite receivers to be sent to Cuba.

According to El Nuevo Herald, the announcement was applauded by many Cubans. In the section of the Havana airport where charter flights leave for Miami, the news was received with joy and relief by Cubans who see years of difficulty in seeing their relatives finally coming to an end.

Cuba's response

Fidel Castro, in an article in the Daily Granma, Cuba's official newspaper, recognized Obama's action as the relief of "some hateful restrictions" imposed on Cubans living in the United States regarding visiting their relatives in Cuba. But he points out that not a word was said about the "harshest of measures: the blockade". He indicates that the damage caused by the blockade cannot be measured only in economic terms because "it constantly takes human lives and brings painful suffering to our people".

At the same time, Castro indicates that Cuba "neither blames Obama for the atrocities of other U.S. administrations nor doubts his sincerity and his wishes to change the United States policy and image". According to the article, the President of the State Council of Cuba has expressed his willingness to dialogue with Obama and normalize relations "on the basis of the strictest respect for the sovereignty of our country". UPI reports that while meeting members of the Congressional Black Caucus who recently visited Cuba, Fidel Castro asked them, "How can we help President Obama?"

Latin American response

Silvia Pisani, in an article in La Nación from Argentina, describes Obama's action as a new and strong step in his policy of closer ties with the Cuban people. She describes the move as a 180 degree shift from the policy of the previous administration. Writing as a correspondent in Washington, Piani indicates that the reaction of Cuban American organizations in the U.S. has been very enthusiastic, and that the telephone in travel agencies in Miami hasn't stopped ringing.

An article in El Tiempo in Colombia questions whether Cuba is ready for an invasion of tourists from the United States. Indicating that the hotel capacity in Cuba is filled by Canadians and Europeans, the arrival of multitudes of travelers from the U.S. would raise prices and generate a demand for flights and cruises that Cuba is not in conditions to accommodate. The result could be that the Cuban government would have to restrict visas.

What Cuban Americans think

The Miami Herald, which calls Obama's action "the most significant in decades" points out the conflicting feelings among Cuban-Americans. Should exiles visit the island they fled and help Cuba's communist government with their U.S. dollars? For some, family concerns take precedence. Esteban Fernandez, age 75, who left Cuba 47 years ago, indicated that he would never go back, but he needs to see his ailing mother who is 97.

A report in the New York Times indicates a shifting mentality among Cuban-Americans, with younger Cubans taking less of a hard-line stance than their parents. Polls by the Florida International University have shown an increasing demand for more engagement with Cuba.

The article quotes Andy S. Gomez, a senior fellow at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami as saying that the lifting of restrictions on travel and remittances is a positive first step.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101008/cm_ac/3221365_a_first_step_toward_a_...