latimes.com: Ban on travel to Cuba may be lifted

[DCranon21]

Reporting from Washington -- A bipartisan group of senators predicted Tuesday that Congress was ready to pass legislation to allow all Americans to travel to Cuba.

Removing the travel ban would produce a burst of tourism, create thousands of jobs and generate as much as $1.6 billion in business a year, an independent research group said.

A Senate news conference Tuesday and one in the House set for Thursday reflect new attempts to lift the travel ban, a key part of the U.S. trade embargo imposed after Fidel Castro took power in Havana in 1959. The broader trade embargo would remain in place.

Sponsors said the bill would free Americans to travel to the one place in the world they can't go and encourage Cubans to push for democratic reforms by exposing them to new people and information.

"Punishing the American people in our effort to somehow deal a blow to the Castro government has not made any sense at all," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.). "At long last, this policy, which has been in place for 50 years and has not worked, will finally be removed."

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) strongly opposes the measure. He warned that flooding Cuba with tourists and dollars would only sustain the Castro regime.

"Having tourists on Cuban beaches is not going to change the equation of how to create the opportunity for democratic institutions in Cuba," Martinez said. "It's only going to enrich those who are oppressing the Cuban people and provide them with more economic means with which to do that."

Dorgan and fellow sponsors sense an opportunity to change U.S. policy now that President Obama has replaced George W. Bush in the White House and Castro has turned power over to his brother, Raul Castro.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cuba-travel1-2009apr01,0,4526770.story

[ACW]

:applause:

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) strongly opposes the measure. He warned that flooding Cuba with tourists and dollars would only sustain the Castro regime.

Yeah, 'cause the half-century embargo and travel ban has worked so well to harm the regime

[artmonkforHOF]

Sponsors said the bill would free Americans to travel to the one place in the world they can't go and encourage Cubans to push for democratic reforms by exposing them to new people and information.

um... why not just vacation there and leave like the rest of the world does?

[artmonkforHOF]

On a side note, anyone seen the UK special called "638 ways to kill Castro"?

it is the funniest and most pathetic thing I have ever seen. the US government tried the most outrageous assassination plots, like getting an ex fling to put poison pills in her cold cream and slip them to Fidel while they where getting funky, only to have the girl break down crying and admit to Fidel that she was there to kill him.

But the best part, is how they show all these Cubans who will go on 8 hour tirades of how bad and evil Fidel is, and how they would kill him if they had a shot, only to find out these guys had MULTIPLE shots and chickened out every time. they all say things like "the death of Fidel would be the greatest thing in the world to all Cubans", and "killing Fidel is more important than any one person's life. the man who pulls the trigger will live on as an icon forever." yet when they had their chance to do it, they freaked out because they did not think they could get out alive. WTF????

Or the one guy gets mad at 2 guys he hired who backed out at the last second, then decides to do it himself, I guess because he really wanted to chicken out himself since that's what he ended up doing. It makes you laugh at how pathetic these guys are.

[PokerPacker]

its about damn time.

wait a second, this isn't an April Fools, is it?

[Predicto]

well, 40 years late is better than never.

[shk75]

I think it is pretty ethoncentric to think that if the US lifts the travel ban that they will finally teach and eductae us poor Cubans and show us what deomcracy is about. A bunch of crap.

[TimmySmith]

:applause:

Yeah, 'cause the half-century embargo and travel ban has worked so well to harm the regime

The embargo has kept billions out of Castro's hands. Ask yourself where all the money that the rest of the world spends in Cuba goes. The answer is, not to Cubans.

[PleaseBlitz]

In college i had the opportunity to visit Cuba during spring break as part of one of my economics classes. I have always regretted going to Jamaica instead. Kind of.

[Predicto]

The embargo has kept billions out of Castro's hands. Ask yourself where all the money that the rest of the world spends in Cuba goes. The answer is, not to Cubans.

Every country that is exposed to Western affluence and freedom starts to want it for themselves. That's why the North Koreans aren't even allowed to own radios.

The embargo has kept Castro in power while most other communist regimes have fallen apart.

[DCranon21]

Well this ban needs to be lifted. It can only help both economies. You know once the travel embargo gets lifted, how fast a plane ticket from the US to Cuba will sell out. Also I think the trade embargo will be lifted too(for all of Cuban Cigar smokers) once the travel embargo is lifted.

[Spec138]

On a side note, anyone seen the UK special called "638 ways to kill Castro"?

it is the funniest and most pathetic thing I have ever seen. the US government tried the most outrageous assassination plots, like getting an ex fling to put poison pills in her cold cream and slip them to Fidel while they where getting funky, only to have the girl break down crying and admit to Fidel that she was there to kill him.

But the best part, is how they show all these Cubans who will go on 8 hour tirades of how bad and evil Fidel is, and how they would kill him if they had a shot, only to find out these guys had MULTIPLE shots and chickened out every time. they all say things like "the death of Fidel would be the greatest thing in the world to all Cubans", and "killing Fidel is more important than any one person's life. the man who pulls the trigger will live on as an icon forever." yet when they had their chance to do it, they freaked out because they did not think they could get out alive. WTF????

Or the one guy gets mad at 2 guys he hired who backed out at the last second, then decides to do it himself, I guess because he really wanted to chicken out himself since that's what he ended up doing. It makes you laugh at how pathetic these guys are.

Watching this right now.

It's on Google Video if anyone wants to see it.

[TimmySmith]

Every country that is exposed to Western affluence and freedom starts to want it for themselves. That's why the North Koreans aren't even allowed to own radios.

The embargo has kept Castro in power while most other communist regimes have fallen apart.

How do you figure? Cuba is not traditional communist. It allows western tourists to visit a segregated area. So the exposure has been there forever. The only thing that would change of the US was allowed in, is more money in Castro's pocket. He would still be in total charge, so long as he was alive.

[shk75]

How do you figure? Cuba is not traditional communist. It allows western tourists to visit a segregated area. So the exposure has been there forever. The only thing that would change of the US was allowed in, is more money in Castro's pocket. He would still be in total charge, so long as he was alive.

Thank you finally someone who understands how it works. When I was growing up in Cuba we had tourists from everywhere except the US...Canada especially. However, there is no way in HELL I would have any contact with them or else I would be beaten and then it would be reported that I had contact with a foreigner and my father would be fired and my mother would become a pariah. Point is this when tourists come here they have no real conact with Cubans and stay in segregated hotels that just increase the spending power of the regime.

[Predicto]

How do you figure? Cuba is not traditional communist. It allows western tourists to visit a segregated area. So the exposure has been there forever. The only thing that would change of the US was allowed in, is more money in Castro's pocket. He would still be in total charge, so long as he was alive.

In the short term, you are correct.

In the long term, I disagree. Castro is not a superman. His regime can fall, just like the ones in Eastern Europe. The more contact with the West, the more likely that is to happen.

Let me ask you - how successful has our 50 year embargo been in bringing down that rotten regime? Is there any reason to think that our embargo will ever work? Is there any reason to think that it helps the Cuban people one bit?

If not, why do we do it? Out of spite?