Medea Benjamin: Americans Can Go to Cuba
March 04, 2015
Just Don’t Lay on the Beach!
Americans Can Go to Cuba
by MEDEA BENJAMIN
On a recent CODEPINK trip to Cuba with a 150-person delegation, we found the island crawling with Americans taking advantage of the relaxation of US travel restrictions and the historic thawing of US-Cuban relations. Conan O’Brien was taping his comedy show at a Cuban cigar factory. Senators from Minnesota, Missouri and Virginia were dining at the elegant National Hotel after several days of meetings with Cuban officials. A scholarly group from The Nation magazine was touring the museums with US-Cuba expert Peter Kornbluh. Fresh-faced high school students from Wisconsin were contestants in a jazz competition at a smoke-filled Havana night club. And bulky Texas ranchers with cowboy hats were chugging through Old Havana in a bubble-gum pink 1950 Chevy convertible taxi, scoping out potential business opportunities.
Our huge delegation, put together in a mere 6 weeks, included black Americans looking at race issues, LGBT activists exploring gay rights, and health workers meeting with Cuban family doctors. The exchanges were lively, enlightening and inspiring.
Cubans and Americans alike are delighted with the opening. Cubans are desperate for more money to flow into the island, especially now that Cuba’s key trading partner Venezuela is experiencing an economic and political crisis. And despite the 50-plus years of US attempts to sabotage the island’s socialist experiment, Cubans feel a great affinity towards Americans. They love US jazz, movies, baseball and Apple computers. Americans love Cuban salsa, cigars, rum, beaches, vintage cars and the outgoing, fun-loving Cuban people. For decades, travel restrictions have kept Americans for joining the millions of Canadians, Europeans and other vacationers who flock to Cuban beaches every year. Technically, US citizens have not been banned from traveling to Cuba, but under the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act, it has been illegal for Americans to spend money there.
A series of exceptions have been made over the years for family, religious and humanitarian purposes. This has generally meant that U.S. citizens could only travel as part of a group that was granted a license for an approved purpose. The licensing process was daunting, time consuming and often rejected.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/04/americans-can-go-to-cuba/
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