Paolo Spadoni is a communist idiot

By focusing only on those dissidents who, like the White House, virtually reject all policies perpetuated by the Cuban regime, the administration is foolishly disregarding the will of many Cubans who favor a more moderate course of action by advocating economic changes within the existing socialist framework.

How the fuck do you know, asshole?

To varying degrees, both radical dissidents and reformers who prefer to work within the system support changes that would move Cuba toward the adoption of democratic practices. The crucial issue is that the latter group, encouraged by a national debate on economic reforms launched by Raul Castro, is more likely to influence developments than the radicals.

In Raul he trusts. I told you he’s an idiot.

In March 2003, just a week after Fidel Castro ordered a massive crackdown that resulted in 75 dissidents being jailed, the White House eased conditions under which Cuban Americans could travel to Cuba and raised the amount of remittances that the US authorized visitors could carry to the island. But in June 2004, in the middle of his reelection bid, Bush again strengthened restrictions on Cuban American travel and remittances after a group of Cuban American members of the Florida legislature warned him that he could lose the support of the exile community if a tougher line against Castro had not been taken.

Half truth and and a lot of conjecture. The truth according to the The Congressional Research Service, the public policy research arm of the United States Congress:

On March 24, 2003, OFAC announced that the Cuba travel regulations were being amended to ease travel to Cuba for those visiting close relatives. (Federal Register, March 24, 2003, pp. 14141-14148.) Travel is now permitted to visit relatives to within three degrees of relationship of the traveler and is not restricted to travel in circumstances of humanitarian need. The new regulations also increased the amount a traveler may carry, up to $3,000 (compared to $300 previously), although the limit of $300 per quarter destined for each household remains. Finally, the regulations were tightened for certain types of educational travel. People-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic coursework are no longer allowed.
On October 10, 2003, President Bush instructed the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a broader initiative on Cuba, to increase inspections of travelers and shipments to and from Cuba in order to more strictly enforce the trade and travel embargo.
On February 26, 2004, President Bush ordered the Department of Homeland Security to expand its policing of the waters between Florida and Cuba with the objective of stopping pleasure boating traffic. (Federal Register, March 1, 2004, pp. 9315 – 9517.)
On June 16, 2004, OFAC published changes to the CACR implementing the President’s directives to implement certain recommendations of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (Federal Register, June 16, 2004, pp. 33768-33774). The new regulations tightened travel restrictions in several ways. Fully-hosted travel was eliminated as a legal category of permissible travel. Family visits were restricted to one trip every three years under a specific license to visit only immediate family (grandparents, grandchildren, parents, siblings, spouses, and children) for a period not to exceed 14 days. The daily amount of money that family visitors can spend while in Cuba was reduced from the State Department per diem rate, currently $167, to $50. Specific licenses for visiting non-Cuban nationals in Cuba (such as a student) are now limited to when the family member visited is in “exigent circumstances.” The general license for amateur or semi-professional athletic teams to travel to Cuba to engage in sports competitions was eliminated; such travel now requires a specific license.
Specific licenses for educational activities were further restricted in several ways: the institutional licenses are restricted to undergraduate and graduate institutions, while the category of educational exchanges sponsored by secondary schools was eliminated; the duration of institutional licenses was shortened from two to one year; three types of licensed educational activities — structural education programs in Cuba offered as part of a course at the licensed institution, formal courses of study offered at a Cuban academic institution; and teaching at a Cuban academic institution — are required to be no shorter than 10 weeks. The new regulations also further restricted sending cash remittances to Cuba. Quarterly remittances of $300 may still be sent, but are now restricted to members of the remitter’s immediate family and may not be remitted to certain government officials and certain members of the Cuban Communist Party. The regulations were also changed to reduce the amount of remittances that authorized travelers may carry to Cuba, from $3000 to $300. This reversed OFAC’s March 2003 changes to the regulations that had increased the amount that authorized travelers could carry to $3000.

Overall, the trend in the Bush administration has been to tighten the loopholes in the embargo. That said there was the curious change in policy and reversal with regards to family travel. Spadoni, the communist idiot, wants to chalk this up to election year politics. Normally keeping campaign promises is seen as an admirable trait in an elected official. Except of course when the promises were made to Cuban-Americans.
Curiously Clinton reversed his policies regarding travel to Cuba too. According to the CRS:

Under the Clinton Administration, there were several changes to the Treasury Department regulations, with some at first tightening the restrictions, and others later loosening the restrictions.
1994 — In August, President Clinton announced several measures against the Cuban government in response to an escalation in the number of Cubans fleeing to the United States. Among these measures, the Administration tightened travel restrictions by prohibiting family visits under a general license, and allowing specific licenses for family visits only “when extreme hardship is demonstrated in cases involving extreme humanitarian need” such as terminal illness or severe medical emergency. Such visits required a specific license from OFAC. In addition, professional researchers were required to apply for a specific license, whereas since 1982 they had been able to travel freely under a general license. (Federal Register, August 30, 1994, pp. 44884-44886.)
1995 — In October, President Clinton announced measures to ease some U.S. restrictions on travel and other activities with Cuba, with the overall objective of promoting democracy and the free flow of ideas. The new measures included authorizing general licenses for transactions relating to travel to Cuba for Cuban Americans making yearly visits to close relatives in “circumstances that demonstrate extreme humanitarian need.” This reversed the August 1994 action that required specific licenses. However, those traveling for this purpose more than once in a 12-month period would need to apply to OFAC for a specific license. In addition, the new measures allowed for specific licenses for free-lance journalists traveling to Cuba. (Federal Register, October 20, 1995, pp. 54194-54198.)

Using Spadoni’s, the communist idiot’s, own logic the reversal on the part of Clinton must have been a pre-election attempt to gather support among the pro-castro lefties. Too bad Fidel spoiled the party by shooting down the BTTR planes.
The rest of the column is more communist idiocy. Anyone who is quoting Gutierrez Menoyo as a legitimate dissident can’t be anything more than a communist idiot. Just more of the agonizing death throes from a dying order.
The Christian Science Monitor takes a big hit in terms of credibility by publishing this tripe.