Read it and weep. This is just the beginning, folks.
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 4 would allow American citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba for the first time since 1963. The bill by Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., and eight co-sponsors would also lift limits on travel by Cuban exiles living in the United States. The president would not be able to regulate travel to the island unless an armed conflict or armed danger arises.
It didn’t take long did it???
I had just posted on this very same article about 4 minutes later!
The paragraph following the one quoted in the post is very interesting:
The bill has gone too far, said Francisco “Pepe” Hernandez, president of the Cuban American National Foundation. Cuban exiles should visit their families whenever they want, but tourists shouldn’t spend money in resorts that Cubans are barred from. “It’s improper and should not be allowed until the Cuban government makes some reforms,” he said.
You know what they say about “giving an inch”, right Pepe?
Robert,
Dont be fooled by the CANF statement, they are expert lobbyists and they have known ALL ALONG where their “lift the travel restrictions” lobbying would take them.
Think of it this way: Whats the very first thing that would need to be addressed in order to bring Cuba back to the 21st century? The infrastructure – which includes obviously roads, telecommunications, power, utilities, etc…. What business does the head of the foundation have? Mastec.
2+2=4, bro.
Francisco Pepe Hernandez and Jorge Mas Santos should have known better not to bring Barack Hussein Obama to that CANF’s luncheon during the presidential campaign.
Here are the consequences of their stupid decisions.
I fully agree with you Val, I hold the same suspicions you do.
Sadly, it’s only about the money. They don’t care for the Cuban people. All they care about is how they can make a dime.
I think Joedilocks le comio el cerebro a Junior. And since Pepe has a debt of honor to the old man, he has to stand by Junior while he makes an ass of himself.
Henry you might be right, but I still think that Pepe has become a complete idiot for following Junior into the abyss.
I think that long ago Pepe should have stood-up publicly to Junior and denounced him for his betrayal of his father’s legacy with the CANF and let the chips fall wherever they would.
By not taking the right stance Pepe has become an accomplice of the current situation with the CANF and sold out Jorge Mas Canosa’s legacy.
I have lost all the respect I had for Pepe.
So who said legislators are lazy? Let’s hand it to them; on an issue dear to their hearts, they sure work HARD and FAST!!
As someone who sometimes fails to see the inside games and ulterior motives that go on, I totally agree with Val’s assertion that CANF’s position is all about business.
Hi, guys.
May I stick my head in here?
This part worries me a bit, and correct me if my fears are misplaced …
“Cuban exiles should visit their families whenever they want …”
Is this Pepe’s assertion, or is it actually in this part of the spending bill text …
I only just saw the healthcare stealth yesterday afternoon … and just saw this Cuba issue today and haven’t had time to look over it.
Anyhow, I am very apprehensive about the idea of Cuban ‘exiles’ returning to Cuba to visit family … and believing the Castro government would somehow impede their exit from Cuba to return to the USA (or wherever) … if not find some reason to ‘detain’ them … and I mean ‘detain’ in the Gitmo sense, if you know what I mean.
Thoughts?
Maggie
Maggie,
This is a separate bill from the Stimulus Package. It’s something the lefties in congress have wanted for years but with W. in the WH it was impossible for them. Under current law tourism by Americans to Cuba is prohibited and family travel for Cuban-Americans is limited to once every three years. These commie sympathizers claim that this is creating extreme hardships for Cubans who need to make family visits to Cuba (despite the fact that the law is easily sidestepped by flying to the Bahamas or Cancun first and that no Cuban-American has ever been fined or otherwise punished for making a legitimate family visit within the 3-year window).
When Cuban-Americans return to Cuba for family travel the regime generally doesn’t mess with them because they are a HUGE source of revenue for the island. Cuban-Americans bring dollars with them that they give to their Cuban families along with bags of clothes, etc. It’s part of the racket they have going. The vast majority of Cubans don’t want to go back under current circumstances and even among those who do go back most don’t want to do so often. There are however a few who take their positions as political exiles very lightly and return all the time and act as “mules”. Some just like acting like big shots in front of their Cuban family and friends, flashing gold watches and wads of cash.
Cuban-American voters are generally in favor of strict sanctions against the regime and against unlimited travel to Cuba either for Cuban-Americans or American tourists.