Americans to be Allowed to Travel to Cuba?

As the son of Cuban immigrants, I really hope this is not an April Fool's joke:

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.

 

It's about damn time. While the embargo may have made sense during the Cold War, it's been nearly 50 years and it has not shown any signs of successfully promoting democracy or human rights in Cuba. As Albert Einstein once pointed out, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Besides, the only ones suffering from this policy are the Cuban people. Not to mention, most countries are doing business in Cuba and allow their citizens to travel there. So what exactly do we think we are accomplishing by continuing this failed policy? Why not open up travel for all Americans and see if we can promote change from the inside? Oh right. Cuba is a communist country with a terrible human rights record. Umm..can't we say the same thing about China, our biggest trading partner? Seems like a very hypocritical policy to me.

Thankfully, Obama seems to be moving towards a fresh approach. During the presidential campaign he said that he would be willing to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro without preconditions and supported loosening restrictions on U.S. family travel and remittances to the island. Earlier this month, Obama signed an omnibus spending bill which did just that. Provisions in the bill allow Cuban-American relatives to go to Cuba once a year and stay for an unlimited time. In addition, the definition of relatives has been broadened to include uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces. The new measures also increase the amount of money visitors can spend. Previously, the Bush administration limited travel to Cuba to just two weeks every three years, and confined visits to immediate family members. 

However, Obama does not favor lifting the embargo entirely, a position I vehemently disagree with. I'm holding out hope that he's waiting to meet with Castro before announcing that he's open to lifting the embargo. I guess this makes some sense. If he makes these concessions too early, he'll have a weak hand to play. Regardless, my patience is wearing thin on this issue.

UPDATE: Congress isn't kidding around!

More progress:

Raul Castro has held talks with members of Congress in his first face-to-face meeting with US politicians since he became president last year. State television showed Mr Castro talking to members of the delegation, which is in Havana to explore ways of improving US-Cuban relations.

No details of what was said in their discussions were released. Barbara Lee, the leader of the seven-strong group of Democrats, said the group did not carry a message from President Barack Obama but had come only to "listen and talk" with the Cubans.