Archive for April, 2009
Informal US-Cuba Meetings May Move Forward
The conciliatory tone between the US and Cuba at the Summit of the Americas last weekend is offering hope for normalizing relations. According to the NYTimes:
The officials said informal meetings were being planned between the State Department and Cuban diplomats in the United States to determine whether the two governments could open formal talks on a variety of issues, including migration, drug trafficking and other regional security matters.
And the administration is also looking for ways to open channels for more cultural and academic exchanges between Cuba and the United States, the officials said.
The next steps, said a senior administration official, would be meant to “test the waters,” to see whether the United States and Cuba could develop a “serious, civil, open relationship.”
But not all is smooth sailing in the Florida Straits:
After saying the United States was “ready to talk about a series of issues,” the official added, “This thing with Cuba is going to take a lot of time, and it may not work.”
Cuba Talk Dominates Summit of the Americas
As expected, Latin-American leaders at the Summit of the Americas spoke of the US ending the embargo with Cuba. According to the Politico:
Prime Minister Barrow of Belize makes Cuba an issue, too. He calls for “the formal integration” of Cuba into the group and for the United States to lift the embargo.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega praised Castro and said the U.S. was punishing Cuba. “And just because of that I cannot feel comfortable attending this summit,” Ortega said. “I feel ashamed that I am attending this summit with the absence of Cuba.”
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner brought up Cuba’s expulsion from the group of leaders, calls on Obama to lift the embargo, and attacks the “Washington consensus” that has harmed the Americas.
However the leaders didn’t blame President Obama, they mostly spoke highly of the new leader. Daniel Ortega said:
“President Obama was born on August 4, 1961,” he read. “He was three-and-a-half months old.” He continued: “Obviously he doesn’t have any responsibility for that historic event.”
Outlook Improving for US-Cuba Relations
Today has been an exciting day in the thawing of US-Cuba Relations. After President Obama made the first move by removing restrictions on Cuban-American travel, Obama left the next move to Cuba. Then Raul Castro offered to put everything on the table, including press freedom, political prisoners and human rights. Then Secretary of State Clinton remarked “We welcome his comments, the overture they represent and we are taking a very serious look at how we intend to respond”.
Now at the Summit of the Americas, Obama spoke more on US-Cuba Relations. According to NYTimes.com:
“The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba,” he said at the Summit of the Americas opening ceremony, according to his remarks released in advance by the White House. “I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled in overcoming decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day.”
President Obama Says Cuba Should Make Next Move - Raul Castro Willing to Put Everything on the Table
Before heading to the Summit of the Americas, President Obama, while in Mexico said Cuba needs to make the “next move” to help bridge the divide between the US and Cuba. Now Cuba’s Raul Castro has said he is willing to talk with the US about everything, including press freedom, political prisoners and human rights. According to the BBC:
Speaking to Latin American leaders in Venezuela, President Castro said he had sent word to the US government “in private and in public” that he is open to negotiations as long as it is “on equal terms”.
There is still no formal contact between the Cuban authorities and the US government, but this is the latest in a series of exchanges which suggest that both sides appear to be making efforts to find a way to end the 50-year stalemate.
Earlier this week, the US president announced that he was lifting restrictions on Cuban Americans visiting relatives on the island and sending money home.
Following the easing of US travel restrictions, Mr Obama said it was up to Havana to make the next move.
Obama Ends Travel Restrictions - Cuba Prepares for US Tourism Invasion
As had been speculated for weeks, President Obama has officially ended all Cuban-American travel and some financial restrictions to the island nation of Cuba. Obama also is lifted telecommunications restrictions. From AP:
In a further gesture of openness, U.S. telecommunications firms were freed to seek business there, too. But the broader U.S. trade embargo remained in place.
Cuba Prepares for US Tourism Invasion
Cubans are anticipating a huge influx of US Tourist by building a new marina with 1500 slips 80 miles east of Havana near Varadero. According to Reuters:
“If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” said Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues.
But all may not be so smooth according to this AP Article:
Cuba has about as many hotel rooms as Detroit and most are already full of Canadians and Europeans. Experts say droves of Americans could drive up prices, unleash calls for more flights and cruises than Cuba can handle and force the government to tighten visa restrictions to regulate the stampede.
An influx of Americans could create a lodging crunch. The communist state has partnered with foreign companies such as Spanish chain Sol Melia to offer about 46,000 hotel rooms across an island about the size of Pennsylvania. Some 17,300 of those rooms are concentrated in the beach resort of Varadero, 90 miles (140 kilometers) east of Havana.
If the US Embargo was lifted, US companies could build all those hotels.
And don’t expect the same level of service you’d find at a Miami resort:
Even at top Cuban resorts, it is often hard to get amenities as basic as an extra roll of toilet paper. Comforts including apples, french fries and bottled beer are sometimes scarce - not to mention perks like in-room coffee-makers or wireless Internet access.
Cuba is in desperate need of American Ingenuity, It’s time to end the embargo.
Cuban American National Foundation Calls for “A Break From the Past”
A leading group of Cuban exiles is calling for the US to expand relations with the Cuban government and help the Cuban people. According to the NYTimes:
“For 50 years we have been trying to change the Cuban government, the Cuban regime,” said the foundation’s president, Francisco J. Hernandez, a veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. “At the present time, what we have to do is change the emphasis to the Cuban people - because they are going to be the ones who change things in Cuba.”
Members of Congressional Black Caucus Meet With Fidel Castro - Call for End of Travel Ban
Three members of Congressional Black Caucus met with Fidel Castro today after a group of seven CBC members traveled to Cuba. They are calling for an end to the US ban travel to Cuba. According to the Politico:
“The fifty-year embargo just hasn’t worked,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) told reporters this evening at a Capitol press conference after returning from a congressional delegation visit to Cuba. “The bottom line is that we believe its time to open dialogue with Cuba.”
Cuban Travel Changes Possible as President Obama Prepares for Summit of the Americas
As President Obama prepares for his trip to Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas, the world awaits any clues for changes in policy concerning Cuban-American travel, the embargo and the general travel to Cuba. According to AP:
(Jeffrey) Davidow and other officials say the administration is also looking seriously at calls from some lawmakers to allow all Americans to travel to Cuba, appoint a special envoy to oversee policy toward the island and possibly end U.S. opposition to Cuba’s membership in the Organization of American States.
“We are engaged in a continual evaluation of our policy and how that policy could help result in a change in Cuba that could bring about a democratic society,” Davidow said.