Cuban rafters will be allowed to visit Cuba

By Manuel Alberto Ramy

Rafters (balseros) and other Cuban citizens who left the country illegally, including professionals who decided to stay abroad abandoning their mission or family visits, may travel to Cuba, said Homero Acosta, Secretary of the State Council of the Republic Cuba. The measure, he reiterated, includes professionals and athletes.

The arrangement announced earlier has two limitations: that a period of eight years must have passed since his or her departure or since the person has been out of the country illegally and that he or she must not have exited through the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, illegally occupied by the U.S.

The move confirms the initial announcement made by Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz earlier this year when he stated that immigration policy would be extended gradually. This decision satisfies the demands of many Cuban residents in the U.S. who have written many times in Progreso Weekly demanding support for their aspirations to visit relatives in Cuba.