The lack of memory of the Cuban-American congressmen
By Carlos Lazo
Recently, five Cuban-American congressmen wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, urging him not to change U.S. policy toward Cuba. According to the unprecedented logic put forward by these gentlemen, the laws regarding the island exist and were created in the past by the U.S. Congress. Therefore, any change in this regard would “significantly undermine the foreign policy objectives and the security of the United States.”
In their letter, the legislators added that the Helms Burton Act codified the embargo on Cuba and cannot be modified by the President. According to the letter, “all restrictions on travel” to the Island are also irremovable.
I would remind the aforementioned lawmakers that when in June 2004 then-President George W. Bush imposed cruel and inhumane travel restrictions against Cuban-Americans living in the United States and our relatives in Cuba, none of them addressed the White House to say that the embargo was untouchable, and that therefore new restrictions on travel to the island would also legally questionable.
Paradoxically, these people now want to apply a double standard to the issue of travel to Cuba. What they did not ask George W. Bush yesterday, they demand from Barack Obama today. It is no coincidence that some of those who rend their garments today were the developers and architects of those inhumane measures against our families, and that others like them maintained a cowardly or complicitous silence.
The fact that hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans can freely visit today our loved ones on the island is largely due to the political will of President Barack Obama. Neither the Diaz-Balart brothers nor Ileana Ros-Lehtinen nor Albio Sires nor Senator Bob Menendez have ever moved a finger to legislate with humanity and common sense regarding U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba.
Suffering, confrontation, revenge and a visceral hatred of the Cuban people: that is the only legacy that these ill-called representatives can take credit for. Certainly, they do not represent the new generations of Cuban Americans who want to see a significant and tangible change in U.S. policy toward the land that gave us birth.
President Barack Obama prepares to implement laws that will legalize academic and cultural trips from the United States to Cuba. This is a positive step but also timid and insufficient. It is time to eliminate all restrictions on travel to Cuba for all Americans. It is time for U.S. policy toward the island to be thought out and executed with compassion and wisdom. Decisions regarding this policy should be taken in Washington D.C., not in Miami.
Obama needs to accelerate the implementation of strategies that prioritize the welfare of the people of Cuba and the United States. At the same time, our president should say No! to the incoherent complaints by the group of venal politicians we all know.
Carlos Lazo is an activist who favors lifting the travel restrictions to Cuba. He currently serves as a combat medical sergeant in the National Guard of the state of Washington. He is also a member of the board of the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA), based in Washington D.C.
